By: Nick Lanciani
The exploration of an important element of the game continues. I take a look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future. While there’s only a finite set of numbers to utilize on the back of a jersey, many teams choose to retire (or honor) some numbers based on extraordinary circumstances, dedication to the organization, or legendary status.
Many thoughts went through my head in each and every consideration. Feel free to agree or disagree- I want to know what you, the fans, consider worthy when evaluating a player, their career, and whether or not their number should be retired by a franchise. I am interested in seeing what you have to say, assuming you are actually a fan of the team and/or player that you argue for or against. Drop us a line in the comments or tweet to @DtFrozenRiver using #DTFRNumbersGame.
For each team, I thought of former and current players that should have their numbers retired now or once they hang up the skates.
Edmonton Oilers
Current Retired Numbers- 3 Al Hamilton, 7 Paul Coffey, 9 Glenn Anderson, 11 Mark Messier, 17 Jari Kurri, 31 Grant Fuhr, 99 Wayne Gretzky, 3542 Rod Phillips
Recommended Numbers to Retire
94 Ryan Smyth
Smyth absolutely adored Edmonton and Edmonton fans absolutely adored Smyth, it’s only logical that the Oilers retire his jersey. *Disclaimer, they may already be doing so, please don’t hurt me if they are. I’m just putting him under this category as his number is technically not retired yet.
As for anyone else… Lolololololololololololol. Although I guess maybe Chris Pronger’s number 44 is just about the only other jersey number that comes to mind right now. Maybe that’s just because he shut me down too many times in NHL 2001. Then again, it looks like we might have to start taking the Oilers seriously again for the first time in years.
With that said, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Connor McDavid are at least three more current Oilers with decent chances of seeing long careers in Edmonton that result in seeing their numbers rise to the rafters. Nail Yakupov on the other hand…
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