Who wore number 2 in NHL?

Hockey is a numbers game, and what No. 1 is to goaltenders, No. 2 is to defensemen – finding a forward who wears it is difficult, if not impossible. Practically the only time people will see a player wearing No. 2 up front is when a coach decides to give one of his defensemen a turn on the wing.

Of all numbers that don’t belong strictly to goaltenders, there are more Hall of Fame members who wore No. 2 than any other number. That’s largely because it’s traditionally a number that’s been given to one of a team’s best defensemen – if not the best one.

Like No. 1, the number of Hall of Fame entrants wearing No. 2 has declined somewhat because it’s not in universal circulation. Six teams, including three of the Original Six clubs, have retired it, and the cachet of wearing No. 2 isn’t what it was in previous generations.

Here are the players who make the case for No. 2 as the greatest of all time.

Jim Agnew

Jim Agnew is a Canadian retired professional hockey defenceman.

A stay-at-home, physical defender, Agnew was also an excellent fighter. He was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the eighth round (157th overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. After a stellar career in the Western Hockey League with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Portland Winter Hawks, Agnew turned pro and signed with the Canucks in 1986.

Chris Ahrens

Christopher Alfred Ahrens is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League for the Minnesota North Stars, and four games in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers.

Ahrens was born in San Bernardino, California, and grew up in Freeport, New York.

Jamie Allison

James E. Allison is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman. He played for the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League.

Mike Amodeo

Michael Anthony Amodeo is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 300 games in the World Hockey Association and 19 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Ottawa Nationals, Toronto Toros, and Winnipeg Jets. As a youth, he played in the 1965 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Scarboro Lions minor ice hockey team. Also he finished his career in Europe playing in Sweden and Italy.

John Baby

John George Baby is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played two seasons in the National Hockey League for the Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars between 1977 and 1979.

Baby was born in Sudbury, Ontario.

Keith Ballard

Keith Galen Ballard is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who previously played in the National Hockey League with the Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild. He played college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for three seasons. After his freshman year, he was selected 11th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Before he made his NHL debut, he was traded twice – initially to the Colorado Avalanche, then to the Phoenix Coyotes. He played his professional rookie season in 2004–05 with the Coyotes’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies, then debuted with Phoenix the following season. After three years, he was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he spent two seasons before being dealt to Vancouver at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Internationally, Ballard has represented the United States in four World Championships, winning bronze in 2004. He has also played in two junior tournaments – the 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships and 2002 World Junior Championships.

Ballard is a two-way defenseman, capable of contributing both offensively and defensively. Known for his hard hitting, specifically with hip checks, he led his club in hits during his first five years in the NHL. He is also proficient in shot-blocking. Offensively, Ballard is noted as a quick and smooth skater, making him able to start plays from the defensive zone. At the 2012 Canucks SuperSkills Competition, he won the fastest skater segment by circling the rink in 13.440 seconds. He has a reputation as a player with intensity and a competitive edge.

Andrew Bodnarchuk

Andrew Scott Bodnarchuk is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman known for playing with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Bodnarchuk was born in Drumheller, Alberta, but grew up in Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.

Leo Boivin

Leo Joseph Boivin was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars from 1952 to 1970.

Josef Boumedienne

Josef Sami Boumedienne is a Swedish former professional hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals. He is also known as the Director of European scouting for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Charlie Bourgeois

Charles Marc “Boo-Boo” Bourgeois is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played 290 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and Hartford Whalers.

In the early 1980s, Bourgeois played for the Université de Moncton hockey team. He helped lead the team to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship in his final year of university. That year, he was named all-Canadian as one of the two best university defencemen in Canada.

Bourgeois led the Moncton Hawks to the Calder Cup finals, as a coach during the 1993–94 AHL season. He also coached the Universite de Moncton hockey team for several years, and guided the team to the Atlantic university championship. He also played two years of professional hockey in Europe.

Bourgeois is known for operating a summer hockey school in Moncton, and he became president of Atlantic Hockey Group, which works with over 10,000 youth and adult hockey players each year. Dedicated to helping kids improve their hockey skills, Bourgeois has conducted special hockey camps for children from Asia.

