The NBA, NFL, and MLB let players wear No. 0. Should the NHL?

Few things in professional sports carry as much grandeur as an iconic jersey number.

In National Hockey League circles, No. 99 is immediately recognizable as belonging to one legendary player. The same goes for 66 and 87.

On the flip side, 9, 19, and 91 are seemingly just as prestigious because they’ve had so many incredible players wear them. And with more and more numbers being retired around the NHL, players are increasingly having to turn to different digits to stand out from the crowd.

This all begs the question: How about No. 0? It’s a common choice of NBA All-Stars, including Russell Westbrook, Damian Lillard, and Jayson Tatum. MLB players wear it regularly.

Even its variant number, No. 00, is commonly worn in both the NBA and MLB. And just this week, the NFL changed its rules to allow players to wear No. 0 — with Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley announcing shortly thereafter that he would switch to the number.

The NHL formerly allowed players to wear both No. 0 and 00, but nobody has worn either since Marty Biron suited up for the Buffalo Sabres in 1995–96 with the double-zero on his back. The league subsequently outlawed the practice the following season.

But if players in other leagues can wear 0, why can’t NHL stars? Mike McKenna and Frank Seravalli discussed the topic on Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: After watching the NFL change their tune earlier this week, what would you think about the NHL allowing players to wear the No. 0 on jerseys?

Mike McKenna: I’d love it. I mean, it’s a number! Who cares? I see it in racing all the time. I go to the local dirt track, you’ve got No. 007 out there or 01 or 05. You know what, I think it’d be cool. I know the reason [they outlawed it] is it confused the NHL’s digital database years ago in ’96–97, after Marty Biron was the last guy to wear it. I dunno, I wouldn’t mind it a bit. It has history in the league before. What do you think?

Seravalli: Yeah, there must be a way to do it now with the technology to ensure that doesn’t happen. I’m all for the 00. I think the singular 0 is weird, but the 00, why not?

McKenna: Yeah, John Davidson wore it the whole ’77–78 season. And then Phil Esposito told him to change it.

You can watch the full episode here …