Why the 2024-25 Blackhawks wear their jersey numbers

There are the retired numbers.

Those are the ones you know arent going to be given out.

For the Blackhawks , thats 1, 3, 9, 18, 21, 35 and, most recently, 81 and 7.

A few players on this seasons Blackhawks had to opt for something other than 7.

Some numbers are off limits for other reasons.

There are the historic NHL ones.

No one is wearing Wayne Gretzkys 99 anywhere in the league.

Its rare for anyone to wear Mario Lemieuxs 66, though current Blackhawks defenseman T.J.

Brodie did with the Calgary Flames for three games in the 2010-11 season and then switched to 7 for the remainder of his time there.

Advertisement Then, there are team-specific numbers that arent permitted to be worn because they will likely be retired one day or belonged to a recent fan favorite.

Duncan Keiths 2, Jonathan Toews 19, Jeremy Roenicks 27 and Patrick Kane s 88 fall into the former category.

As for the latter, Patrick Sharps 10, Corey Crawford s 60 and Andrew Shaw s 65 would be included.

When new Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev joined the team this offseason, he asked for 65, the number he had worn elsewhere, but he was asked if he wouldnt mind wearing another number.

He understood and obliged.

Heres why he and all the other Blackhawks wear their numbers this season, in their words and in ascending numerical order.

Seth Jones , 4: I had 4 when I was younger, growing up.

And then I went to Portland to play junior, an older guy had 4, so I had to go 3.

And I just kept 3 through Nashville and Columbus.

And 3 is obviously retired here (for Pierre Pilote).

I asked for 4, and they were a little hesitant to give me that (because Niklas Hjalmarsson wore it).

They got back to me probably a day later and said, The only reason well give you 4 is because youre here long term, and things like that.

I dont know what I wouldve done if I didnt get 4.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 4: Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Connor Murphy , 5: Theres a couple (of reasons).

Nick Lidstrom was always my favorite player.

And then my dad (Gord Murphy) wore No.

5.

He played 14 years in the NHL and always wore it, so I followed that.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 5: David Rundblad.

Ryan Donato , 8: I was 9.

Joshua 1:9 is my favorite Bible verse.

There werent many options when I came here.

They were low, and Im not really a high-number guy, so I picked 8.

Im fine with it.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 8: Jack Johnson Craig Smith , 15: My dad wore 15 when he played hockey back home.

It just kind of worked out.

I took 15 in juniors.

Ever since then, its always come open for me and Ive been able to take it most of the time.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 15: Joey Anderson .

Advertisement Jason Dickinson , 16: I was happy giving ( Nick Foligno No.

17).

I want him to wear something hes comfortable with, something that meant something to him.

It was a no-brainer for him; 17 meant nothing to me personally, so it was just a number.

If he has a connection to it, Im happy to oblige.

Me and Fliggy kind of look the same, (have a) similar build, weve got the similar helmet.

Hes got the Bauer version, Ive got the CCM version.

Weve both got the beard.

Sometimes I see myself on clips, Im like, Oh, Im not 17 this year.

...

(Sixteen) was the number I had the first year in Dallas.

There was a familiarity with it.

The only other number that I was considering was 11, but ( Taylor Raddysh ) had it for a couple years now.

Theres no need for me to take it from him.

He looks good in it.

Hes doing the number justice.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 16: Jujhar Khaira.

Nick Foligno, 17: My dad (Mike Foligno) wore it.

I was always wearing 16, actually, growing up my moms favorite number.

I was a mamas boy.

But then 71 was given to me in Ottawa, obviously with his time with the Leafs, and the trainers were laughing, and I was just happy to have a number, so I kept it.

Its kind of nice to be able to pay tribute to him, obviously wearing it my brother and I both.

...

Seventy-one was a lot easier (to get).

I didnt wear 17 until I went to Boston, and Taylor Hall didnt clue in that I wore 71 until halfway through the year.

Kind of ticked me off, no.

Im not too superstitious.

Its cool I get to get that number.

I appreciate Dickey (Dickinson) making the move to 16.

Its special to be able to wear it.

I think its more for my family, my kids.

They recognize the number, so its special in the household.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 17: Jason Dickinson.

Joey Anderson, 22: Obviously Smitty (Craig Smith) came in and had 15.

I like something lower, so I was like: Whats available under 30, 35, whatever? There were like two or three options.

There was no thought to 22.

It was just like, that sounds good.

Im not picky.

Especially now, Ive worn so many different numbers that I have no attachment to them.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 22: Nikita Zaitsev.

Philipp Kurashev , 23: When I was young, I always wanted No.

13.

Then the first chance we got, I was 9, 10 years old, maybe even younger, we got to choose our number.

And I told my friend because he wanted 13, like, I want 13.

I even bought him some candies or something.

He said hes not going to take it.

He got to choose first, and he took 13.

So I was one of the young guys and there were like three numbers left and 23 was one of them.

I just chose it.

Since then, I try to take it every time I have a chance to.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 23: Brandon Manning.

Alec Martinez , 25: Twenty-seven and 23 werent available.

Ive worn 23, 27.

Twenty-five was available.

Its somewhere in between.

