The Penguins’ new jersey numbers are in, and the early leaderboard has a little bit of everything: a few clean fits, a couple of eyebrow-raisers, and at least one number that still feels like it belongs to somebody else.
Andrei Kuzmenko lands at No. 10, a choice that comes with some baggage in Pittsburgh. He had worn No. 96 for all four of his previous NHL teams, but he’ll change it up this season.
The number has history here, and not the kind that fades easily. No player has worn a higher jersey number in Pittsburgh than 87 since 2005, with Tomas Vokoun’s No. 92 standing out as the exception after he inverted his usual No. 29 because Marc-Andre Fleury already had it.
Kuzmenko could have kept 96, which would have made him the highest-numbered Penguin ever, topping Aleksey Morozov’s 95. Instead, he’s taking 10, a number still tied to Ron Francis even though it has been almost 30 years.
It’s not retired, and it has been worn by others, but it still carries that old weight.
Nick Robertson checks in at No. 14 after wearing 89 with Toronto. That keeps him below Crosby’s number, whether that was part of the thinking or not.
Four other players - Tanner Pearson, Stefan Noesen, Mark Jankowski and Boko Imama - have worn 14 since Chris Kunitz, so the number has had enough recent traffic to feel settled again. It’s a plain, sturdy hockey number, and it belongs in the mix.
Hendrix Lapierre gives the Penguins a strong double number at 22, and that works especially well for a small, fast forward. He moves on from 29, the number he wore in Washington, and joins former Penguins Randy Robitaille, Chris Thorburn and Matt Murley in the double-deuce club.
That’s a solid choice, especially with 29 carrying its own strange status in Pittsburgh. Fleury’s number is not officially retired, but nobody has worn it since he left in 2017, and it increasingly looks like a number that may be off-limits until the team decides whether to honor him with a banner and an official retirement.
Kaeden Korczak stays with No. 6, the same number he wore in Vegas. There’s a simple appeal to a big defenseman in a single digit, and this season only Korczak and Sergei Murshov, who is at No. 1, could have single-digit numbers for the Penguins depending on what happens with Rutger McGroarty and Ilya Solovyov. On a roster where high numbers often happen by choice, a single digit stands out.
David Gustafsson takes No. 13, a number with a strange little Penguins history. Craig Patrick was so superstitious that no Penguin was issued 13 from 1988-2008, which lined up with his years as GM from 1990-2005.
Seven players have worn it since then, including Bill Guerin, Nick Bonino, Brandon Tanev and Kevin Hayes last year. Sidney Crosby has won a Stanley Cup with teammates wearing 13, so maybe the superstition works better the other way.
Tomas Galvas is at No. 32, a sneaky good defenseman number in Penguins history. It’s been worn by a handful of those “remember a guy” types, including Peter Taglianetti, John Slaney, Alain Nasreddine, Mark Streit and Dick Tarnstrom, the last player other than Crosby or Malkin to lead the Penguins in scoring for a season. Galvas probably won’t be around in Pittsburgh this season anyway, but the number is set for the future.
The one that sits at the top here is 57 for James van Riemsdyk. With a long name like van Riemsdyk, a boring single digit would not have done him any favors, and the consistency is part of the appeal.
Nothing can top Shawn Heins wearing 57 back in the day, but this one comes close. It’s also worth noting that Jake Livanavage wore 57 for his lone NHL game next season, and if he returns this year, he’ll need a new number that has not been announced yet.
Carlile also had to make a change after wearing No. 67 with Tampa, since Rickard Rakell already has the 6-7 joke covered in Pittsburgh. He went with Patric Hornqvist’s old number, which still doesn’t quite feel right.
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