Friday 6 September 2013

NHL Numbers - 60-69

60 - Jose Theodore - Theodore never has matched the career season he had in 2001-02, when he won the Vezina and Hart trophies by going 30-24-10 with a 2.11 goals-against average and .931 save percentage for Montreal. He turns 34 this month and has 245 career wins, but is looking for a job despite going 30-7-7 for Washington last season.
Runner-up: Vladimir Sobotka

61 - Rick Nash - The Columbus Blue Jackets made Nash the first pick in the 2002 Entry Draft, and he's by far the greatest player in the franchise's short history. By age 25, he already had scored 227 goals and 422 points, had a pair of 40-goal seasons and owned virtually every Jackets offensive record. He also owns a gold medal after playing for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February.
Runner-up: Cory Stillman Maxim Afinogenov

62 - Paul Stastny - The son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny wore his dad's number reversed as a rookie in 2006-07, and made his father proud with 28 goals and 78 points in 82 games for Colorado, which had retired Peter's number in honor of his days when the franchise was based in Quebec. He switched to No. 26 in his second season and has worn it ever since.
Runner-up: Olli Jokinen Andrei Nazarov

63 - Mike Ribeiro -
Ribeiro blossomed when he was sent to Dallas by Montreal in 2006 and switched from No. 71 to No. 63. He's averaged more than 21 goals and 68 points in his four seasons with the Stars, and had 17 points in 18 playoff games in 2008.
Runner-up: Josef Vasicek

64 - Jamie McGinn - This number hasn't gotten a lot of use in NHL history. McGinn, who's played for San Jose in each of the last two seasons, has 14 goals, the most by any player who's ever worn No. 64.

65 - Mark Napier - Napier, a two-time 40-goal scorer while wearing No. 31 with Montreal, took No. 65 in Edmonton in 1987 and kept it when he was sent to Buffalo, his fourth NHL stop. He finished his career with 235 goals in 767 NHL games.
Runner-up: Erik Karlsson
66 - Mario Lemieux - Four players have worn No. 66, but the number is identified solely with Lemieux, perhaps the most physically talented player ever to take the ice in the NHL. He scored on his first shot as a rookie in 1984, went on to win six scoring titles and three MVP awards, led Pittsburgh to the first two Stanley Cups in franchise history despite numerous injuries, survived a bout with Hodgkin's disease, then came back to become the third player ever to skate in an NHL game after being named to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He's now an owner of Penguins and watched the team he's spent his entire career with win a third Cup in 2009.
67 - Michael Frolik - Of the 11 players who have worn No. 67, the best has been Frolik, Florida's first-round pick (No. 10) in the 2006 Entry Draft. The Czech native made the Panthers as a 20-year-old and has put up back-to-back 21-goal seasons despite averaging just 16:10 in ice time in 161 games.
Runner-up: Gilbert Brule

68 - Jaromir Jagr -
The Penguins' consolation prize for missing the 1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs on the final day of the season turned out to be Jagr, who stepped right in that fall and played a key supporting role on the Penguins' first Stanley Cup team. He went on to win five scoring titles, the Hart Trophy as MVP in 1998-99, make the First All-Star Team seven times and leave the NHL with 646 goals and 1,599 points in 1,273 games. He's the highest-scoring European-born player in League history.
Runner-up: Zigmund Palffy

69 - Melvin Angelstad - Angelstad, a career minor-leaguer, was 32 when the Washington Capitals called him up for two games in 2003-04. He's the only NHL player to wear this number.
 

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