Brian Leetch

Brian Joseph Leetch is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 18 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins. He is generally considered one of the top defensemen in NHL history, being particularly noted for his skating, offense, and playmaking abilities. He and fellow Rangers teammate Mike Richter were inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008. Leetch was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto the following year (his first year of eligibility). In 2017 Leetch was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Leetch accumulated many individual honors during his 18-year career. He was a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman (1992, 1997) and was the first American-born winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP for his performance during the Rangers’ run to the 1994 Stanley Cup championship. Leetch is one of the few NHL defensemen to score 100 points in a season with his 102-point campaign in 1991–92. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year in 1989 with 23 goals scored that season. Leetch’s number 2 was retired by the Rangers on January 24, 2008. During the ceremony, longtime teammate Mark Messier referred to Leetch as the single “Greatest Ranger of All Time”.

Eddie Shore

Edward William Shore was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, iconic for his toughness and defensive skill. In 2017 Shore was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Shore won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player four times. After the league began naming NHL All-Star Teams at the end of Shore’s fifth season, Shore was honoured as a First Team All-Star in seven of his last nine seasons, while being named a Second Team All-Star one of the other seasons; in the remaining season he missed over half the schedule due to injury. A bruiser known for his violence, Shore set a then-NHL record for 165 penalty minutes in his second season.

Duncan Keith

Duncan Keith is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman known for playing with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Keith previously played sixteen seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning three Stanley Cup championships (in 2010, 2013 and 2015). In 2017, Keith was named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history.

Following his freshman year at Michigan State University, Keith was selected in the second round, 54th overall, by Chicago in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. After splitting the next year between Michigan State and the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he spent two seasons with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL). In 2005–06, he played his NHL rookie season with the Blackhawks. Four years later, he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman. He won a second Norris in 2014 and received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs by a unanimous vote.

Keith is known as a two-way defenceman, capable in both shutdown and offensive roles. He is a gold medalist in international competition, having appeared with Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Doug Harvey

Douglas Norman Harvey was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman and coach who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1947 until 1964, and from 1966 until 1969. Best known for playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Harvey also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, as well as several teams in the minor leagues. He also served as the player-coach of the Rangers for one season, and served a similar role for the minor-league Kansas City Blues.

Born and raised in Montreal, Harvey played junior hockey for local teams. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, and while he spent the bulk of his time with the naval hockey team, he did see active service defending merchant shipping. A standout athlete, Harvey also played Canadian football and baseball at this time, though he gave up on both sports to concentrate on hockey. Signed by the Canadiens he made the team in 1947, though initially he was criticized for his style of play. After a few years Harvey began to demonstrate his abilities, and became regarded as one of the top defenders in the NHL. Regarded as a team leader he was voted captain of the team in 1960, however he clashed with Canadiens management due to personal differences, which combined with his age led to him being traded to New York in 1961.

Harvey spent two years with the Rangers before the team felt he was no longer effective, and assigned him to their minor-league affiliate, and released him in 1963. Harvey would spend the next five years in the minor leagues, briefly playing for Detroit, before he joined the Blues during the 1968 playoffs. He spent one final year in the NHL with the Blues before retiring in 1969. Following his playing career Harvey served in coaching and scouting roles for a few years, but a serious alcohol problem developed during the latter stages of his career kept him from serving in any capacity for long. He reconciled with the Canadiens a few years before his death, having his #2 sweater retired, and served as a part-time scout for the team.

With the Canadiens, Harvey won the Stanley Cup six times and played in the Stanley Cup Finals five more times. Individually he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenceman seven times, and was named to the end of season NHL All-Star Team eleven times (ten times as a First All-Star, once as a Second All-Star). Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in NHL history, Harvey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017.

Prior to the start of Harvey’s career, it was normal for defencemen to pass the puck off to forwards or dump it into the offensive zone; the goal was to quickly move it out of the defensive zone and limit chances for the opponent to set up plays. Harvey was not interested in this system, and preferred to keep control of the puck as long as he could. In this way Harvey felt he could control the tempo of the play, and felt that by quickly dumping the puck it only turned over possession to the opponent. He would then pass the puck to a teammate who would quickly enter the offensive zone and set up scoring chances that way. This style of play was unusual at the time and Harvey was perceived as being a lazy player by both Canadiens’ fans and his coaches. That Harvey, who was roughly 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 190 pounds (86 kg) during his playing career, had a stocky look did not help this perception. However once it became apparent what he was doing he earned recognition for his ability.

