What jersey # should your franchise retire (and/or unretire)?

[sabresfaninthesouth]

The Bruins should retire #5 and #24 oh wait that is numbers of players the team should retire not the number of players who had cheap hits on their players that caused them to retire....
Sorry had to go there....

The Wild should retire #24 now so Matt Cooke can't have it.

Seriously though I agree with Pix it should be a high standard only.

Another question outside of #99 should any number be retired league wide? maybe #4 and #9...

I don't even agree with 99 being retired league-wide.

 

[mattola]

I don't even agree with 99 being retired league-wide.

numbers like 99 and 66 are pretty much retired as it is. who in their right mind would want to wear those numbers after those 2 did what they did in them and be held to it.

oh you wear 99... allow me to sing you the song of my people

 

[thedddd]

I don't even agree with 99 being retired league-wide.

I actually agree with you that it shouldn't be league wide but like stated it is a number that no one in their right mind would ever wear.

So why not do some sort of ceremony....ahh...wait Bettman would make it into a spectical then over do it, then each year will have 6 numbers and then it would come down to every player wearing the #1.

 

[forty_three]

I actually agree with you that it shouldn't be league wide but like stated it is a number that no one in their right mind would ever wear.

So why not do some sort of ceremony....ahh...wait Bettman would make it into a spectical then over do it, then each year will have 6 numbers and then it would come down to every player wearing the #1.

Nicklas Backstrom Has the Nerve to Wear #99 in KHL Debut - Yardbarker

 

[dash]

Nobody in their right mind would wear #98 after what Brian Lawton did to it...

 

[dash]

As for #99, Wilf Paiement is still wondering why Gretz took his number.

 

[thedddd]

Nicklas Backstrom Has the Nerve to Wear #99 in KHL Debut - Yardbarker

Isn't it something like....In Russia number picks you...... Not he chose to wear 99.

 

[RangersReds03]

The Avs and Rangers are the two that always jump into my mind when it comes to unnecessary retirements.

Which number was retired unnecessarily?

 

[KennyBanyeah]

For the Senators the answer to both questions in the OP is clearly Daniel Alfredsson.

 

[forty_three]

Which number was retired unnecessarily?

Harry Howell, Adam Graves.

Not convinced on Giacomin, either.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Harry Howell, Adam Graves.

Not convinced on Giacomin, either.

How the fuck did I not know this???

That is indeed a bad jersey retirement.

It's outrageous, unnecessary, egregious!!

 

[puckhead]

Which number was retired unnecessarily?

Adam graves is a bit of a headscratcher.
he averaged 50 pts a season over 10 years.
in the grand scheme of the Rangers' history... big whoop.

 

[dare2be]

Adam graves is a bit of a headscratcher.
he averaged 50 pts a season over 10 years.
in the grand scheme of the Rangers' history... big whoop.

Maybe they immortalized him for breaking Mario's wrist.........

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Maybe they immortalized him for breaking Mario's wrist.........

Until further forensics reveals otherwise this was nothing but an accident.


Seriously though what a cheap shot.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

The Pens should just retire 87 now (as it is Destiny), and when the player retires, they can also retire whatever number he has to switch to because 87 is retired. Then he can be the only player with two different numbers retired by one team.

Agreed.

 

[pixburgher66]

Which number was retired unnecessarily?

Honestly, it's just the Graves one that kills me. They're not the most egregious of sinners in this regard. It's hard to blame teams with a lot of history when they retire a lot of numbers, but to me a retired number is reserved for a player that carried your franchise and was a part of the franchise for a long time. I don't necessarily think it should be for someone that was great merely while part of a great team, that's what Cup banners are for. I put jersey retirement ABOVE the HoF. It's about how you contributed with one specific team. It requires loyalty and insane talent. If teams want to recognize a guy that was there for 4 or 5 years and contributed, have a nice little ceremony, put a picture of them in a mural somewhere. Retiring a jersey? That's for the Orr's, Gretz's, Mario's of the world. Transcendent talent (or fabulous talent who were the life of a team for a long time). What can I say...I'm picky, just my opinion though.


On another note: I'd agree that Jean Provonost should be in consideration, but pretty sure that's never happening either. He was the Pens pre-Mario...but I'm not sure he did enough to warrant that. Right now, Jags is the only one I'd put up there. 2 Cups, many postseasons, Art Ross/Hart/Pearson. He led the team when Mario couldn't. He's second to Mario in every offensive stat (except ppg w/ Sid). Was a HUGE part of the team for 11 seasons. That fits the bill to me. I don't care what the dude said in 2001...he's a Penguin to me.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Wow, didn't realize how overrated Adam Graves really was. You always think of him & his 1993-94 season when he scored 52 goals, but for the most part he was anything but stellar.

 

[pixburgher66]

Graves is retired because of his humanitarian work, not his on the ice work. Honestly, the guy's biggest career move outside of 52 goals was taking down Mario. Honor him with naming the humanitarian award of the year after him...and a plaque or something. The NHL recognized his humanitarian work. I'm clearly a snob about this, so I think you all get my point. He was with the Rangers for 10 years and scored 507 points with them...

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Graves is retired because of his humanitarian work, not his on the ice work. Honestly, the guy's biggest career move outside of 52 goals was taking down Mario. Honor him with naming the humanitarian award of the year after him...and a plaque or something. The NHL recognized his humanitarian work. I'm clearly a snob about this, so I think you all get my point. He was with the Rangers for 10 years and scored 507 points with them...

I don't think it was just the 52 goals, it was the year he scored 52 goals that makes him such a Ranger legend. Disregard 1994 & the Rangers are basically the Chicago Cubs of the NHL. A lot of players from the 1993-94 team are heavily patronized among Ranger fans.

 

[elocomotive]

Harry Howell, Adam Graves.

Not convinced on Giacomin, either.

Adam graves is a bit of a headscratcher.
he averaged 50 pts a season over 10 years.
in the grand scheme of the Rangers' history... big whoop.

Honestly, it's just the Graves one that kills me. They're not the most egregious of sinners in this regard. It's hard to blame teams with a lot of history when they retire a lot of numbers, but to me a retired number is reserved for a player that carried your franchise and was a part of the franchise for a long time.

Yeah, here's the problem with the Rangers - they have been around almost 100 years, and 4 of the 8 retired numbers basically came from the 90s. Graves definitely doesn't deserve it. Richter never won a Vezina. And Messier is really more of an Oiler than a Ranger, though I can understand why they did it. Brian Leetch is really the only guy from that 94 Cup team who ticks all the boxes - career player in NY, Hall of Famer, and considered a dominant player of his time.

I feel like a guy being in the Hall of Fame and spending the strong majority of his career with a team are near requirements for retiring a jersey. If you don't meet one of those, you better have some exceptional numbers or impact that justify it.