Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is retired throughout the NHL not only because he is considered the greatest player in League history, but because the number and his name are synonymous. Though there is no debate over who the best player to wear that number is, there are 98 other numbers with more than one worthy candidate.
No, you cannot wear the number 99 in the NHL. The league officially retired the number on behalf of Wayne Gretzky in 2000. Although, five other players have wore the number 99 in the history of the NHL. Gretzky was the most famous player to wear the number 99, but it has been worn by 5 other players.
99 – The Great One
Unless you are the Great One, this number is completely off limits to any hockey player anywhere in the known universe. It is retired in the NHL, and pretty much around any hockey leagues in North America, and quite likely in the whole world.
Since the 1950-51 season, only three players are in the number 99 club, Gretzky, Rick Dudley and Wilf Paiement. Mel Angelstad and Andrew Desjardins are the only players since 1950 to wear Rob Gronkowski's favourite number.
Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is retired throughout the NHL not only because he is considered the greatest player in League history, but because the number and his name are synonymous. Though there is no debate over who the best player to wear that number is, there are 98 other numbers with more than one worthy candidate.
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.
No. 0. What's even rarer than the double-zero is the single zero in the NHL. Only one man has worn this number, and most likely you've never heard of him.
Neil Sheehy wore the number 0 when he played with the Hartford Whalers for the 1987-88 season, and to this day he is the only skater to ever wear the number. He wasn't much of a goal scorer, as he only tallied 5 points in 26 games and had a minus-3 rating, but he was very effective with his enforcer skills.
It's a number they know they couldn't live up to. No player has worn number 66 full-time since Vancouver's Gino Odjick in 1991. The last time a player took the NHL ice in number 66 was last season when Calgary's T.J. Brodie played a total of three games in it until he switched to number 7.
0 or 00 (both of which have been used in the past but play havoc with the NHL's player stats database) Any number higher than 99 (because three-digit numbers are considered hard to read, Decimals (e.g. 9.5) or fractions (e.g. 4 1/2).
Still, Lemieux had not forgotten why he chose to wear the '66' as a nod to Gretzky's '99'. “I had the mindset of becoming the best in the world,” Lemieux recalls. “Looking at Gretzky, the way he was racking up points, I had a long way to go.” The chase was officially on, but playing in Pittsburgh had been frustrating.
Numbers in the thirties were seen as "safe" for goaltenders, since most numbers below thirty were already spoken for by forwards and defensemen (remember that "high numbers" were essentially-unheard of at this time).
The NHL no longer permits the use of 0 or 00 as the League's database cannot list players with such numbers, and in 2000 the League retired the number 99 for all member teams in honor of Wayne Gretzky.
The NHL formerly allowed players to wear both No. 0 and 00, but nobody has worn either since Marty Biron suited up for the Buffalo Sabres in 1995–96 with the double-zero on his back. The league subsequently outlawed the practice the following season. But if players in other leagues can wear 0, why can't NHL stars?
Before player introductions, Tod Leiweke noted that the Kraken -- the NHL's 32nd active franchise -- proved viable when they drew 32,000 depositors for tickets. With all that in mind, the Kraken retired the number 32 before participating in that first-ever home game.
It is what people know and in 98 years of NHL there are many players who have made their number go down in history. #1 is a number typically reserved for goalies and the following is a list of the Top 5 goalies in history to ever wear the number #1.
Wayne Gretzky, who took No. 99 as a kid because he couldn't get the No. 9 worn by his idol, Gordie Howe, brought it into the NHL; it became so identified with him that the NHL has retired it throughout the League. Other players also became identified with their numbers -- for example, Mario Lemieux with No.
19, 25, 36, 41, 45, 50, 70, 72, 74 and 88 are all worn by at least one player at each position. Of course, 66, 69 and 99 are not worn by anybody.
Earlier in his career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Desjardins won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015. He is also notable for being one of only two players in NHL history to have worn the number 69, with the other being Mel Angelstad.
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.
The first-choice goalkeeper is usually assigned the number 1 shirt as they are the first player in a line-up. The second-choice goalkeeper wears, on many occasions, shirt number 12 which is the first shirt of the second line up, or number 13.
The NBA does not allow the number 69 to be worn by players as it carries a sexual connotation and could offend some fans. Despite Dennis Rodman seeking permission to use it when he joined the Mavericks in 1997, the league declined and he had to settle for wearing #70 instead.
98 is the rarest number in NHL history. Only three players have worn it – Brian Lawton, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Mikhail Sergachev.
The NHL requires players to wear certain equipment (e.g., helmets, jerseys, gloves) but does not require a mouthguard. If you play hockey, you should know that there is no requirement for mouthguards and that it would affect your ability to receive workman's compensation if you were hurt during a game.