The best players to wear every jersey number in NHL history

The Athletic NHL Staff Mar 31, 2020

I figured it was time to get back to some hockey talk...

No NHL number is more iconic than No. 99. Even if you’ve never watched a hockey game, you know Wayne Gretzky’s number.
But when asked to name the greatest NHL player to wear every number, we knew it would require more than one person’s input – no matter how great that person (pun intended).
We put together a panel and asked them all to name the best player to wear every number. That left us with 57 unanimous choices.
Then for every number where a player didn’t receive a majority of votes, the group battled it out.
How do their numbers compare? Who won more awards and championships? How long did the player wear the number? And were those his best seasons? 
The results are here for you to enjoy – and debate. Let us know who would make your list.
00: John DavidsonJohn Davidson and Martin Biron are the only players to don the 00. And with the NHL rulebook now stating that, “Sweater numbers such as 00, ½ (fractions), .05 (decimals), 101 (three-digit) are not permitted,” that will likely remain the case. – Sarah Goldstein

0: Neil Sheehy
As the only player to wear 0 since the 1950-51 season, there wasn’t much competition for the defenseman who played 379 regular-season games for three franchises. It is worth noting that, while records from the earlier days of the league are notoriously bad, some sources list Habs goalie Paul Bibeault as having worn zero on at least a few occasions. – Goldstein

1: Jacques Plante
With so many great goaltenders to choose from, this number generated plenty of debate, but it was Plante who took top honors. The man who popularized the goalie mask won the Stanley Cup six times, the Vezina Trophy seven times and the Hart Trophy in 1962. Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall and Johnny Bower were the others to receive votes. – Daniel Nugent-Bowman

2: Doug Harvey
Just as No. 1 was forever the default number for starting goalies, the No. 2 usually went to the team’s top defenseman, so lots of options here. Harvey was considered the greatest defenseman in history before Bobby Orr arrived on the scene, and thus was our choice. But players from generations that date back to Eddie Shore and Lester Patrick to Brad Park and Al MacInnis all wore No. 2 – and wore it well. – Eric Duhatschek

3: Pierre Pilote
You can go deep into the history books and find everyone from Sprague Cleghorn to Lionel Conacher to Joe Hall who’ve worn No. 3, but the quiet and effective Hall of Famer Pierre Pilote was the near-unanimous choice, a three-time Norris Trophy winner and five-time first team All-Star who was a puck-control dynamo before it became the way of the NHL world. – Duhatschek

4: Bobby Orr
The hardest part isn’t typing in the name Bobby Orr, the greatest defenseman in NHL history, but having to leave out the likes of Jean Beliveau, Red Kelly, Art Ross, Scott Stevens, Bill Gadsby, Hap Day and so many others of a bygone era. – Lisa Dillman

5: Nicklas Lidstrom
Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy seven times, which is why he gets the nod over Denis Potvin, the heart-and-soul of the Islanders’ dynasty who won the Norris Trophy three times and was first runner-up twice – once to Orr and once to Randy Carlyle!? A stick tap also to Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, credited with inventing the slap shot and a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner. – Dillman

6: Toe Blake
There wasn’t as much competition at No. 6 as there was for some of the more traditional numbers. From the past: Ace Bailey, Babe Seibert and Bun Cook. From the present: Shea Weber. But our choice was Toe Blake, a key member of Montreal’s famed Punch Line. For many people, Blake’s greatest fame came as a coach because he presided over eight Stanley Cup championships. But he also made the first All-Star team three times, won the Hart Trophy in 1939 and played on three Stanley Cup teams before retiring. – Duhatschek

7: Phil Esposito
This has always been an interesting number since it’s traditionally been available to both forwards and defensemen. Esposito gets the nod here, although Howie Morenz and Ted Lindsay also got votes. (By the way, the Bruins retiring Esposito’s No. 7 by having Ray Bourque reveal his new No. 77 remains one of the coolest moments ever.) – Sean McIndoe


8: Alex Ovechkin
With all due respect to Teemu Selanne, there’s a reason that Ovechkin is “The Great 8.” On track to one day break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record, there should already be no dispute about who the greatest goal scorer ever is given each player’s respective era. It’s Ovi. – Dom Luszczyszyn