Harvey’s ability to set up offense helped the Canadiens create one of the strongest offensive teams in NHL history. Though he did not score many goals during his career, Harvey helped others score, and recorded several seasons with high assist totals. With this Harvey led NHL defencemen in assists five times and scoring three times during his career. Indeed, the Canadiens of the late 1950s were so strong on the power play that they repeatedly could score multiple goals on one power play. Other teams began to resent this, and so at the end of the 1955–56 season the NHL adopted a rule that ended a power play after one goal was scored.

Al MacInnis

Allan MacInnis is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 23 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames (1981-1994) and St. Louis Blues (1994-2004). A first round selection of the Flames in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft, he went on to become a 12-time All-Star. He was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 1989 after leading the Flames to the Stanley Cup championship. He was voted the winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1999 as the top defenceman in the league while a member of the Blues. In 2017 MacInnis was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

MacInnis was most famous for having the hardest shot in the league. He tied Bobby Orr’s Ontario Hockey League (OHL) record for goals by a defenceman, and won two OHL championships and a Memorial Cup with the Kitchener Rangers as a junior. He famously split goaltender Mike Liut’s mask with a shot, and became only the fourth defenceman in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. Internationally, he was an all-star on defence as Canada won the 1991 Canada Cup and twice participated in the Winter Olympics. He was a member of the 2002 team that won Canada’s first gold medal in 50 years.

An eye injury suffered early in the 2003–04 NHL season forced MacInnis into retirement. He finished his career as one of the highest all-time defencemen in goals, assists and points and was named to seven post-season all-star teams. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007, and his jersey number 2 was retired by the Blues and is honoured by the Flames. MacInnis decided to remain a member of the Blues organization, serving as the team’s Senior Advisor to the General Manager. When the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, he got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for a second time.

MacInnis was best known for the power and accuracy of his slapshot. The Flames selected him in the 1981 Draft on the strength of his shot alone; his skating ability was so poor when he arrived for his first training camp in Calgary he earned the nickname “Chopper”. While some reporters expected he would be a bust as a result, MacInnis said the patience the Flames showed him in his early days as a professional allowed him to develop into a more complete defenceman.

The power of his shot grew into legend on January 17, 1984, in a game against St. Louis. In his first full season with the Flames, MacInnis took a slapshot from just outside the Blues’ defensive zone that struck goaltender Mike Liut on the mask. The shot split Liut’s helmet while the puck fell into the net for a goal. The power of his shot, and the fear it inspired in his opposition, led to MacInnis’ success as an offensive-defenceman, especially as a threat on the power play.

MacInnis resisted the transition to carbon-fiber sticks in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The new stick technology offering better flexing characteristics and increased shot speed, but MacInnis preferred the feel of traditional wooden sticks. He continued to win “Hardest Shot” events at All-Star Game skills competitions despite competing with the technologically inferior wooden sticks. He won the event a total of seven times between 1991 and 2003. He occasionally topped 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), including his win in the 2000 All-Star Game.

Used primarily as a power play specialist in his first years as a professional, MacInnis worked at improving his overall game such that he was named a Norris Trophy finalist three consecutive seasons between 1989 and 1991, and was the runner-up to Ray Bourque in 1991. He finally won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman in 1999 with the Blues. Former teammate Doug Gilmour praised MacInnis’ passing ability. MacInnis’s play developed to the point where he was as valued for his defensive ability on the penalty kill as he was for his offence on the power play.

Mark Howe

Mark Steven Howe is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is also known as the director of pro scouting for the Detroit Red Wings.

Howe is the son of Gordie and Colleen Howe, younger brother of Marty Howe, and nephew of Vic Howe. Despite the enormous shadow cast by his father and splitting time between two leagues, Howe shone as one of the best two-way NHL defensemen of the 1980s, being a three-time runner-up for the Norris Trophy and making the Stanley Cup finals three times as a player. He is also known as a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011. The Howe family received the Wayne Gretzky International Award in 2000, for major contributions to the growth and advancement of hockey in the United States.

Jacques Laperriere

Joseph Jacques Hughes Laperrière is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Laperrière played for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1962 until 1974, winning six Stanley Cups on his way to induction in the Hall of Fame. As a coach, he was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning staffs. He is the father of NHL hockey player Daniel Laperrière and of major junior hockey coach Martin Laperrière.