Players who don't deserve to have their numbers retired.

[JKM]

#1 Minnesota Wild Fans. If Vancouver's #7 is retired it is just as bad.

 

[Brodie]

Every team will have different standards... but I personally really dig Toronto's system of honoring numbers.

It's more likely that the entire league moves to that system then it is that anyone wears a triple digit number.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

Do you people realize there would need to be approximately 70 numbers hanging from the rafters before triple-digits were needed?

Each team can do it however they want, but personally I think the idea of honoring numbers but still keeping them it circulation is silly. I bet the family of Syl Apps was really honored to see Bill Berg skating around with his number.

 

[Canucks5551]

#1 Minnesota Wild Fans. If Vancouver's #7 is retired it is just as bad.

It's not retired for Vancouver

 

[DaveG]

those guys deserved to be honoured for what they meant to the fanbase, which is what retired numbers are for. they're not for you or me watching from somewhere else in the continent on tv, or for the people who only watch when the team is winning or in the playoffs. jerseys in the rafters are for the fans that go to the games through thick or thin, and the guys who meant something to them, and to the communities they played in, should be honoured. trevor linden is another guy who might not have been a superstar, but who is a no-brainer for having his number retired. glen wesley, i don't know, but i suspect he's another one of those guys. maybe a carolina fan can say what he meant to that fanbase.

the kinds of guys i don't agree with are gartner in washington or bourque in colorado, who might seem impressive while the anthem is being sung to someone watching on tv, but mean very little to the true fans.

As far as Glen goes, he was the anchor of that defense for the teams entire existence in NC up until the day he retired, sans a few days as a Leaf. He's not a sexy pick to have his number retired by any means, but he's been a fan favorite and was prettymuch the lone connection the franchise had left from Hartford.

Now Chiasson (not retired, but honored so it won't be worn again any time soon) is simply a matter of a fan favorite dieing during their playing career. Even with the circumstances around it, had another player ever worn the number there would have been a LOT of really pissed off people in the fanbase. Even Jack Johnson when he was our prospect, as hyped as he was, would have had an impossible time living up to the fans standards for someone using that number.

 

[njdevils1982]

The one I question the most is Glen Wesley. He was past his offensive prime with the Hurricanes and although he did spend ten years with them(they traded him for the portion of one season) plus 3 or 4 with Hartford, I can't see him being worthy in the same respect as Daneyko who was the Devils first pick coming off the move from Colorado and was the heart and soul of that organization for the larger part of 20 years on the ice.

daneyko was the 2nd pick for NJ in '82 (18th overall)..... rocky trottier (8th overall) was 1st.

 

[icehound]

...not to be problematic...but, how can one complain when considering the fact that the Sens hang Stanley Cup banners, from the early 20th Century Senators...from a team that had been defunct since the late thirties; to claim as their own......?

Sorry. But it makes for a great laugh.

 

[Blizzard]

daneyko was the 2nd pick for NJ in '82 (18th overall)..... rocky trottier (8th overall) was 1st.

You're right. Thanks for the correction. Forgot all about Trottier, at least that one.

 

[Tavaresmagicalplay*]

Al Hamilton for the Oilers.

 

[Brodie]

...not to be problematic...but, how can one complain when considering the fact that the Sens hang Stanley Cup banners, from the early 20th Century Senators...from a team that had been defunct since the late thirties; to claim as their own......?

Sorry. But it makes for a great laugh.

They don't technically claim them as their own; no reference to them is made in NHL publication and the team is never treated as a continuation for any purpose.

But you're right, it's downright stupid and confusing. Especially throwing the modern logo on them... it takes something kind of cool (let's honor all the Cups this city has won) and turns into a cheap publicity stunt.

 

[jayintro86]

I would have to say #2 for the Sabres: Tim Horton
18 years with the Leafs, multiple cups with them
Only a season and a half with Buffalo.
Any reason the Leafs didnt retire his #7?

 

[Brodie]

I would have to say #2 for the Sabres: Tim Horton
18 years with the Leafs, multiple cups with them
Only a season and a half with Buffalo.
Any reason the Leafs didnt retire his #7?

Because their policy is to only retire the numbers of players who suffered career ending injuries while with the Leafs who are otherwise qualified for jersey retirement.

His #7 is honored with a banner which can be seen here:

 

[bigchief12]

For my club, the Montreal Canadiens, the standards for retirement of jerseys are much, much higher than for election to the Hockey Hall of Fame although the Canadiens have retired more jersey numbers than any other club. There are many Canadiens Hall of Famers who will not have their numbers retired. And I rather think that is the way it always will be for the Canadiens. Otherwise we'd have dozens of numbers retired. Given that the Canadiens do not retire the jersey numbers of many Hall of Famers, it is even more unlikely that a Canadiens player not in the Hall of Fame will ever have his number retired, although I suppose it could happen should, God forbid, a Canadiens player (not of the stature of Howie Morenz) ever die as a result of a tragedy during a game.

Each club ought to be free to select its own criteria for retirement of jersey numbers. If a player has become special to a club or its fan base--for example, if he has been the heart and soul of a club or has been immensely popular--I suppose some clubs might want to honor him even if he isn't in the Hall of Fame and never will be.

