Last week, the Los Angeles Kings announced they will retire Anze Kopitar’s No. 11 and unveil a bronze statue on February 24, 2027. Weeks earlier, the Boston Bruins revealed plans to honor Patrice Bergeron’s No. 37 on December 1. With those ceremonies set, attention turns to which recently retired greats should be next in line for franchise immortality.
Here are five prime candidates:
Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals appear likely to wait until Alex Ovechkin retires before honoring Backstrom’s No. 19, but they shouldn’t. He is one of only two players in franchise history to surpass 1,000 points, sitting 200 points clear of Peter Bondra with 271 goals, 762 assists, and 1,033 points. Backstrom’s final game came in October 2023; the wait has been long enough. While he may not be a Hall of Fame lock like Ovechkin, Mike Gartner, or Rod Langway, Backstrom is a franchise lifer who helped deliver a Stanley Cup and served as Ovechkin’s primary playmaker throughout the franchise’s golden era. His night deserves the spotlight, not a shared stage.
Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago Blackhawks
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook—the core of Chicago’s dynasty—will all eventually have their numbers retired. The Blackhawks already honored Marian Hossa in 2022, a move typical of a rebuilding club seeking a gate spike. The rest of that championship core should follow soon, but Toews should be first. Whether the organization is waiting for Kane to retire or for the group’s Hall of Fame inductions, the decision is straightforward. Aside from Keith Magnuson, every Blackhawks player with a retired number resides in the Hall of Fame; Toews belongs in that company.
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Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings maintain an unwritten rule requiring Hall of Fame induction for number retirement. So why isn’t Pavel Datsyuk the tenth banner in the rafters? He lacks the raw counting stats of Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, or Sergei Fedorov, but his résumé is impeccable: a career Red Wing, two Stanley Cups, three Selke Trophies, and four Lady Byng Awards. His departure for the KHL a decade ago complicated matters, but if Detroit could reconcile with Fedorov after significant acrimony, honoring Datsyuk is an obvious move for a franchise desperate to rebuild local goodwill.
Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens present a unique hurdle: all 18 of their retired numbers belong to Hall of Famers, nearly all of whom won a Stanley Cup in Montreal. Carey Price did not. However, the list of Montreal players who are both in the Hall of Fame and won an MVP award with the club is exceedingly short: Guy Lafleur, Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau, Elmer Lach, Toe Blake, and Howie Morenz. Price belongs on that list. The team’s lack of success cannot be pinned on him; when his play declined after 2020, the Canadiens plummeted from a surprising Cup Final appearance to the league’s basement. Whether the Canadiens will honor him remains uncertain, but they absolutely should.
Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim Ducks
Here, too, the franchise may be waiting for Getzlaf’s longtime linemate Corey Perry to retire, but they shouldn’t. Getzlaf is the only Duck to record 1,000 career points and, unlike Teemu Selanne or Paul Kariya, he never left Anaheim. He was present for the 2007 championship and the subsequent 15 years of contention. While Getzlaf is not a Hall of Famer—and the three previous Ducks honorees (Selanne, Kariya, Niedermayer) all are—this franchise has limited history to draw upon: one Cup, one other Final appearance. Retiring No. 15 now, rather than linking it to Perry’s timeline, is the right call for a player who defined the franchise for two decades.