The Chicago Blackhawks’ offseason additions are in, and so are their jersey numbers for 2026-27.
Jordan Greenway will wear No. 12, Cole Smith will take No.
22, Bowen Byram will go with No. 24, Ian Cole will wear No.
28, Roman Kantserov has chosen No. 80, and Sacha Boisvert is switching to No. 90.
Among the most interesting choices is Kantserov’s. He wore No. 8 in the KHL, but that number is currently held by Ryan Donato, so the move to No. 80 keeps a piece of that look intact. Kantserov will become just the second player in Blackhawks history to wear No. 80, joining Antoine Vermette.
Boisvert’s change is tied to Greenway’s arrival. Boisvert wore No. 12 in his brief time with the Hawks last season, but that number now goes to Greenway.
Boisvert wore No. 9 in college, but that number is retired for Bobby Hull, so No. 90 becomes his new home. He’ll join Joe Veleno, Tyler Johnson, and Scott Foster as the only Blackhawks to wear it.
Greenway and Byram came over from the Buffalo Sabres before the NHL Draft, and both are expected to matter in different ways this season. Greenway wore No. 12 in Buffalo and No. 18 in Minnesota, but No. 18 is retired for Denis Savard, leaving him with the number he’ll now use in Chicago.
Before Greenway, Alex DeBrincat was the last Blackhawks player to wear No. 12.
Byram’s choice carries some weight, too. He wore No. 4 in Colorado and Buffalo, and his father once wore No. 46 with the Blackhawks, but he settled on No. 24 instead.
That number has a long list of names attached to it in Chicago, including Bob Probert, Doug Wilson, and Martin Havlat. Byram also made clear his respect for Niklas Hjalmarsson and explained why he passed on No.
- He has already been spotted with a No. 24 helmet while skating in Chicago.
Before him, Sam Lafferty and Jaycob Megna wore No. 24.
Smith and Ian Cole rounded out the new numbers on the free-agent side. Smith will wear No. 22 after previously using No. 22 in his brief run with the Vegas Golden Knights and No. 36 in Nashville.
He signed a three-year deal and said some notable things to the media on Tuesday, arriving in Chicago with expectations to bring his experience and physical style to the lineup. Joey Anderson was the last Blackhawk to wear No.
Ian Cole, meanwhile, arrives on a one-year deal as a veteran left-handed defenseman. He’s expected to serve as a steady presence on the blue line, much like Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Murphy did one season ago.
It’s not yet clear how often he’ll play, but the paycheck is there for one season. Cole has worn No. 28 for almost his entire career, and the last Blackhawk to use it was Ian Cole.
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The move that really changes the temperature, though, is the arrival of Bowen Byram, who came over in a trade and immediately became the most meaningful addition of the group. Even with that kind of upgrade, the broader reaction around the team is easy to understand: Chicago did real work, but it still feels like the sort of summer that leaves fans wondering whether the front office had bigger swings in mind and simply found the market too expensive, too thin or too hard to sell. [Read more 🡒]