Who wore number 72 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.

Sergei Bobrovsky

Sergei Andreyevich Bobrovsky is a Russian professional ice hockey player known as the goaltender for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he became recognized as one of the NHL’s top goaltenders. Nicknamed “Bob”, Bobrovsky is a Vezina Trophy winner, winning in the 2012–13 and 2016–17 seasons while a member of the Blue Jackets.

Mathieu Schneider

Mathieu David Schneider is an American former professional ice hockey player. Considered an offensive defenseman, Schneider played 1,289 games in the National Hockey League with ten different teams, scoring 233 goals and totaling 743 points. He won the Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Mathieu Carle

Louis Philippe Mathieu Carle is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens. Carle was selected by the Canadiens in the second round, 53rd overall, of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Prior to turning professional, Carle played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Acadie–Bathurst Titan and Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Thomas Chabot

Thomas Chabot is a Canadian professional ice hockey player known as the defenceman and alternate captain for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chabot was drafted in the first round (18th overall) by the Senators in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

In January 2017, Chabot became the first defenceman to be named the most valuable player of the World Junior Championships.

Jeff Christian

Jeffrey Christian is a Canadian-American former ice hockey forward who was drafted 23rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. He played 18 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Phoenix Coyotes and played professionally in North American and Europe for over two decades. After his playing career was completed, Christian joined the Columbus Jr. Blue Jackets as a head coach for parts of three seasons. Christian was hired by the Wheeling Nailers midway into the 2015-16 as an assistant coach and was later named Head Coach, holding the position from July 2016 to the completion of the 2017-18 season.

Shayne Corson

Shayne Paul Corson is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars. During his NHL career, Corson battled both ulcerative colitis and, as detailed in the October 22, 2001, issue of Sports Illustrated, panic attacks. He last played in the 2003–04 season. Despite some speculation to the contrary, Corson did not return to the NHL after the 2004–05 lockout and is now retired.

Justin Faulk

Justin Michael Faulk is an American professional ice hockey defenseman known for playing with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Carolina Hurricanes for the first eight years of his career. He was selected by the Hurricanes in the 2nd round (37th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Before turning professional, Faulk played for the University of Minnesota Duluth where he set a new school record for most goals by a rookie defenceman and helped them capture the national championship.

Ron Hextall

Ronald Jeffrey Hextall is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, also known as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hextall played 13 seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques, and New York Islanders. He served as assistant general manager for the Flyers for one season, and was promoted to general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, replacing Paul Holmgren on May 7, 2014. He held this position for four and a half seasons. Before this he served as assistant general manager for the Los Angeles Kings, who won the Stanley Cup in 2012.

Hextall played 11 of his 13 seasons over two stints with the Flyers. He holds several team records and is a member of the Flyers Hall of Fame. During his rookie season in 1986–87, he was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals. Despite the Flyers’ loss to the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player, making him one of the few players to win the trophy in a losing effort. Injuries in the middle of his career contributed to a drop in his playing ability; as a result, he was traded on three occasions in the off-seasons between 1992 and 1994 to the Nordiques, the Islanders and then back to the Flyers. Upon his return to Philadelphia, Hextall regained confidence and form, recording goals against averages (GAA) below 3.00 in each of his five subsequent seasons – the lowest of his career. He retired from the NHL at the end of the 1998–99 season.

Hextall became the first NHL goaltender to score a goal by shooting the puck into the opponent’s empty net, against the Boston Bruins in the 1987–88 season. The following season, he became the first goaltender to score in the playoffs, by shooting the puck into the Washington Capitals’ empty net. His mobile style of play, in which he provided support to his defencemen by coming out of the goal area to play the puck was revolutionary, and inspired future generations of goaltenders, such as Martin Brodeur. He was also known for being one of the NHL’s most aggressive goaltenders: he was suspended for six or more games on three occasions, had more than 100 penalty minutes in each of his first three seasons, and set new records for the number of penalty minutes recorded by a goaltender in the NHL.

Hextall brought a new style of goaltending to the NHL, providing support to his two defencemen due to his willingness to come out of the net and play the puck. He was known for his excellent puck-handling ability. In Hextall’s time, goaltenders would limit themselves to stopping the puck behind the net, make short push passes, or at most clear the puck out of the zone with “clumsy” backhands. He distinguished himself by using his stick as a defenceman would; for example, he was capable of starting a counterattack, easily lifting the puck or bouncing it off the glass. Hextall’s puck-handling ability meant that it was inadvisable to try a dump and chase strategy of sending the puck in a corner, regaining it, and establishing an attack in the offensive zone, because Hextall would invariably get to the puck first and clear it out of his zone towards a waiting player in the neutral zone. He was described by former NHL player Peter McNab as the “original outlet pass goalie”.

Martin Brodeur admired and adopted Hextall’s mobile style.

While playing junior hockey, Hextall’s coaches advised him that he would not reach the NHL if he continued to move the puck. Not everyone agreed; NHL goaltender Darren Pang described feeling as if “he had just witnessed Superman flying out of a phone booth” when he saw Hextall’s puckhandling ability in a minor league game. Former NHL goaltender Johnny Bower, when scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Brandon, remarked that Hextall would at times let in soft goals, and doubted if he would reach the NHL; Hextall retained a tendency to let in occasional weak goals throughout his career. Hextall claims his adventurous style stemmed from his youth, when he played on outdoor ice rinks with a skater’s stick, rather than the heftier goaltender’s stick.

Martin Brodeur modelled his own play on that of Hextall, saying “I love the fact that he was playing the puck. He was one of the first goalies that came out and played the puck. He was a little rough for my liking, but it was entertaining. The playing of the puck was the big thing.” Hextall’s mobility provided extra passing opportunities for his defencemen: when killing a penalty they would frequently pass the puck back to him, relieving some of the pressure on his team. He is described on the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Legends of Hockey website as being “perhaps the game’s most mobile goalie of all time.”

Hextall was also notorious for his highly aggressive and intimidating style of play. Frank Orr, a columnist in the Toronto Star, suggested that Hextall’s aggressive nature, which resulted in three suspensions of six or more games during his NHL career, was an intentional part of his game designed to protect him. He theorized that because Hextall’s style of play frequently took him out of his goal crease, the threat of physical violence lessened the chances of him being challenged by an attacker when out of position.

In the 1993 playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and Hextall’s Nordiques, the Canadiens’ coach Jacques Demers designed a plan to disrupt Hextall’s play after Montreal had lost its two first games to Quebec. He noted that Hextall would be off his game if he were disturbed or bumped. Montreal then won four straight games to win the series in six games. Demers felt that Hextall’s emotional play lessened his effectiveness; while acknowledging him as a “great competitor”, he felt that “he didn’t reach the level of a Grant Fuhr or a Martin Brodeur because he lost his cool if you got in his face.”

Rogie Vachon, who served as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings during the early part of the Hextall’s playing career, praised his goaltending ability, but felt that his aggressive conduct “shouldn’t be in hockey and I think it tarnishes his image, too. He can play. He doesn’t need that shit.” His view was shared by many, leading Hextall to be tagged as one of the most “revered and reviled” players in the league. Former NHL goaltender John Davidson commented that Hextall “thrived” on being a villain; he further described him as a “great character”, and noted that “when he came to town, fans would want to race to the arena to boo him.”