9: Gordie Howe
Feb. 6, 2015, Saskatoon, Sask. – A tribute to a living legend. The grandiose event was billed as the final public appearance of the province’s signature hockey hero. Howe, 86, was suffering greatly from dementia but was flown in and feted by a cast of superstars from Wayne Gretzky to Bobby and Brett Hull. Mr. Hockey, indeed. – Nugent-Bowman

10: Guy Lafleur
Guy Lafleur was a near-unanimous choice here, a six-time first-team All-Star, twice a Hart trophy winner and the heartbeat of the Canadiens from 1975 on. Six Stanley Cups and better than a point-a-game player in the playoffs. In the running: Alex Delvecchio, the brilliant Red Wings left winger who served as captain for 12 years; and the great Dale Hawerchuk, who won the 1982 Calder Trophy and had to play most of his career in the shadow of Wayne Gretzky. – Dillman



11: Mark Messier
The only player to captain two franchises to a Stanley Cup championship, Messier is regarded as one of the best leaders in team sports. He’s one of just five players to win at least six titles without playing for the Canadiens. The stats aren’t so bad either. Messier is third in career points (1,887) and second in games played (1,756). – Nugent-Bowman

12: Jarome Iginla
We were all over the map on No. 12 because it belonged to so many great players of the past, including Dickie Moore, Yvan Cournoyer, Sid Abel and others. But ultimately we settled on Iginla, who was the dominant power forward of his generation and led Calgary to the 2004 Stanley Cup final. – Eric Duhatschek

13: Pavel Datsyuk
Few players in league history have been as transcendent with and without the puck as Datsyuk, who earned three straight Selke trophies while playing at a near point-per-game pace for his career. He was the embodiment of puck-possession hockey, a two-way force whose 200-foot game nudges him slightly ahead of Mats Sundin. – Luszczyszyn

14: Dave Keon
Keon was our unanimous choice. Though he played 22 professional seasons in the NHL and WHA, he was primarily known for his achievements in Toronto where he won the Calder, two Lady Byngs, one Conn Smythe and four Stanley Cups. – Duhatschek

15: Milt Schmidt
Pretty much came down to Schmidt and Bert Olmstead, who won five Stanley Cups for Montreal and was a daunting physical presence on a series of ultra-skilled Canadiens teams. Schmidt won two Stanley Cups for Boston, was a first-team All-Star three times, won a scoring title in 1940, and then 11 years later won his first and only Hart Trophy. – Duhatschek

16: Marcel Dionne
A bare-knuckled brawl right to the end, and not because Bobby Clarke slashed the rest of the competition across the ankles. You have the Pocket Rocket, Henri Richard, with the most Stanley Cup wins in history. You have Brett Hull, No. 4 all-time in goals. In the end, Dionne won out narrowly: No. 6 all-time in points, No. 5 all-time in goals and No. 10 all-time in assists. Too many good options, frankly. – Dillman

17: Jari Kurri
Kurri was Finland’s first NHL superstar. He was an essential piece on five Oilers Stanley Cup-winning teams. Kurri led the league with 68 goals in 1985-86 and is one of only 20 players to score at least 600 of them in his career. Kurri sits at 601. – Nugent-Bowman

18: Serge Savard
This came down to Savard vs. Savard, Denis or Serge? The case for Denis: 1,388 career points in 1,196 games, plus better than a point a game playoff producer (175 in 169). The stat line isn’t as gaudy for Serge, but it’s hard to argue with seven Stanley Cups and the 1969 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Strong, skilled, the lynchpin of Montreal’s Big Three (with Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson). – Duhatschek

19: Steve Yzerman
The margins differentiating Yzerman and Joe Sakic are so razor-thin that deciding who’s best is probably a matter of opinion. Both players won a Hart Trophy and were named league MVP once by their peers. Where Yzerman has the edge is in Stanley Cups (3-2), goals (692-625) and points (1,755-1,641) – albeit in more games (1,514-1,378). – Nugent-Bowman

20: Luc Robitaille
Robitaille’s main competition comes from a curious source – fellow Hall of Famer Ed Belfour, who happens to be, you know, a goalie. Belfour has 484 career NHL wins (fourth all-time), but Robitaille was the dominant left wing of his generation and is 12th all-time in goals (668). – Dillman

