Who is the worst player to have his # retired by a franchise?

[Staniowski]

I never thought of Wendel Clark as a handsome man. If anything, he always reminded me of Mike Keenan. Interesting take.

I wasn't commenting on whether or not Wendel was handsome. Rather, I meant that his body movements looked good no matter what he was doing. Like Ali looked good when he was fighting, like Mogilny looked good when he was shooting. Similarly, Wendel looked good, stylish, whatever he was doing, whether fighting, hitting, shooting, stickhandling, etc. He had a style that was visually pleasing.

 

[K Fleur]

I watch a lot of hockey and love reading up on it and see obscure guys, but I have no ****ing idea who this guy is.

Scored the first home goal in caps history, was big off the ice in the community...Pretty terrible player relatively speaking of course.

 

[VanIslander]

Minnesota Wild's #1

Least points scored.
Least minutes played.

To retire it was undeserved.

A big fat zero.

 

[K Fleur]

If in the last 50 years of your franchise you feel that there have been 5 players worthy of jersey retirement, and Wendel Clark is one, then your franchise hasn't had 5 players worthy of jersey retirement.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Was Stan Smyl (Vancouver) any better than Daneyko?

smyl retired as the team’s all-time leader in every statistical category, was the longest ever serving captain until henrik sedin passed him almost thirty years later, and was a skilled and incredibly hard hitting sparkplug who outworked everyone and was a phenomenal fighter.

it’s like wendel clark’s mancrushworthiness with mikko koivu’s career in minnesota with captaining a cinderella run to the cup finals on top.

I'm going to get a lot of slack for this, but I don't see Wendel Clarke (Toronto) as having anything over Daneyko, except the one Gilmour-aided regular season.

wendel has fighting over him. even daneyko will tell you that.

I’ve never told anyone this story until now, but during the second game of Lou’s tenure, we were playing in Toronto, and they were really giving it to us. One of Lou’s biggest frustrations with the team he inherited wasn’t just that we weren’t all that good, but that we’d get beat up and pushed around too much. In general, we didn’t carry ourselves in a way that demanded respect. At some point during the game against the Leafs, Claude Loiselle received an elbow to the head by Wendel Clark, a talented young player who was tough as nails. It looked bad, and Claude was woozy coming to bench.

After seeing that, I hopped over the boards for my shift and challenged Wendel to a fight at center ice. I don’t remember who won it, but I’m going to safely assume I took a few good shots.

We ended up losing the game, but afterwards Lou came up to me and stuck his hand out to shake mine, and I noticed he was gripping a couple of $100 bills. My eyes kind of widened and I looked at him seriously and said, “What’s this for?”

He goes, “I like what you did tonight. You stuck up for a teammate. Now take this and get yourself something nice.” I said, “That’s not necessary. This is my job.” Then Lou got a little hot, looked me in my eye and said (minus the expletives), “I want this team to understand that we’re in this together, thick and thin, on and off the ice. Read between the lines!”

I don’t remember every detail of my career, but I’ll never forget that moment. From that instant, I knew we got a guy in charge who was going to be tough, fearless and loyal as hell to his players. It really was all about winning. I was so young that it didn’t fully register with me at the time, but once I retired and got to reflect on everything, I realized that what Lou was doing in that moment was changing the culture and the direction of the entire organization. Now, he never did that again with anybody — and he didn’t need to, because we had salaries — but I knew we’d be a team to be reckoned with. It’s no coincidence that in that first year under Lou, we came out of nowhere to make it to within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals.

you can see why they’d retire his number.

 

[KMart27]

Graves wasn't a great player (he was good and sometimes very good) but he is 3rd all time in goals for a franchise that is over 90 years old. Considering that and the fact that his number is also retired for Bathgate, I think it is reasonable.

 

[FerrisRox]

I know what you're saying, but in a sense, it does feel right.