At the same time, I'm opposed to the league retiring any numbers on a league-wide basis. That ought to be a club matter. I see no good reason for the NHL retiring Gretzky's No. 99. It was just a Bettmanesque effort to hype hockey. Why should the Canadiens or any other club for which Gretzky did not play be compelled to honor him by forbearance from assigning No. 99 to any of its own players? For that matter, why should any club, even the ones Gretzky did play for, be forced by the league to honor him in this way? There is no sound reason, and it ought to be left up to each club.

Were I in charge, I would just honor the player by raising a jersey bearing his number and name to the rafters and leave the number free to be assigned to other players. When I started following the NHL in 1953, the Canadiens had only one retired number, Howie Morenz's No. 7, and the other clubs were the same way. I got used to seeing the lower numbers on the backs of active players, and I'd like to see the same thing today. Nos. 1 through about 20 are much more distinct to me than higher numbers; they are easier to remember.

Giving the number worn by a famous star to a young player would give him an incentive to perform well and would not put undue pressure on him provided he has some confidence in himself. And if it did constitute a burden, the player could always ask for another number.

What kind of a tool is going to try to wear#99 anyway, why not retire it league wide? Gretzky did more to improve and grow hockey than anyone in the history of the game. When it comes to his on ice accomplishments, they are simply out of this world.

Don't forget that Bettman works for the collective owners of
all of the NHL clubs, he doesn't just do whatever he wants without their OK. If any of the teams would have had a problem with it, it wouldn't have happened. Kind of ridiculous to say that the league is forcing the teams to do anything, who do you think the league is? The only entity that tries to force the league to do anything, right or wrong, is the NHLPA.

 

[begbeee]

I dont like when some team retire number of a player who didnt play there most of his career. Perfect example is Bourque in Colorado. OK he won a cup there and what he did for Avs, Avs make more for him than he for Avs. Avs gave him possibility.

Good example is Daneyko or Bondra (homer pick)... HOFer? No. Does they deserve their numbers retired? Hell yeah...

Bondra will not make HOF cause he brings on the table "nothing more" than some 50 goal seasons and was 2x league leader in goal. But what he did for Caps?
After Gartner and before Ovechkin he holds almost every offensive record of Caps.
Does he earned a retiring of his number for Capitals? I think yes.

I agree that NHL should make some rules/restriction for numbers...
Glen Wesley hangs there only because Carolin need "built a history" quick. And hell yeah...it is such good marketing even every year for a franchise!

 

[htpwn]

Do you people realize there would need to be approximately 70 numbers hanging from the rafters before triple-digits were needed?

Each team can do it however they want, but personally I think the idea of honoring numbers but still keeping them it circulation is silly. I bet the family of Syl Apps was really honored to see Bill Berg skating around with his number.

That's how I feel as well. The most annoying part about the Leafs system of honoring/retiring numbers is that the biggest supporter to only honor numbers (except in the rare case) was Ken Dryden who as we know jumped on the opportunity to get his own number retired by Montreal years later.

 

[Trottier]

NJD - Ken Daneyko and NYR - Adam Graves. I guess they were fan favourites for a long time but did they really have that great of careers?

They both absolutely deserved it.

This is a recording: the game of hockey is more than what your stat sheet tells you. Ask Ken Daneyko's teammates and GM what he meant to that franchise. Ask NYC what Adam Graves meant and still means to the community. Some things transcend numbers.

 

[Brodie]

Has any family member actually complained about the Leafs policy? Is Jeri-Lyn Joyce raising a fuss over Garnet Exelby wearing #7?

 

[htpwn]

Has any family member actually complained about the Leafs policy? Is Jeri-Lyn Joyce raising a fuss over Garnet Exelby wearing #7?

No family member has ever commented on it that I know of. However apparently its one of the reasons Keon has been rejecting the offers from the Leafs to honor his number.

 

[vofty]

I'm not sure if other teams have something like this but I think the Stars have a nice concept in the "Walk of Legends". It allows players to be honored for the contributions to the team without giving them the ultimate honor a team can bestow in having their number retired. For example Brett Hull was the first Star to be inducted into the Walk of Legends. Players in the "Walk of Legends" get a plaque displayed at both the AAC and Frisco (where the Stars practice).

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

They both absolutely deserved it.

This is a recording: the game of hockey is more than what your stat sheet tells you. Ask Ken Daneyko's teammates and GM what he meant to that franchise. Ask NYC what Adam Graves meant and still means to the community. Some things transcend numbers.

But there was a time when retiring someone's jersey was reserved just for the greats of game. I realize that time has long passed.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I would have to say #2 for the Sabres: Tim Horton
18 years with the Leafs, multiple cups with them
Only a season and a half with Buffalo.
Any reason the Leafs didnt retire his #7?

Buffalo retired his number because he was killed while a member of the team. At least, that's what I'm going to assume.

 

[DJ Man]

Through the 1960s, hardly any player wore a number higher than the mid-twenties. (Frank Mahovlich was a rare exception.) Obviously, a retired number was a big deal.

Now, with 90-odd enumerations available, let the teams have their fun.

 

[Brodie]

Buffalo retired his number because he was killed while a member of the team. At least, that's what I'm going to assume.

Hmm... it wasn't immediate, it happened 20 some years later. Maybe it was for the name recognition?

 

[JKM]

Hmm... it wasn't immediate, it happened 20 some years later. Maybe it was for the name recognition?

Even though they didn't retire it immediately, no one on the Buffalo Sabres has worn number two since his death.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

But there was a time when retiring someone's jersey was reserved just for the greats of game. I realize that time has long passed.

There was a time when every team had greats of the game play for them...