21: Stan Mikita
A close vote among Mikita, Peter Forsberg and Borje Salming, which made it a particularly difficult apples-to-oranges comparison. Mikita was the first player in history to win the Art Ross, Hart and Lady Byng trophies, and he did it two years in a row (1967, 1968). He was a six-time first-team All-Star at center, won the 1961 Stanley Cup with Chicago and received the Lester Patrick Trophy for contributions to U.S. hockey in 1976. – Duhatschek

22: Mike Bossy
Little debate here. Bossy was the second player after The Rocket to score 50 goals in 50 games. He held the rookie goal-scoring record for 25 years before Teemu Selanne came along, In a career short-circuited by back issues, he scored 50 goals in a single season nine times and 60 goals in a single season five times. – Eric Duhatschek

23: Bob Gainey
When the Frank J. Selke Award was born, honoring the best defensive forward in the NHL, Gainey won it the first four seasons it existed, 1977-78 through 1980-81. He also won four Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and later a fifth, lifting the Cup following his final NHL game in 1986. – Rick Carpiniello


24: Chris Chelios
Many believe Chelios is the greatest U.S. born player in history, a three-time Norris Trophy winner who qualified for the NHL playoffs a record 24 times and holds the record for most career playoff games (266). That gives Chelios the edge over other worthy names such as Doug Wilson and Bernie Federko. – Dillman

25: Joe Nieuwendyk
Nieuwendyk got the nod over Jacques Lemaire in a discussion that focused on their respective contrasting styles. Lemaire was the defensive conscience of a line that often featured Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt. Nieuwendyk was a puck-tipping, drive-to-the-net dynamo that scored 51 goals in each of his first two seasons and is one of only 10 players to win the Stanley Cup with three different teams (Calgary, Dallas and New Jersey). – Duhatschek

26: Peter Stastny
Some very good 26s (like Mats Naslund and Patrik Elias) but only one great one. Stastny, the 1981 Calder Trophy winner, was second only to Wayne Gretzky in points scored (986) in the decade spanning 1979-80 to 1988-89. – Duhatschek

27: Scott Niedermayer
A lot of good options here, from Darryl Sittler to Frank Mahovlich, but ultimately Niedermayer got the nod because his smooth-skating style translated to playoff success in both New Jersey and Anaheim. – Dillman

28: Steve Larmer
Claude Giroux has been a postseason all-star and Hart finalist, but the voters went with Larmer’s larger body of work in a split decision. – McIndoe

29: Ken Dryden
This wasn’t really considered a top-tier goalie’s number until Dryden popularized it in the ’70s, and a generation of netminders followed his lead. Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl are working to reclaim it for forwards, but for now Dryden owns its legacy. – McIndoe

30: Martin Brodeur
The winningest goalie in NHL history (691 in regular season), Brodeur also holds the league records for shutouts (125), games played (1,266) and, yes, losses (397) in a 22-year career – 21 of which were spent in New Jersey. Arguably the best goalie ever, Brodeur is a Hall of Famer, the best puck-handler (an NHL record three goals scored) and the father of the trapezoid with three Stanley Cups and four Vezina Trophies. – Carpiniello

31: Grant Fuhr
Known for making the big save at the right time, Fuhr served as the last line of defense for the high-flying 1980s Oilers. He won the 1987-88 Vezina Trophy, appearing in 75 games. That paled in comparison to his NHL-record 79 games with the 1995-96 Blues. Billy Smith, back stopper of the 1980s Islanders dynasty, was a close second here. – Nugent-Bowman

32: Dale Hunter
A battle between Dale Hunter and Claude Lemieux? Don’t turn your back on this number. – McIndoe

33: Patrick Roy
The iconic No. 33 that hangs in the rafters at the Bell Center in Montreal came to Roy, the winningest goaltender of all time, because his preferred No. 30 was already in use with the Canadiens. C’est la vie. No. 33 turned out to be pretty fortuitous for Roy, the Canadiens and the Avalanche with whom he won two Stanley Cups. – Scott Burnside


34: Miikka Kiprusoff
John Vanbiesbrouck also wore No. 34, but Kiprusoff ultimately got the nod, retiring as the Flames’ all-time leader in wins (305), shutouts (41) and minutes played (33,779). Many nights he made a bad Flames team look pretty good. – Eric Duhatschek

35: Tony Esposito
Upon being claimed off waivers from Montreal, Esposito – a right-handed catcher – became the first NHL goalie to wear No. 35, and spent the next 15 seasons building a Hall of Fame resume for the Blackhawks, winning 423 games (418 with Chicago), a Calder Trophy and three Vezina Trophies. He is 10th all-time in wins. – Carpiniello