Hopefully the birth year of my first child.

Beyond that, I dont really put much thought into all that.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 25: Jarred Tinordi.

Advertisement Petr Mrazek , 34: To be honest, when I was coming to Detroit, I was going to wear a different number.

But that was my rookie year wearing No.

34, we won the Calder Cup with it in Grand Rapids.

Since then, Ive kept it.

I had to change it in Toronto, but otherwise 34.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 34: Kurtis Gabriel.

Arvid Soderblom , 40: They just gave me 40, and I was like, thats kind of a cool goalie number.

I kind of like it and keep wearing it ever since.

Theres no meaning at all to it.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 40: Robin Lehner.

Isaak Phillips, 41: It was given to me when I first got to Rockford.

I think maybe why they gave it to me was I think I was drafted 141 overall.

They just gave it to me, and it stuck.

I dont think Ill change it.

Ive learned to embrace it.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 41: Mark McNeill.

Nolan Allan , 42: They just kind of gave it to me three years ago when I got drafted.

Ive just kind of stuck with it.

I didnt really like it at first, but its kind of grow on me.

I think the more I keep looking at it, the more I like it.

I didnt really pick it, but Im not complaining, either.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 42: Gustav Forsling .

Wyatt Kaiser , 44: I came here, they gave me 44 and I like it, so Im staying with it.

Ive been 5 growing up, but I like wearing 44.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 44: Calvin de Haan.

Tyler Bertuzzi , 59: Just training camp (as a rookie), nothing special.

Ive been 59 the whole time.

I just didnt want to change it and stuck with it.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 59: Rob Klinkhammer.

Taylor Hall , 71: I got traded to Boston, and I was kind of just looking for a new number, a fresh start.

I could have worn 91.

I could have gone with 11 or something like that.

And 71 just looked cool.

It was a number Ive never really worn, never worn a number with a 7 before, and I liked it.

Ive been used to seeing my name written up on the board as 71, so I didnt want to switch when I came here.

Last player to wear 71: Philipp Kurashev.

Advertisement Alex Vlasic , 72: I was at development camp, and I went into the equipment room, and one of the guys just said, I got some bad news, (Colin) Blackwell wants your number.

I was like, all right.

And then I had a couple weeks to kind of figure it out and look at some of the options.

...

I was looking at the options, 72 looked pretty good.

It was my first-ever number, as well, so a little connection to that.

But nothing that drew me to it, except that I like the number.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 72: Artemi Panarin .

Lukas Reichel , 73: (The Blackhawks) texted me in the summer, and theyre like, itd be good if you changed your number, and I said, yeah, no problem.

Im 22 (years old), so I didnt really know (Jeremy Roenick), but I knew he was a great player.

Thats why hes in the Hall of Fame now.

You got to respect that.

For me, 27 wasnt really my number.

Im not superstitious with numbers.

I think 73 looks cool.

I actually feel bad for Luyps (Jalen Luypen) that he didnt have a choice to choose a number, but he has 43 now.

I said, sorry, man.

Seventy-three, I had with the national team.

My dad is born in 1973, so thats why I had it in the national team.

Thats why I have it here.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 73: Brandon Pirri.

Patrick Maroon, 77: My favorite number is seven.

Fourteen was taken.

I just try to do anything with sevens.

I wore No.

77 in London.

I think its just my favorite number, seven, and I try to get a number that adds up to seven.

No (reason why I love seven), I just always chose it.

I thought it was a cool number.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 77: Kirby Dach .

T.J.

Brodie, 78 : I was No.

7 for a long time in Calgary.

Going to Toronto, obviously, its retired there, same with here.

I had to pick a new one.

I didnt really care that much.

So I picked 78 because I couldnt think of many guys who had worn it.

Its also kind of a couple of special birth dates, but thats pretty much it.

Ive never really been superstitious or stuck with one number.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 78: None.

Teuvo Teravainen , 86: Whenever I got the chance in Finland to pick my number, I was trying to pick something and just ended up picking 86.

Nobody really had that too much, I felt like, so I just ended up with that one.

Its been sticking ever since.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 86: Mike Hardman.

Andreas Athanasiou , 89: It was just my favorite number as a kid.

I always wanted to wear that number.

I used to watch some guys who wore 89.

But I just liked the number, the way it looked.

(Alexander) Mogilny played on the Leafs.

I used to watch Patrick OSullivan in the OHL.

He used to wear 89 for Mississauga (IceDogs).

I used to go watch those games.

And then Mogilny for the Leafs, I grew up watching him.

Ive worn different numbers everywhere, whatever.

I kind of like to wear a high number.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 89: None.

Ilya Mikheyev, 95: Just in Chicago, 65, its (important) and I respect everything.

When they asked me if I could change, it was no problem for me.

We just turned six up on its side and its nine.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 95: Dylan Sikura.

Advertisement Connor Bedard , 98: I just picked it when I was like 6 years old, liked it, and no one had it at the time in the NHL, so I thought that was kind of cool.

Yeah, I think when I was young, drew the higher number, and it stuck with me.

Last Blackhawks player to wear 98: None.

(Photo: Matt Blewett / Imagn Images).

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