Down the Frozen River

Author: Nick Lanciani

Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Minnesota Wild

By: Nick Lanciani

My look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future continues. 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.

Minnesota Wild

Current Retired Numbers- 1 Minnesota Fans

Recommended Numbers to Retire

9 Mikko Koivu

Koivu has been one of the first- if not the first- products of the Minnesota Wild’s system. The franchise itself is still young, having first appeared in the 2000-2001 season, so not many players have gone through Minnesota for their entire career, or under extraordinary circumstances, hence as things stand right now, we’ll likely only see the Wild retire a number in the next ten or fifteen years.

Zach Parise’s legend continues to grow each year in Minnesota. Will he lead them on a Cup run in the near future? (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

11 Zach Parise

Provided Parise spends the majority of his career with the Wild, there’s a good chance they’ll honor him and his legendary Minnesota family. Also, if he keeps scoring hat tricks like the one he had Thursday night, they’ll probably honor him too.

20 Ryan Suter

Likewise, it’s the same case with Suter- minus the hat tricks (see above).

Other Notes

Minnesota fans are number 1 in the State of Hockey, especially after having to live through the whole North Stars relocation to Dallas- probably hence why the number is set aside to make that connection between a committed franchise and their fans.

Otherwise, I really got nothing for you in terms of what the future could look like for the Minnesota Wild’s rafters.

October 9, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Los Angeles Kings

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and 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.

Los Angeles Kings

Current Retired Numbers- 4 Rob Blake, 16 Marcel Dionne, 18 Dave Taylor, 20 Luc Robitaille, 30 Rogie Vachon, 99 Wayne Gretzky

Recommended Numbers to Retire

32 Jonathan Quick

Quick is one of the best goaltenders in Los Angeles Kings history. Period. Also, he has two Stanley Cup championships with the Kings that also happen to be the first two Cups in the entire existence of their franchise, so yeah, Quick’s kind of a big deal in Los Angeles.

Don’t you ever wish you could be as slick as Quick?(Photo via nhlpa.com)

8 Drew Doughty

Drew Doughty is the Rob Blake of our current era for the Los Angeles Kings. It would be only fitting that when Doughty retires someday, the Kings hang up his number as well.

23 Dustin Brown

Brown’s a King for life and helped bring two Stanley Cups in three years to Los Angeles (2012 and 2014). The Kings have many current stars within their organization as a result of the strong teams they’ve put together for the last few years. With the exception of missing the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Los Angeles is still a team to be on the lookout for. Sure it might be a lot of retired numbers one day for the Kings, but it’ll be a lot of meaningful numbers for players that were intrinsically connected to significant events in franchise history.

Anze Kopitar is worthy someday, you guys. I shouldn’t have to write anything else. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

11 Anze Kopitar

Kopitar is a Kings great and he’s only turning 28 on August 24^th. At this point I’d be repeating myself to say everything that I’ve already said, so I’ll just stop writing now.

Other Notes

Who knows what numbers may eventually be retired from That 70s Line someday. Many of the Kings players are still under 30 years old, so it’s difficult to predict how well each player will perform in their career, let alone be around with Los Angeles in their career.

October 9, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Florida Panthers

By: Nick Lanciani

My look at what retired numbers around the league may look like in the future continues. 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.

Florida Panthers

Current Retired Numbers- 93 Bill Torrey

Recommended Numbers to Retire

13 Olli Jokinen

Plenty of great players have had brief stints with the Florida Panthers, believe it or not. Pavel Bure, John Vanbiesbrouck, and others were once the main attraction in Florida. Those former star players, however, never spent as much time as Jokinen did with the Panthers.

Granted, Olli Jokinen is no longer a part of the Panthers (and unlikely to ever return at this point in his career), his numerous 60+ point seasons- including three consecutive seasons of 70+ points between the 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 seasons- while in Florida have earned him some recognition once he retires. Although he began his career in Los Angeles, Jokinen really stands out as a product of development while in Florida.

Roberto Luongo certainly loves the warm weather of Florida as the occasional beachball has been spotted in his net. I’m only kidding, just wanted to make you laugh. No hard feelings, Lu. (Robert Mayer, USA TODAY Sports)

1 Roberto Luongo

By the time Roberto Luongo will begin considering retirement, he will have likely spent ten years of his career with the Panthers (split over two stints). He is the winningest goaltender in franchise history, having surpassed Vanbiesbrouck in 2006. While it’s likely the Vancouver Canucks will find a way to honor Luongo’s career after all is said and done, Luongo’s heart, soul, and greatest fans reside in Florida.