36: John Gibson
Gibson has saved 77 goals above expected over the past five years, 26 more than the next best goalie. He’s had a legitimate claim as one of the league’s best goalies and his elite level of play at his peak is unmatched by any other player to wear No. 36. – Luszczyszyn

37: Patrice Bergeron
The Corsi King himself, Bergeron’s two-way dominance brought legitimacy to the growing analytics movement that showcased his elite play-driving ability. His four Selke Trophies are tied for most all-time with Bob Gainey, and he’s been nominated in eight consecutive years – an NHL record. – Luszczyszyn

38: Pavol Demitra
Bittersweet to pen this note about the late Slovak hero who died along with 43 other people aboard the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team charter in 2011. We’ll remember his star turn at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, Demitra’s third Olympics, where he was named to the all-tournament team. – Burnside


39: Dominik Hasek
Hasek started his career wearing No. 31 and No. 34 in Chicago before claiming his iconic number in Buffalo. Only two other Hall of Famers have worn it – Clark Gillies at the end of his career and Doug Gilmour near the beginning – so this was an easy call. – McIndoe

40: Henrik Zetterberg
Alex Tanguay was a solid second choice for No. 40, but he couldn’t match Zetterberg’s impressive resume during the Red Wings’ remarkable 21st-century playoff run. Most notable: The 2008 Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in a year when he led the postseason in goals and points. – Dillman

41: Jason Allison
This turns out to be another battleground between forwards and goalies. Jocelyn Thibault and Jaroslav Halak both got votes, and Mike Smith and Craig Anderson at least have a case. But Allison holds them all off in a close ballot. – McIndoe

42: David Backes
Did you know that the longtime St. Louis Blues captain had his number retired by his former high school, Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota? And that he wore No. 5 there? Nope? That’s OK because he’ll always be No. 42 for us. – Burnside

43: Martin Biron
Having the unenviable task of replacing the traded Dominik Hasek as Buffalo’s No. 1 goalie, Biron spent half of his 16-year career with the Sabres. Biron made his NHL debut in an emergency – after three goalies were injured – at the age of 18, the fourth-youngest goalie to play an NHL game at that time. Biron also briefly wore No. 00, only the second player to do so. – Carpiniello

44: Chris Pronger
Only seven defensemen have won the Hart Trophy – Herb Gardiner, Eddie Shore, Ebbie Goodfellow, Tom Anderson, Babe Pratt, Bobby Orr and Pronger. There was a 28-year gap between Orr’s third and final MVP in 1972 and Pronger’s win in 2000. No blueliner has claimed the award since. Pronger led three different teams to the Stanley Cup final, winning once. – Nugent-Bowman

45: Sami Vatanen
Brendan Morrow was a close runner-up as the heart and soul of the very good Dallas teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s, but Vatanen ended up as the choice, someone who can anchor a power play, kill a penalty and provide reliable 5-on-5 minutes. – Dillman


46: David Krejci
The right-handed center and two-time Olympian was a key piece for the Bruins when they ended a 39-year Stanley Cup drought in 2011. Krejci led the NHL in goals (12), points (23) and game-winners (4) during the playoff run, and again led all playoff scorers in 2013. – Carpiniello

47: Torey Krug
Since 2013-14 when Krug played his first full season, the Bruins have the league’s best power play at 22.4 percent. Credit Krug for a lot of that as he’s arguably one of the league’s best quarterbacks and is seventh in points among defensemen since he came into the league. – Luszczyszyn


48: Daniel Briere
The clutch playoff performer ended up wearing No. 48 after coming to Buffalo and discovering his first two choices, Nos. 14 and 8, were unavailable. Luckily he didn’t go for No. 148. – Burnside

49: Brian Savage
Savage earned the dubious moniker of Mr. October for his propensity to light the lamp in the NHL’s first month and then cooling off. Savage scored 44 times in 87 games (better than every second outing) before the calendar flipped to November. He had 192 total goals in 674 career contests (only slightly greater than one in four). – Nugent-Bowman

50: Corey Crawford
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks, Crawford has a 2.28 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 87 career playoff games. Crawford has won 30 or more games six times and won the Jennings Trophy twice. Crawford had an eight-game winning streak as a rookie. – Carpiniello

