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Hockey Number 9s

The Greatest NHL Skaters to Wear Number 9
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Hall of Fame and Retired Number 9s

Our mission to preserve the history of pro hockey through the sweater uniform numbers players wear is to objectively come up with a list of the greatest players at each number based on their career performance. This look is based on facts and statistics gathered as of 1/1/2022.

Let us start our journey on identifying the greatest number 9s in NHL/WHL history by looking at the players that wore the number that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

  • Maurice Richard
  • Ted Kennedy
  • Gordie Howe
  • Ace Bailey
  • Andy Bathgate
  • John Bucyk
  • Norm Ullman
  • Bobby Hull
  • Darryl Sittler
  • Lanny McDonald
  • Roy Conacher
  • Denis Savard
  • Clark Gillies
  • Dick Duff
  • Ron Francis
  • Glenn Anderson
  • Igor Larionov
  • Brett Hull
  • Doug Gilmour
  • Pavel Bure
  • Mike Modano
  • Paul Kariya

Our next bit of recognition is of the players who have had the number retired by clubs that they played for along with the date of the number being officially retired. For the number 9 they are:

  • Glenn Anderson    Edmonton Oilers    January 18, 2009
  • Andy Bathgate    New York Rangers    February 22, 2009
  • Johnny Bucyk    Boston Bruins    March 13, 1980
  • Charlie Conacher    Toronto Maple Leafs    October 15, 2016
  • Clark Gillies    New York Islanders    December 7, 1996
  • Adam Graves    New York Rangers    February 3, 2009
  • Gordie Howe    Detroit Red Wings    March 12, 1972
  • Bobby Hull    Chicago Blackhawks    December 18, 1983
  • Paul Kariya    Anaheim Ducks    October 21, 2018
  • Ted Kennedy    Toronto Maple Leafs    October 15, 2016
  • Mikko Koivu    Minnesota Wild    March 13, 2022
  • Lanny McDonald    Calgary Flames    March 17, 1990
  • Mike Modano    Dallas Stars    March 8, 2014
  • Maurice Richard    Montreal Canadiens    October 6, 1960

Johnny Bucyk

Born May 12, 1935, in Edmonton, Alberta, was Hockey Hall of Fame Left Wing Johnny Bucyk. This legend played in the NHL for 23 seasons with both the Detroit Red Wings for a couple of seasons and the majority of his pro hockey tenure as a Boston Bruin. Bucyk was a two-time Lady Byng Award winner, was on two Bruins Stanley Cup Champion teams, was a two-time NHL All-Star, and was one of the top 100 players in the NHL 100 celebration.

Lanny McDonald

Born February 16, 1953, in Hanna, Alberta, was Hockey Hall of Fame Right Wing Lanny McDonald. This legend was a key player on the Calgary Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup championship team. He was a two-time All-Star and a four-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner. Before becoming a Calgary skater, McDonald was on the roster of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche.

Greatest Sweater Number 9s in NHL WHL History

I am not going to lie, hockey is a tough sport to identify who the top players in history are. The modern statistics using Fenway and Corsi percentages are great but they only apply to players since 2008. The challenge is how do you group players from all positions on the ice throughout NHL and WHL history all together to find the best at a certain number? I am not sure there is any one way to do so correctly but here is our stab at it for this number using stats like; goals, assists, points, plus/minus, saves and bonus points for years wearing the sweater number and Hall of Fame. We also had to give Defensive line players a little boost based on their plus/minus stats. It is not perfect but here is our statistical call on the top 15 greatest NHL/WHL players wearing the number 9.

  1. Gordie Howe
  2. Ron Francis
  3. Mike Modano
  4. Doug Gilmour
  5. Bobby Hull
  6. John Bucyk
  7. Denis Savard
  8. Brett Hull
  9. Norm Ullman
  10. Darryl Sittler
  11. Lanny McDonald
  12. Paul Kariya
  13. Maurice Richard
  14. Clark Gillies
  15. Bernie Nicholls

Stats and Figures of the Top 25

Here is a look at our stats, years played with the uniform number and calculations on the top 25 number 9 pro hockey players:

Credits

Special thanks to the banner photo above from an unknown photographer and contributor to the public domain of Wikimedia Commons. The Pic is of USHL Omaha Knights Hockey Club of the 1945-46 season with Gordie Howe 2nd from left in the back row.

Of course we also could not have done the above stat research without the assistance of Hockey-Reference.com and Stathead.com resources.

We would love to get your feedback! Please send what you are thinking to PigskinDispatch@gmail.com

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