Sweater numbers are synonymous with players. Most hockey fans can instantly tell you a great player by the number they wear on their back. There are many different stories about how players became associated with the famous numbers. Many odd and interesting facts surround these numbers as well. As we count down the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, we take a look at the story behind the numbers. Today we continue with sweater number 47. Keep up to date with the series everyday until the start of the 2023-24 NHL season.
Behind the Sweater Number: 47
The First 47s
According to Hockey Reference, 140 players have donned sweater number 47 since it kept records back to the 1950-51 season. Hockey Reference lists Don Murdoch as the first player to don the digits with the Edmonton Oilers. The Cranbrook, British Columbia native wore the number in the 1979-80 season after being dealt to the New York Rangers. Murdoch would wear the number for 50 games over two seasons before moving onto the Detroit Red Wings. The former Kamloops Chief and Medicine Hat Tiger would switch back to 14 for his final NHL season.
Murdoch would be the only player to wear sweater number 47 until Pat Price did with the Rangers in the 1986-87 season for 13 games. It would be a short stint with the number as he’d go to the Minnesota North Stars and take 28 in his final NHL season. Steve Nemeth would take the Rangers 47 quickly in the 1987-88 season. Willie Huber would wear sweater number 47 in the same season with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Cameos
Like any other number, there were some players that would wear the number for a short stint. Alex Galchenyuk had the number with the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche. Conn Smythe winner Jean-Sébastien Giguère started life as a 47 before switching over to 35. Russian Viktor Kozlov started his career off with sweater number 47 with the San Jose Sharks.
Johnny Oduya took 47 for a couple of seasons with the Dallas Stars. J.T. Miller started his career with the Blueshirts as a number 47, but quickly switched over to 10. Many of these younger players get the higher numbers in the first couple of seasons until they establish themselves. Most switch numbers, but others just keep them and make a career out of that number.
Torey Krug
One of the fastest rising 47s has been defenceman Torey Krug with the St. Louis Blues. Krug started with Boston Bruins and made the All-Rookie team in the 2013-14 season. The Livonia, Mich. native was an immediate hit with the Bruins. Krug would hit double-digit goals three times with Boston, but he would move onto St. Louis in the 2020-21 season. He would cash in on a nice free agent contract with the Blues.
Krug wore 44 at Michigan State, where he was a standout with the Spartans. When he joined the Bruins, there weren’t many 40 options with the team. Krug decided to combine two Bruins legends into one number. He wore 4 for Bobby Orr and 7 for Ray Bourque. However, Krug would leave the B’s, but keep the number.
Others
There were plenty of other NHLers that had good careers with sweater number 47. Rich Pilon carried the number for most of his 631-game NHL career. Hampus Lindholm wore the number for most of his career with the Anaheim Ducks, but would take 27 when he got traded to Boston.
Stephan Lebeau was a solid depth forward that wore 47 for the Habs and the Ducks. Marc-André Bergeron played nearly 500 games with most coming as a 47. Claude Lapointe donned the digits for most of his career. Alexander Radulov has been a star in Europe and North American with that number.
The Future
There are a number of players that are making their way with the number. The future is still unknown for the number and the players are coming up through the ranks. Some may use Krug as a role model and take his number.
Main photo by: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