51: Brian Campbell
Campbell won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2012, the first defenseman since Red Kelly in 1954 to earn the honor. Still, his hit on R.J. Umberger in the 2006 playoffs remains one of the most devastating hits we’ve ever seen. – Burnside

52: Adam Foote
One of the great stay-at-home defensemen of his generation, Foote not only won two Stanley Cups with the Avs in 1996 and 2001, he won an Olympic gold medal in 2002 and a World Cup of Hockey in 2004. He was also the last active NHL player from the Quebec Nordiques. – Burnside

53: Jeff Skinner
Caught fire right out of the gate as an 18-year-old, firing off a 31-goal, 63-point season to win the Calder Trophy in 2011. Since then he’s been one of the league’s premier scorers, lighting the lamp 40 times last season, but he’s been unable to surpass the 63 pointsheearnedthat year,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                atching it twice. – Luszczyszyn

54: Adam McQuaid
Only 56 players have worn this number. Some used it as a placeholder before moving on to more desired digits. Others, callups, never got that chance. McQuaid not only kept the number, he stuck with it for his entire 512-game career with the Bruins, Rangers and Blue Jackets. – Nugent-Bowman                                                                      

55: Larry Murphy
This has evolved into a defenseman’s number, and Murphy takes a close vote over Sergei Gonchar even though Murphy wore No. 55 for only the second half of his career. – McIndoe

56: Sergei Zubov
It’s a legendary number if you’re an NFL linebacker. If you’re a hockey player, not so much, as Zubov takes this one in a walk. – McIndoe


57: David Perron
Tyler Myers was the only other real candidate here, but Perron, after winning the Cup last year in St. Louis and helping Vegas get to the final the year before, got the nod. – Dillman

58: Kris Letang
The standout Pittsburgh defender and three-time Stanley Cup champion wore No. 58 in junior and kept it all the way through his NHL career. Good chance it ends up hanging from the rafters in Pittsburgh when his playing days are done. – Burnside

59: Roman Josi
The Nashville captain and Norris Trophy hopeful wore No. 90 before coming to North America – it’s his birth year – but was handed No. 59 when he came across and it suits him just fine. – Burnside

60: Jose Theodore
The former Hart Trophy winner wanted a number that was different and also because all the good goalie numbers in Montreal were retired or about to be retired. Mission accomplished as Theodore stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best in Montreal’s history. – Burnside

61: Rick Nash
As near as we can figure, the longtime Columbus captain who had to retire too early due to concussion issues wanted No. 16 in junior. It wasn’t available so they reversed the order. He likely deserves to see his No. 61 hanging high in Columbus one day. – Burnside


62: Carl Hagelin
Tight between Hagelin, the legendary speedster and key contributor on the Penguins 2016 championship team (16 points in 24 playoff games), and Paul Stastny, who before switching to No. 26 with Vegas wore No. 62. Hagelin’s longevity tipped the scales. – Dillman

63: Brad Marchand
Marchand explained that when he got to Boston he preferred No. 17 but wasn’t going to pry that away from Milan Lucic, so he got No. 63 and it stuck. “Any number in the NHL is a good number, so it worked out,” Marchand explained to The Athletic’s Joe MacDonald. – Burnside

64: Mikael Granlund
Not much competition at such an obscure number, but Granlund still gets bonus points for making it onto a Finnish stamp for his excellent lacrosse goal in a semifinal win against Russia at the 2011 world championships. – Luszczyszyn


65: Erik Karlsson
Until Karlsson came along, Mark Napier would have been the choice here. But Karlsson won two Norris Trophies and made four All-Star teams in his Ottawa Senators days and, in 2016, had the distinction of leading the league in assists (66), even though he played defense. – Dillman


66: Mario Lemieux
I feel like we forget how ballsy it was for Lemieux to pick this number as a teenager and basically stake his claim as the next Wayne Gretzky, even as Gretzky was rewriting the record book. Lemieux called his shot right out of the gate. Then he lived up to it – and maybe more. – McIndoe

67: Max Pacioretty
Rickard Rakell of the Ducks may eventually figure in this discussion, but for now, it’s Pacioretty by a landslide – five times a 30-plus goal scorer with Montreal and in the midst of a renaissance bounce-back season in Vegas. – Dillman