As I mentioned, Wendel was very much loved by a lot of fans. I happen to know many people who regard Wendel as their favourite hockey player of all-time. I was thinking about why people liked him so much, and I think a lot of it, of course, is about his combination of toughness and talent, but also that he always looked good on the ice, he looked good when he was fighting (and he was a very good fighter), he looked good when he was hitting, he had a very good and beautiful shot, he had talent, he was nifty. He was kind of stylish in everything he did. And he was fearless.

He didn't look good without the puck, that's for sure.

The strangest thing about how bad Clark was defensively is that he was drafted as a defenseman and moved up to the wing by the Maple Leafs. He couldn't care less about playing without the puck, which was odd.

 

[sabremike]

List of National Hockey League retired numbers - Wikipedia


But I see a few on a similar level to Danyeko. What about Bob Nystrom (NYI)? Nystrom seems quite similar to Daneyko to me, albeit at a totally different position.

Nystrom is known as Mr Islander but the biggest difference is that he scored one of the biggest and most memorable goals in the history of the sport (And on a related note the guy who assisted on that goal (John Tonelli) is rumored to be getting his number retired in the near future).

 

[Staniowski]

He didn't look good without the puck, that's for sure.

The strangest thing about how bad Clark was defensively is that he was drafted as a defenseman and moved up to the wing by the Maple Leafs. He couldn't care less about playing without the puck, which was odd.

That's true, he was bad defensively.

Did he play defense at all for the Leafs, even a few games?

 

[sabremike]

Graves wasn't a great player (he was good and sometimes very good) but he is 3rd all time in goals for a franchise that is over 90 years old. Considering that and the fact that his number is also retired for Bathgate, I think it is reasonable.

He is also one of the greatest people in the history of the sport, as anyone who has ever met him will tell you.

 

[FerrisRox]

That's true, he was bad defensively.

Did he play defense at all for the Leafs, even a few games?

No, he was shifted to forward before he had even attended camp.

 

[The Panther]

He is also one of the greatest people in the history of the sport, as anyone who has ever met him will tell you.

Yes he is, and I think this is probably the main reason the Rangers retired his number. Sure, he had four or five really good seasons for NYR, but I think it is his personal characteristics that pushed him into the "number retiree" category.

Some people are being a bit hard on Wendel Clark, here. One good season...? I mean, he scored 34 goals in 66 games as a rookie and almost won the Calder. 37 in year two, to lead the club. Then, when he came back to the Leafs in 1996 he scored 38 times in his first 78 games back. His playoff goal-scoring was also impressive in '86 and '87 (as well as '93 and '94, of course).

 

[NyQuil]

The answer is Frank Finnegan (#8 by the Ottawa Senators)?

There were better Senators but he was the last surviving one.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

The answer is Frank Finnegan (#8 by the Ottawa Senators)?

There were better Senators but he was the last surviving one.

Finnigan was basically a Hall of Very Good level player.

Some of the guys listed here aren't near that level.

 

[VanIslander]

Graves ... is 3rd all time in goals for a franchise that is over 90 years old....

He is top 10 in the NHL in shots over the decade of the 1990's.

He is an elite third liner who played a top-6 role after he left Edmonton.

He is a heart & soul player.

That said, I was happy when #9 was retired because they hoisted a BATHGATE banner as well to the rafters.

(This is a franchise that chooses to forget Bill Cook, Frank Boucher and its first two Stanley Cup championships.)

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

For a team with 0 cups, the Sabres have SEVEN! retired numbers. I understand 7-11-14, as the French Connection wowed crowds for 7 years togerher. Tim Hortons #2 after tragically dying is understandable even if he only played 124 games with the club as he was an icon and died driving home from a game. Hasek the greatest goalie ever is a no brainer.

Danny Gare has no f***ing reason to have his # retired. Never scored 90 points in a season. He had 2 50 goal seasons. He didn't even average a full ppg in his 503 career games as a Sabre. I feel his commentary work is a big reason why they did it but its pretty lame for such a small scale "star" to get his # retired. This is a guy who isn't a HoFer, made ONE all star game, and doesn't even have 400 goals or 700 career points.

