On defense, Jeremy Lauzon will wear No. 55 after previously wearing No. 79 in his two NHL seasons. Acciari was the final Boston player to wear No. 55, wearing it from 2015 until 2019. The number was retired in his honor on October 27, 2019.
Lauzon and Acciari were both drafted by the Bruins in the second round of the 2009 NHL Draft. They played together for three years at University of Maine before turning pro. In 2010-11, they led all rookie defensemen with 21 points each. Lauzon also had four goals while Acciari had three assists.
In 2011-12, they again led all rookie defenseman with 22 points each. This time, Lauzon had five goals and Acciari had four goals as well.
As regulars on the Bruins' blue line, they established themselves as one of the top defensive pairs in the NHL. They helped lead the Bruins to the 2012 Stanley Cup Championship.
After their success together at the college level, many believed that Lauzon and Acciari would be a great combination at the professional level. However, during the 2013-14 season, they were both injured and missed significant time.
Backes wore No. 42 throughout his NHL career until being acquired by the Anaheim Ducks in a trade with the Bruins on Feb. 21, 2020. Backes chose No. 21 over his former number, which is presently held by defender Josh Manson.
Tomas Kopecky has now worn the number for the previous four seasons. Guillaume Latendresse wore this number for the first time in 2007. Since then, two more players have worn it: Corey Locke of the New York Rangers and Mikhail Grabovski of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Though there is no doubt about who the finest player to wear that number is, there are 98 other numbers with more than one deserving contender. That is where the "NHL's Who Wore It Best?" contest comes in.
That season, six Bruins wore No. 27, including Nick Beverley, Ron Buchanan, J.P. Parise, Derek Sanderson, and Barry Wilkins. Before Orr, the previous player to wear No. 4 was Albert Langlois, who wore the renowned number for 65 games during the 1965-66 season. From 1951 through 1962, Bob Armstrong wore it the longest.
David Pastrnak, the outstanding forward, is wearing the number 88 sweater. Pastrnak, 24, is the only player in franchise history to have worn that number. Even though Pastrnak is still young, there is no denying that the Czech sensation is one of the league's finest scorers.
The night he traded No. 7 for No. 77 in honor of Phil Esposito is remembered as one of the most famous moments in Bruins history. In a team that has produced some of the best defensemen in NHL history, Bourque is second only to the greatest player of all time.
A total of 13 numbers have never been worn by a Bruins player. These are the following numbers: 66, 69, 78, 84, 85, 87, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, and 99. The first nine numbers in this list correspond to players who have spent their entire career with the team while the last four numbers have always been assigned since the inception of the franchise in 1924.
The most common number worn by the Bruins is 4, which has been worn by seven different players. It was originally worn by Hall of Famer Eddie Shore in the early 1950s. Since then, it has been passed down through the lines of several great players including Terry O'Reilly, Phil Esposito, Cam Neely, and Mark Messier. Today, it is usually given to young players that show potential but do not necessarily deserve it (such as Jordan Caron).
In addition to these common numbers, the Bruins have three other single-number deals. Number 15 has been worn twice by the team: by Bobby Bauer in 1970-71 and by Kevin Stevens in 1991-92. Number 24 has been worn once by the team: by Paul Gaustad in 1980-81.
Marcus Smart, a reigning First Team All-Defensive pick and member of Team USA's seventh-place finish in this summer's FIBA World Cup, has worn No. 36 for all five seasons in Boston. He picked the number because his late brother was No. 3 and he was drafted sixth in 2014, or "three for the history, six for the pick," as he put it.
Smart, an offensive force who can handle the ball and make plays off the dribble, was a key part of Team USA's defense during the World Cup. The team allowed only 56.3 points per game while he was on the court, best among all players who appeared in at least one tournament game.
He originally wore number 21 when he entered the NBA but had it retired by the Celtics in honor of Bill Russell, so he chose to wear number 36 instead. Smart is the second player from the University of Oklahoma who has worn No. 36 for the Celtics; Paul George also wore that number while with Boston.
As far as we know, no one else will be wearing number 36 this season. But if another Celtic were to get injured, maybe they would let someone else try out the number first before giving it away. For now, however, it is still available and being used by someone important to the franchise.
No. 66 isn't retired league-wide like No. 99 is for Wayne Gretzky. Two players have worn it since Lemieux retired from the NHL in 2006: Ho-Sang and Calgary Flames defenseman TJ Brodie in 2010-11.
Lemieux was honored before and after every game he played in during his final season with the Penguins. He wore "Lemieux's Number" on the back of his jersey each time out, which is why some people think it was retired by the team. But since he didn't wear it in any other games that season, that doesn't mean anything significant was meant by this.
In fact, Lemieux wanted to retire as a Penguin but was forced into retirement due to medical reasons. Since he never officially announced his retirement, some people think he must have changed his mind, but we'll probably never know for sure.
Ho-Sang is not expected to wear "Lemieux's Number" at any point this season because there are no plans to have him play for another team before being traded or bought out. If/when he is moved, however, it's possible he could be given the honor.
Brodie has no intention of wearing No. 66 either.
The equipment manager for the Boston Bruins will not be handing out a #66 jersey anytime soon. Rarely, if ever, does a player from another franchise receive that degree of respect from all of the other teams in a particular league. NBA players believe that wearing Jordan's number 23 shows their admiration. In hockey, no. (Courtesy of the Chicago Bulls)
The only people who wear #66 in professional hockey are members of the Chicago Black Hawks organization. Owner Doug Wilson bought the last remaining piece of land with space for a stadium in his city, and he has a relationship with the NHL that dates back to when he was an executive with the team during the 1970s. So, he got to pick the number for himself. He chose it because it is one more than the team had during the "Black Hawk" years when they were actually good.
There are currently two players on the Blackhawks' roster who wear #66: defensemen Dennis O'Sullivan and John Anderson. Both men played together on those famous Hawks teams of the 1970s, and both are still active in the game today. Unfortunately, neither has been able to help the team reach the playoffs since the team's comeback in 2013, but at least they can look forward to hanging up their skates with a little bit of pride.
Here is what Doug Wilson had to say about giving the number away: "We're just trying to be respectful to the guys who have worn it before us.
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