68: Jaromir Jagr
One of the greatest players of all time chose No. 68 in honor of his grandfather, who died in prison for opposing communist rule and in honor of the Prague Spring of 1968 when Soviet forces stormed into Czechoslovakia. – Burnside
69: Andrew DesjardinsOnly two players have ever worn the number and Desjardins earns it for playing more than Mel Angelstad’s two games. Desjardins played 93 games for the Sharks before switching over to the less nice No. 10. – Luszczyszyn

70: Braden Holtby
A Vezina Trophy winner, William Jennings Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champion, Holtby is the greatest goalie in franchise history. But perhaps a better question given Holtby’s uncertain status as a potential unrestricted free agent is what logo will be on the front of his No. 70 next season? – Burnside

71: Evgeni Malkin
This had traditionally been the number for guys who wanted No. 17 but found it was already taken. That was reportedly the case for Malkin, who wanted to honor Valeri Kharlamov and wound up making No. 71 his own. – McIndoe

72: Sergei Bobrovsky
Bobrovsky has had a season to forget in 2019-20, but before that he was arguably one of the league’s best goalies for much of the past decade, culminating in two Vezina Trophy wins. – Luszczyszyn

73: Michael Ryder
We’ll always remember Boston coach Claude Julien referring to Ryder, one of the few Newfoundland natives in the NHL, by his dressing room nickname “Easy” during the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup run. Ryder hated that nickname, but he has a Stanley Cup ring and near-immortality as the best of the best when it comes to wearing jersey No. 73. – Burnside

74: John Carlson
With apologies to Jay McKee and Jaccob Slavin, not a tough call on this rarely seen number. But here’s a fun fact you may not know: One Hall of Famer has worn this number, Paul Coffey, for all of 18 games in Boston. – McIndoe

75: Hal Gill
Aside from a stint as a rookie, Gill donned No. 75 for only the last five seasons of his 1,108-game career. He wore the number with the Canadiens, Predators and briefly with the Flyers after spending 11 years in Boston, Toronto and Pittsburgh – where he won a Stanley Cup in 2009. Vegas winger Ryan Reaves was also considered. – Nugent-Bowman

76: PK Subban
An unsurprising unanimous choice as Subban has made No. 76 his own. He was at the peak of his powers in 2012-13, when he won his first and only Norris Trophy, scoring 38 points in 42 games. One of the game’s brightest on the ice during the past decade and arguably the best personality off it. – Luszczyszyn


77: Ray Bourque
At different times, both Phil Esposito and Paul Coffey also wore No. 77, but the number is primarily associated with Bourque (who also wore No. 7 at one time). Bourque holds the NHL record for career goals, assists and points by a defenseman, and made the NHL’s first team an incredible 13 times. Oh, and there were also the five Norris Trophies, a Calder Trophy to begin his career in 1980 and a Stanley Cup to end it in 2001. – Dillman

78: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Only fourteen players have ever worn No. 78 since the 1950-51 season, according to Hockey Reference, none for more than four seasons. In our voting, Bellemare edged out the unproductive Ottawa years of Pavol Demitra. – McIndoe

79: Andrei Markov
The defenseman, a sixth-round pick, played 990 NHL games in 16 seasons, all with the Canadiens, for whom he was a long-time alternate captain. He scored 119 goals and 572 points in the NHL. – Carpiniello

80: Nik Antropov
Antropov had plenty of talent, always flashing the capability to be a big, dominant center, but could never stay fully healthy to realize his full potential. – Luszczyszyn

81: Marian Hossa
Hossa was clearly a better all-around player than his main competition, Phil Kessel. But remember, Hossa wore No. 81 only in Detroit and Chicago, so it’s at least a little bit tougher call than you might think. Or not, because Hossa swept our voting. – McIndoe

82: Martin Straka
The speedy center scored 257 goals and 717 points in 954 NHL games, twice scoring 30 or more goals, and putting up career highs of 68 assists and 95 points backing up Mario Lemieux, who had returned to the Penguins in 2000-01. Straka also won gold at the 1998 Olympics and the 2005 world championships. – Carpiniello


83: Ales Hemsky
Edmonton made the playoffs just once in Hemsky’s 11 seasons there. He made the most of it. Hemsky had 17 points as the Oilers reached Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final. He scored six times that spring; two goals came in the third period of Game 6 to knock the mighty Red Wings out in the opening round. – Nugent-Bowman

