No, the number 00 (double zero) is not allowed in the NHL or most major hockey leagues, though it was worn by goalies like John Davidson and Martin Biron in the past; it's generally disallowed due to database issues and difficulty for officials, with numbers restricted to 1-98, while lower-level or beer leagues might allow it.
The National Hockey League no longer permits 0 nor 00 for jersey numbers, as they cannot be entered into the NHL's database, and the available numbers only go up to 98 since the League retired the number 99 in honour of Wayne Gretzky.
An extreme example of this happened in 1931 when the New York Americans were protecting a 3-2 lead at Boston Garden and iced the puck 50 times, enraging the Gahden faithful. When the two teams met later in New York, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a 0-0 tie.
00 - John Davidson - Goaltender, New York Rangers 1977-1978: 10 PIM. Davidson wore the number for one "rogue" campaign in 1977-78. During the season, he tallied 10 PIM. Only one other player ever wore 00, that being goaltender Martin Biron of the Buffalo Sabres in 1995-96.
0 and 00 aren't allowed anymore because when the NHL digitized its stats for a database they couldn't input it so they removed it.
No, number 69 is not officially banned in the NHL, but it's unofficially discouraged due to its sexual connotations, leading to only two players ever wearing it (Mel Angelstad and Andrew Desjardins) before they changed numbers, with GMs often steering players away from it as an unspoken rule. While no formal ban exists like for Wayne Gretzky's 99, teams and the league prefer players avoid the number to prevent jokes and distractions, making it effectively unavailable for most.
Following the NFL number standardization of 1973, numbers 0 and 00 were no longer eligible to be issued by teams. Prior to the 1973 standardization, some players had made occasional use of both 0 and 00.
Wayne Gretzky's number 99 was retired league-wide in 2000; Gretzky's former teams the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings also separately retired his number. As of December 2025, only the Utah Mammoth and the Winnipeg Jets have no retired numbers.
In 2023, NFL owners approved a rule allowing the use of the number 0 by all non-lineman positions. Number 00 is no longer allowed, but it was issued in the NFL before the number standardization in 1973. Jim Otto wore number "00" during most of his career with the Oakland Raiders.
99 is only been worn by five NHL players ever. The number was officially retired after the 2000 season. in honor of the Great One, Wayne Gretzky.
The "Gretzky Rule" refers to an NHL rule change in 1985 that prevented teams from playing 4-on-4 during coincidental minor penalties, keeping them at full strength instead, because Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers were so dominant at 4-on-4 due to the extra open ice. The rule, implemented to curb the Oilers' advantage, was officially for "competitive integrity" but acknowledged Gretzky's unique ability to exploit open ice, though it was eventually repealed in 1992.
St George Illawarra 8 def Parramatta 1 – 2006, Round 13
It took 69 minutes for the scorers to be troubled when Parramatta's John Morris broke the 0-0 deadlock with a field goal before Dragons halfback Ben Hornby replied with two field goals of his own.
"Biron rule" restricted jersey numbers to whole numbers between 1 and 99 (later limited to numbers between 1 and 98 after the league-wide retirement of number 99 for Wayne Gretzky). Biron was the only NHL player affected, as only he wore "00" at the time. How about abolishing the #99 thing?
Every two-digit number has been worn during a regular-season MLB game, with number 89 the last to be used—it was first worn during 2020, by Miguel Yajure of the Yankees. In 2024, every jersey number between 00 and 99 (aside from Jackie Robinson's retired 42) was used during the season for the first time.
NHL Rule 9.5.
Rule 9.5 governs all protective equipment, including pants. Players are not permitted to tuck their jersey into their pants in such a manner where the top padding of the pant and/or additional body protection (affixed to the pant or affixed to the player's body) is exposed outside the jersey.
Only four players have worn #00: Steve Bagarus, Ken Burrough, Johnny Clement, and Jim Otto.
To do this, the quarterback yells a special code, like "Blue 42" or "Texas 29", which tells the offense to switch to a specific play or formation. Quarterbacks can also "spike" (throw the football at the ground) to stop the official game clock.
3, 2011, and played seven seasons in the League, including winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 (wearing No. 11). Fun fact:Desjardins and forward Melvin Angelstad (two games with the Washington Capitals in 2003-04) are the only players in NHL history to wear No. 69.
The NHL banned jersey numbers 0 and 00 starting in the 1996-97 season because they caused conflicts and confusion with the league's digital database and player tracking systems, essentially being read as a "null" value; this technical issue prevented proper data entry and management for those numbers, making them unusable despite history with players like Neil Sheehy (No. 0) and Martin Biron (No. 00) before the rule change.
It was with the Greyhounds that Gretzky first wore the number 99 on his jersey. He originally wanted to wear number 9—for his hockey hero Gordie Howe—but it was already being worn by teammate Brian Gualazzi. At coach Muzz MacPherson's suggestion, Gretzky settled on 99.
All players must wear numerals on their jerseys in accordance with Rule 5, Section 3, Article 3c (see NOTE 1), and such numerals must be by playing position as follows: quarterbacks, punters, and placekickers, 1-19 (and 10-19 for wide receivers if 80-89 are all otherwise assigned); running backs and defensive backs, 20 ...
Entering 2023, only 41 players had ever worn either 0 or 00. The most famous 0, Hall of Fame center Jim Otto, wore 00 during his illustrious career with the Raiders. Given how unique his career has been, it's fitting that Mariota will become the first quarterback to wear 0.
Otto wore the jersey number 50 in his rookie season, but the suggestion of equipment manager Frank Hinek led to the idea of Otto wearing 00 (0 was being worn in the NFL by Johnny Olszewski) "for recognition", which Otto eventually went with, as did AFL Commissioner Joe Foss.