Other Notes

The Florida Panthers are still a young organization. I’m sure we’ll see them retire a number or two within the next ten years or in at least ten years- like Jonathan Huberdeau’s.

October 9, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Edmonton Oilers

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…

October 9, 2015
Down the Frozen River Podcast #11- The 2015-2016 Regular Season is Underway!

The Down the Frozen River crew talks about the first few days of the 2015-2016 regular season. Also discussed, Milan Lucic and Dustin Brown’s actions, John Tortorella, Raffi Torres, fighting in hockey, Zack Kassian, and some of the matches from week one of the 2015-2016 regular season.

Surprisingly not mentioned this week- Zach Boychuk, Pete Blackburn, DJ Bean, and Brunch. Pardon our slight audio issue, we hope to have that fixed next time. As always, thanks for listening.

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show (and we really mean it this time, because we’re going to have a new segment for your thoughts next time)! <– We said that last statement last week but this time we really, really, mean it. Please interact with us.

October 9, 2015
DTFR Looks Better Than Ever: Official Logos Unveiled

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHARLOTTE, NC (October 7, 2015)- Down the Frozen River is proud to present our brand new official logos that were so wonderfully designed by a friend of a friend, Courtney Lee- a student at NC State University!

We asked Lee a few questions about the designing process, her art and her aspirations in general.

The new Down the Frozen River wordmark that will appear on the website’s header and on related DTFR materials.

Where do you go to school and what are you majoring in?

I recently just transferred to NC State where I plan on majoring in Textile Engineering and minoring in either design or graphic communication.

What is your one of your future goals?

One of my future goals is to have a job that challenges me creatively.

What kind of art do you like to dabble in?

I like to do it all! From painting to creating a 3D model in SolidWorks- I like to think that everything I make can be thought of as art!

Where do you get your inspiration from, in regards to your art?

This may be cliche but everything around me inspires me. It’s hard to pinpoint one thing that inspires me because there are so many things.

Well, we love our new logos- thank you very much for helping us out and making our brand come to life.

Haha, thanks! 🙂

Lastly, do you have a blog or website we could hyperlink to showcase your work?

I don’t have a blog or website, but I’m starting to think that I should make one because you’re not the first to ask haha… Is it possible to give this to you later?

Yes, of course. *We’re all dying to see what other awesome things you create, Courtney, please get on that so we can help show it off!*

Down the Frozen River’s new circular logo which will appear on all DTFR social media platforms.

And now for a little bit about how these logos came into creation…

First, our founder, Nick Lanciani, jotted down a list of goals back on April 26th, including one about creating a Down the Frozen River logo or having someone create a Down the Frozen River logo.

Then, at the season ending meeting between the three members of Down the Frozen River, Lanciani pitched the idea. DTFR analyst, Colby Kephart, knew someone who knew someone that might be willing to lend her hand.

That’s where the wonderfully artistic, Courtney Lee, comes in!

Through an exchange of communication, the Down the Frozen River crew suggested their basic required elements for a logo 1) it had to include an homage to the first “unofficial” logo (the net) and 2) it could take on a life of its own anywhere from there (with artistic expression highly encouraged)!

After a few rough drafts, including darker, more maroon shades of red, the Down the Frozen River crew came to an agreement on this cardinal red set of logos.

The round logo is meant to represent a crest that would go on the front of a jersey and will be seamlessly implemented into all Down the Frozen River social media platforms. The word mark logo pays homage to the old beat-up driveway hockey net in the “unofficial” logo, while creating a lasting impression of its own and establishing a more formal heading for our website.

Thank you again to Courtney Lee for her exceptional work and helping make Down the Frozen River’s brand come to life.

About Down the Frozen River: Down the Frozen River is a hockey blog that was created in 2014, by a college student with a life long dream of writing about hockey. By October 2014, he was finally able to convince two of his friends to join the crew and since January, all three content creators have been making huge strides in bringing Down the Frozen River to life with the goal of having daily content for hockey fans around the world to enjoy. Down the Frozen River is not affiliated with the National Hockey League or any of its member clubs and is by no means perfect- we’re always working to improve and look forward to hearing your compliments, comments, or complaints. For more information or to just to send us an email in general, please contact downthefrozenriver@gmail.com.

