Who wore number 31 in NHL?

Choosing a jersey number sometimes has a philosophy of its own. Each NHL player has his own number logic and usually keeps this number for the rest of his career if possible.

Carey Price

Carey Price is a Canadian professional ice hockey player known as the goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is considered to be one of the best goaltenders in the world by many colleagues, fans, The Hockey News, and EA Sports; and one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the Montreal Canadiens by several media outlets.

Beginning his junior career with the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League in 2002, Price was drafted fifth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft following his second season with the Tri-City Americans. Following a further two seasons with the Americans, where he won both the Del Wilson Trophy as the top goaltender in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and CHL Goaltender of the Year in his final season of major junior in 2007.

Joining the Canadiens’ farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) just as the Calder Cup playoffs begun, Price led the Bulldogs to the Calder Cup championship, winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the tournament MVP. Price made the Canadiens roster for the 2007–08 season as the backup goaltender before ultimately becoming the starting goaltender later that season. In 2015, he won the Ted Lindsay, Jennings, Vezina, and Hart trophies, becoming the first goaltender in NHL history to win all four individual awards in the same season. In 2021, Price led the Canadiens to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 28 years, but eventually lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.

Internationally, Price has represented Canada at various tournaments at junior levels, winning silver medals at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in 2004 and the IIHF World U18 Championship in 2005. He won a gold medal at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Sweden. In 2014, Price was named to the Canadian Olympic Hockey Team and won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Price’s play also earned him the tournament’s top goaltending award, from the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) directorate. In 2016, Price went undefeated to win his first World Cup of Hockey championship.

Like many modern goaltenders, Price uses the “butterfly hybrid” technique, a mix of “stand-up” and “butterfly style” goaltending. Elements of the butterfly style, were first used by Glenn Hall in the mid 1950s. Tony Esposito used it in the late 1960s, and it was later popularized and adapted to its current hybrid form by Patrick Roy in the mid 1980s.

Using this style, Price will stay on his feet for high shots, and drop to his knees, pointing his skates outwards with his pads covering the bottom width of the net. He is also known for his quick reflexes which are considered to be some of his best attributes as a goaltender. He can read the play very well and has very good reaction time. He is noted for his calm demeanor on the ice that allows him to remain focused and rarely appears rattled or upset in the net. Price is considered by the Canadiens’ management and coaches to be one of the leaders of the team and is present during meetings with the team’s captain and alternate captains.

Billy Smith

William John Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He won four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders and was the first goalie to be credited with a goal. In 2017 Smith was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Smith was the first NHL goaltender to be credited with scoring a goal. On November 28, 1979, in a game between the Islanders and the Colorado Rockies, the Rockies’ goaltender left the ice for an extra attacker after a delayed penalty call was called on the Islanders. The puck deflected off of Smith’s chest protector into the corner. Rockies rookie Rob Ramage picked up the puck and accidentally made a blind pass from the corner boards in the opposing zone to the blue line. Nobody was there to receive the pass, and so the puck sailed all the way down the length of the ice and into the Rockies’ net. As Smith had been the last Islanders player to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal.

He was nicknamed “Battlin’ Billy” or “Hatchet Man” for his fiery temper and unabashed use of the stick or blocker on players crowding his crease; as such, forwards needed ankle guards to protect themselves.

Smith was also noted for his displays of feigned injuries that would often lead to penalties against opponents, for whom he carried an undisguised enmity. For instance, in Game Four of the 1983 Stanley Cup Finals, Smith’s dive resulted in referee Andy Van Hellemond handing a five-minute penalty to Glenn Anderson of the Edmonton Oilers. Van Hellemond said that this was “making a bit of a fool of me”, and when he officiated Game One of the 1984 Finals, a rematch of the Islanders and Oilers, he called no penalty when Smith and Anderson collided.

Smith refused to participate in the traditional handshakes between teams at the end of a playoff series.

A notable incident with Smith occurred in practice where then-teammate Mike Bossy fired a shot at Smith to which Smith objected. Smith charged after Bossy with his stick but was tackled by teammates before Smith took his frustrations out on Bossy. Bossy also noted that Smith never liked being talked to in the locker room, and keeping an intense focus before and after games and practices, but is much more laid-back off the ice.

Grant Fuhr

Grant Scott Fuhr is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League and former goaltending coach for the Arizona Coyotes, who is best remembered for a decade of stellar play for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s during which he won the Stanley Cup five times.

He was a six-time All-Star, and in 2003, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame

In 2017 Fuhr was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history. He set a number of firsts for black hockey players in the NHL, including being the first to win the Stanley Cup and being the first inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Curtis Joseph

Curtis Shayne Joseph is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed “Cujo”, Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration from the Stephen King novel Cujo.

Throughout his NHL career, Joseph played for a number of franchises, rising to prominence during the playoffs with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played for the Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames. He last played for the Maple Leafs during the 2008–09 NHL season. He was also a member of Canada’s gold medal winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Joseph retired with the most career wins (454) of any goaltender in NHL history who never played on a Stanley Cup-winning team (which has since been surpassed by Roberto Luongo), and was also the first goaltender to have 30 or more wins in a regular season for five different teams.

Pelle Lindbergh

Göran Per-Eric “Pelle” Lindbergh was a Swedish professional ice hockey goaltender who played five seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the first European-born goaltender to be drafted in the NHL Entry Draft and the first to achieve success in North America.

Lindbergh died at age 26 in a single-car accident five months after leading the Flyers to the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals and winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender.

Frederik Andersen

Frederik “Freddie” Andersen is a Danish professional ice hockey player known as the goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Andersen was a member of Denmark’s national team that competed at the 2010 IIHF World Championship. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round, 187th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Unable to come to terms with the Hurricanes, however, Andersen was later re-entered into the draft and selected in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, 87th overall, by the Ducks, with whom he spent the first few years of his NHL career.

Craig Anderson

Craig Peter Anderson is an American professional ice hockey player known as the goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played with the Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals. Internationally, Anderson has represented the United States on multiple occasions. He is the last to have been originally drafted in the 1990s.

Anderson was the recipient of the 2016–17 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to the sport of hockey.

Jared Aulin

Jared Aulin is a Canadian former professional hockey centre. He was a second round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2000 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft and played 17 NHL games for the Los Angeles Kings.

Ryan Bach

Ryan “Bacher” Bach is a former professional hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League. Bach was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 11th round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. He played college hockey at Colorado College before turning pro in 1996. He played three games in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings during the 1998-99 NHL season.

Marco Baron

Marco Joseph Baron is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers between 1980 and 1985.

As a youth, he played in the 1971 and 1972 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Ahuntsic.

He left the NHL to play in Switzerland for HC Ambri-Piotta. He relocated to Switzerland after his retirement.

Normand Baron

Joseph Jean Louis Normand Baron is a Canadian retired ice hockey player who played 27 games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues between 1984 and 1986. He was also, for a time, a professional bodybuilder.

Born in Verdun, Quebec, Baron had played junior hockey with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens in 1976–77 and then quit to pursue a career in bodybuilding. In 1983, he made a comeback, and the Canadiens signed him to a contract. He was later acquired by the St. Louis Blues, in exchange for cash, but only played in 23 games before being sent to the minors. Baron retired at season’s end.

Michel Belhumeur

Michel Raymond Joseph Belhumeur is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League.