The last one is Pat LaFontaine. Legit superstar. HoFer. Incredible player. But he only played 268 games (which is only 3 and 1/4 of a season). He played 19 career playoff games with Buffalo. Never made it past round 2. Retiring his # isn't unreasonable, just that his time with the club where he actually played instead of at home injured was very short. Less then 300 total games combined as a Sabre. Connor McDavid missed nearly half his rookie season, is only 22 and only has played 4 seasons and even he has more career games for his team. LaFontaine gets a pass for his entire career.

Danny Gare though is ridiculous. 7 of 98 numbers retired for a franchise with 0 cups and only 2 finals appearances in 49 years is too much.

 

[LightningStorm]

Still can't believe Colorado retired Bourque's #77 with him being there for only a little more than a season.

 

[sr edler]

Retired numbers are like the HHOF to me, superficial stuff and only relevant to the actual players & clubs. Who am I to criticize it.

Graves was the best winger in the game though in 1994 before the game lost itself to trapping, lockouts and ridiculous contracts. Kind of a symbol of lost innocence.

 

[The Panther]

Graves was the best winger in the game though in 1994 before the game lost itself to trapping, lockouts and ridiculous contracts.

I mean, I like Adam Graves, but.... REALLY???

 

[MS]

I watch a lot of hockey and love reading up on it and see obscure guys, but I have no ****ing idea who this guy is.

First captain of the Capitals, great in the community.

As someone else noted above, one that stands out as Danny Gare in Buffalo.

 

[MS]

I mean, I like Adam Graves, but.... REALLY???

I had to check in case my mind was failing me, but it does actually appear that Jagr, Shanahan, Bure, Selanne, Neely, Hull, Robitaille, Tkachuk and Recchi were all actually NHL wingers in 1994. Quite a hot take, that.

 

[MadLuke]

Graves was the best winger in the game though in 1994

do you think the Canucks would have took a 1:1 trade with Bure and won the cup that year ?

 

[FerrisRox]

Some people are being a bit hard on Wendel Clark, here. One good season...? I mean, he scored 34 goals in 66 games as a rookie and almost won the Calder. 37 in year two, to lead the club. Then, when he came back to the Leafs in 1996 he scored 38 times in his first 78 games back. His playoff goal-scoring was also impressive in '86 and '87 (as well as '93 and '94, of course).

No, I think its fair to say he only had one truly good season, he certainly only had one season worthy of a player that has had his number retired by a franchise.

I think he got his number retired because the Maple Leafs wanted to have some kind of ceremonies surrounding their anniversary and the sad truth was the history of the team had been so unremarkable for half of the franchises existence so Gilmour, despite a very short tenure and Clark, despite not being worthy got their numbers retired so player that were alive and that the fanbase had actually seen play got honoured.

You are also seriously over-rating that rookie season. First of all, he did not "almost win the Calder." He wasn't even close. Gary Suter had 35 first place votes to Clark's 18. And while 34 goals sounds like a very impressive total in today's NHL, it's worth noting that he ranked 37th in goal scoring that year and was outscored by guys like Ilka Sinsalo, Keith Crowder, Scott Bjugstad, Troy Murray, Petri Skriko and Greg Adams. He had a mostly unremarkable career and had he spent the bulk of it with, say, the St. Louis Blues or the Hartford Whalers you wouldn't hear his name anymore at all.

He definitely belongs on a list of dubious players that have had their sweater numbers retired.

 

[FerrisRox]

Graves was the best winger in the game though in 1994 before the game lost itself to trapping, lockouts and ridiculous contracts.

This is quite simply not true by any metric.

 

[Tarantula]

I watch a lot of hockey and love reading up on it and see obscure guys, but I have no ****ing idea who this guy is.

I have one of his hockey cards in my closet, cannot remember what exact year, in fact I just remember the card, not him at all either.