Who wore number 5 in NHL?

The fortunate players who get to choose their own number often choose a lucky number, stick with the one they’ve always worn or wear a number in honor of a family member. Some players though, choose a number that’s cute or a deep and meaningful number.

Mark Giordano

Mark Giordano is a Canadian professional ice hockey player known as a defenceman and captain of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played with the Calgary Flames for fifteen seasons, where he was the team captain for his final eight seasons. An undrafted player, Giordano signed with the Flames as a free agent in 2004 after playing two seasons of major junior hockey with Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Praised for his leadership, offensive, and defensive skills, Giordano is one of the NHL’s top defencemen and was named to play his first NHL All-Star Game in 2015. The Flames have also honoured him for his charitable contributions; he was named recipient of the J. R. “Bud” McCaig Award in 2012. Internationally, Giordano played with Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Championship and was a member of the 2007 Spengler Cup winning team. In 2019, he was awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman, while having a career-best performance at the age of 35.

Nicklas Lidstrom

Erik Nicklas Lidström is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, which he captained for the final six seasons of his career. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest defencemen in NHL history.

Over his 20 NHL seasons, Lidström won four Stanley Cup championships, seven James Norris Memorial Trophies (awarded to the NHL’s top defenceman), one Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, and was voted into 12 NHL All-Star Games. The Red Wings never missed the playoffs during his career, one the longest in league history for a player never missing the playoffs. Lidström was the first European-born-and-trained captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team, as well as the first European player named playoff MVP. Lidström is also one of the leaders in games played with a single NHL team by a European-born player. Lidström was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on 9 November 2015. In 2017, Lidström was named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history.

Denis Potvin

Denis Charles Potvin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman and team captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is a four-time Stanley Cup winner as a member of the early 1980s New York Islanders. He is also a three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991 and served as a commentator for Ottawa Senators’ television broadcasts on Sportsnet. He is the former color commentator for the Florida Panthers. In 2017, he was named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history.

Guy Lapointe

Guy Gerard Lapointe is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He is also known as Coordinator of Amateur Scouting with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

Tommy Albelin

Tommy Albelin is a Swedish former ice hockey defenceman who is also known an assistant coach for Switzerland’s national team. He competed in the men’s tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Bryan Allen

Bryan Nigel Allen is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Mark Alt

Mark Alt is an American professional ice hockey defenseman known for playing with the San Jose Barracuda in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Aki Berg

Aki-Petteri Arvid Berg is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted third overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played both for the Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs over nine seasons and has represented Team Finland twice at the Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, a silver medal at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey in which Finland lost in the finals to host Canada, and a silver medal at the 2006 Torino Olympics.

Brad Berry

Bradley L. Berry is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 241 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota North Stars, and Dallas Stars. He is also known as the head coach for the University of North Dakota of the NCAA Division I NCHC.

Peter Andersson

Anders Bengt Peter Andersson is a retired professional Swedish ice hockey defenceman and former head coach of Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) from 2020 to 2021. In his National Hockey League career, he played for the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers. In Europe, he represented Färjestads BK, Düsseldorf EG and IF Malmö Redhawks.

Upon retiring in 2005, Andersson was named general manager of the Redhawks. He stayed as GM for three years before becoming an assistant coach and also head of scouting department for the team. From 2009 to 2013, he was the head coach of Örebro HK. From 2013 to 2016, he served as an assistant coach of Swiss club, HC Lugano of the National League A before returning to his native Sweden in accepting the head coaching role again with the Malmö Redhawks.

Andersson’s son, Calle, was selected 119th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, and his other son Rasmus was selected 53rd by the Calgary Flames in the 2015 NHL draft.

For his achievements during the 2012–2013 ice hockey season, he was awarded Swedish Coach of the Year.

Dit Clapper

Aubrey Victor “Dit” Clapper was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Clapper played his entire professional career for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947, the first Honoured Member to be living at the time of his induction.

Clapper was the first NHL player to play 20 seasons, and the first to be an All-Star at both forward and defence. The right wing on the powerful “Dynamite Line” — one of the first forward combinations to receive a nickname in hockey history — along with linemates Cooney Weiland and Dutch Gainor, he contributed to the breaking of several scoring records in the 1930s. Towards the end of his career, he was named player-coach of the Bruins, and held the coaching position after his retirement as a player.

Bernie Geoffrion

Joseph Bernard André Geoffrion, nicknamed “Boom Boom”, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Generally considered one of the innovators of the slapshot, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16-year career with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. In 2017 Geoffrion was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Rod Langway

Rodney Cory Langway is a Taiwanese-born American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL) and Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Langway also spent time with teams in the American Hockey League (AHL) and East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) as a player-coach after his NHL career ended. A two-time winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman in the NHL, Langway was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.