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October 7, 2015
Down the Frozen River Podcast #10- 2015-2016 Season Preview: Central Division

The Down the Frozen River crew wraps up their 2015-2016 season previews by analyzing all of the Central Division team’s offseason moves. Connor hosts the podcast for the first time ever, we get way off topic several times towards the end, and Colby and Nick profess their love for listening to Brunch (which has nothing to do with hockey, but we mentioned it anyway).

Join the conversation, make a suggestion, or ask a question for our next podcast using #AskDownTheFrozenRiver or #DTFRPodcast on Twitter- your thoughts might make it on our show (and we really mean it this time, because we’re going to have a new segment for your thoughts next time)!

October 3, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Detroit Red Wings

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.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Retired Numbers- 1 Terry Sawchuk, 5 Niklas Lidstrom, 7 Ted Lindsay, 9 Gordie Howe, 10 Alex Delvecchio, 12 Sid Abel, 19 Steve Yzerman

Recommended Numbers to Retire

39 Dominik Hasek

If Buffalo could do it, surely Detroit could too.

96 Tomas Holmstrom

Holmstrom might be a stretch, as you really have to go above an beyond by the Red Wings standards to have your number enshrined above the ice for eternity, but Holmstrom did win four Stanley Cups with Detroit after all.

That’s something that cannot be ignored, especially when it accounts for about 36% of the Red Wings 11 total Cups in franchise history, dating back to 1926.

13 Pavel Datsyuk

If the Red Wings don’t retire Datsyuk’s number once he retires, he might make a few dekes to the rafters himself to hang a banner.

40 Henrik Zetterberg

He’s been instrumental in what it means to be a Red Wing in Detroit’s current model.

30 Chris Osgood

Three Stanley Cups with the Red Wings is certainly remarkable enough to put aside number 30 from ever being in circulation again.

When you ask even an average hockey fan who’s been watching for the last decade to name some iconic goaltenders from Detroit, they’ll respond to you with the names of Osgood and Hasek.

Other Notes

The Red Wings are going to have a lot on their plate when it comes to retiring numbers within the next decade, so I’ll give them some time before I start throwing around Gustav Nyquist’s name or Niklas Kronwall’s name (or whatever).

September 30, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Dallas Stars

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and 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.

Dallas Stars

Current Retired Numbers- 7 Neal Broten, 8 Bill Goldsworthy, 9 Mike Modano, 19 Bill Masterton

Recommended Numbers to Retire

10 Brenden Morrow

Whenever Morrow decides to hang up the skates, this would be a classy move from the Stars organization for a classy player that spent so much time with Dallas and his counterpart, Mike Modano.

14 Jamie Benn

When Benn retires, it’s likely that the Stars will retire his number as well- he’s that kind of a player for Dallas. I mean, he wasn’t the Art Ross Trophy winner for nothing last season.

91 Tyler Seguin

Seguin is sensational in Dallas and as long as he keeps out of trouble and spends the rest of his career, if not majority of his career, with the Stars, he’s a shoe in to have his number raised to the rafters in Dallas someday.

September 30, 2015
Numbers Game: Look to the Rafters- Columbus Blue Jackets

By: Nick Lanciani

I continue to explore an important element of the game and 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.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Current Retired Numbers- None

Recommended Numbers to Retire

If Ryan Johansen sticks around long enough in Columbus, his number could be fair game to become the Blue Jackets first retired number.

Otherwise, it’s unlikely they’ll set aside Sergei Fedorov’s number 91 for having spent three seasons as the star in Columbus. Most fans, and members of the Blue Jackets front office, probably wouldn’t be too keen on retiring Rick Nash’s number 61 after he retires, given the way he left.

Also, they can’t just retire Brandon Saad’s number 20, when all is said and done, because of all he did with the Chicago Blackhawks before carrying his star power over to the Blue Jackets in a trade this offseason (by that I mean, he still has to do what he did in Chicago- and more- in Columbus). Other than that, the Blue Jackets are 1) still too young and 2) haven’t had any stars worthy of retiring their number at Nationwide Arena.

September 30, 2015