84: Mikhail Grabovski
The only player to wear No. 84 for more than four seasons, Grabovski made a name for himself playing in the league’s biggest market, peaking with a couple of 50-plus-point seasons with the Maple Leafs before injuries derailed his career. – Luszczyszyn

85: Petr Klima
Klima is best known for his winning goal in Game 1 of 1990 Stanley Cup final. The Oilers forward scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give the Oilers a 3-2 victory, ending the longest game in Cup final history. Klima’s marker helped the Oilers secure their fifth title in seven years – and the franchise’s last. – Nugent-Bowman


86: Nikita Kucherov
He was introduced to the hockey world as one of Tampa Bay’s “Triplets” but has since soared higher than either of his linemates. Before the pause, he was on pace for his third straight 100-point season after hitting 128 last season to win the Hart Trophy. Only McDavid has more points over the last few seasons. – Luszczyszyn

87: Sidney Crosby
No debate. No controversy. No one comes close. Future Hall of Famer, three-time Stanley Cup champion and may well go down in history as one of the top five to ever play in the NHL. – Duhatschek

88: Eric Lindros
Trivia: Joe Sakic also wore No. 88 briefly, but he dropped it quickly, leaving really only Lindros as a legitimate contender here. The Big E was the most dominant physical player in the game soon after he made his NHL debut in 1992. And even though injuries limited him to 760 games, he still averaged more than a point a game in both his regular-season and playoff careers. – Dillman


89: Alexander Mogilny
The skilled Russian was selected 89th overall in the 1988 draft and began his superlative NHL career in 1989, hence his number. One of the driest wits we’ve come across, his merits as a Hall of Famer continue to be hotly debated in some circles. – Burnside


90: Ryan O’Reilly
O’Reilly was actually born in 1991. But wearing No. 91 would mean facing off with names like Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Vladimir Tarasenko and Sergei Fedorov, while No. 90 just means beating out Joe Juneau. Good call, Ryan. – McIndoe

91: Sergei Fedorov
No doubt in my mind that if Scotty Bowman had used him full time on the blue line, Fedorov would have won the Norris Trophy. He was that good. Flamboyant, enigmatic, one of the best of all time regardless of where he lined up. – Burnside

92: Rick Tocchet
There was lots of debate here. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and 2018 playoff scoring leader Evgeni Kuznetsov received votes, as did longtime setup man Michael Nylander. It was Tocchet, one the NHL’s most revered power forwards, who edged ahead. Tocchet wore the number for just six of 18 seasons but had 440 goals and 952 points in 1,144 career games. – Nugent-Bowman

93: Doug Gilmour
Gilmour wore No. 9 for the 1987-88 Blues and No. 39 after getting traded to Calgary because Lanny McDonald had a prior claim to No. 9. He then switched to No. 93 in Toronto where he turned a bad team into a much better one. – Duhatschek

94: Ryan Smyth
Smyth was the face of the Oilers between the post-Cup years and the Connor McDavid era. He’s second on the franchise’s games-played list behind only Kevin Lowe. Smyth carved out an impressive career, recording 386 goals and 842 points in 1,270 games with the Oilers, Islanders, Avalanche and Kings. – Nugent-Bowman

95: Matt Duchene
Duchene is in the midst of a very solid NHL career, which makes him an easy choice here. – Duhatschek

96: Tomas Holmstrom
Holmstrom, a four-time Stanley Cup winner, once told the story about how he picked No. 96. It was the year he’d come to North America from Sweden and, coach Scotty Bowman warned him, it’d be the year he’d head home unless he played better. – Burnside

97: Connor McDavid
McDavid won the Hart Trophy once, and the Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross Trophy each twice before he turned 22. He finished first, first, second and second in the scoring race over the last four seasons (including 2019-20). McDavid is one of the greatest offensive talents the NHL has ever seen – and he’s only just getting started. – Nugent-Bowman

98: Mikhail Sergachev
Born in 1998, wears No. 98. Pretty simple for the skilled young Tampa defender. His trade to the Lightning in 2017 ranks as one of the most lopsided in recent memory and one that may haunt the Canadiens for years. – Burnside


Wayne Gretzky wore No. 99 for four NHL franchises. Getty Images99: Wayne GretzkyPoor Wilf Paiement never gets the credit he deserves. The Great One’s number was retired league-wide in 2000, after he retired from the NHL in 1999.