Comments on: 7 + 5 + 32 + 11 = 4

By: Re-evaluating retired numbers of the Washington Capitals « the red skate

Re-evaluating retired numbers of the Washington Capitals « the red skate — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:56:16 +0000

By: Gustafsson

Gustafsson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:36:52 +0000

pgreene,
Good eye. I copied that portion of the text directly from the Caps press release. They have since corrected the version on the web site. I’ve corrected our quoted text, too.
Thanks for the heads up.

By: Grooven

Grooven — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:34:31 +0000

What’s the obsession people have with retiring numbers? Why is something like a Hall of Stars or a Ring of Honor not sufficient? Why isn’t recognition good enough, but rather you have to make it so that no one’s allowed to wear a number?
DC United has two recognized players but those numbers are still wearable.
The Caps have three retired (the fourth announced, and some fans clamoring for five and six already) in thirty five years of existence.
The Redskins only have one officially retired though there are something like eleven that are withheld (think back to Wuerffel wearing #7 and the hubbub that caused).
And yet look all around and teams across the country(ies) are announcing games when players numbers will be retired. The Montreal Canadiens have retired seven historical players since 2005. (They have fourteen total, the first in 1937)
I’m not disputing the players’ warranting of honor, or which players merit and which do not; that’s a different argument. Mike Gartner was a thrill to watch.
I’m disputing the practice to begin with of how to honor. I’m much more on board with a Hall of Stars or some such to provide recognition.

By: pgreene

pgreene — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:58:33 +0000

seeing as i wasn’t a caps fan back then, i can only assume ivan labre is the same person as yvon labre? because if not, i’m confused…

By: pepper

pepper — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:29:26 +0000

Ultimately, its a wonderful thing to ‚Äúwelcome back into the family‚Äù former great Capitals players, providing a more hallowed quality to the franchise‚Äôs history.
But I never thought of Gartner as a “heart and soul” Capital, and I’m honestly kind of luke warm about the news.

By: bostonblueline

bostonblueline — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:20:06 +0000

Teams are getting a little too loose with the requirements for retiring numbers. Richter, Gilmour, Daneyko… the standard seems to be getting weaker, almost as if certain teams are having a hard time finding legit honorees.
I’m not going to pass absolute judgment on Gartner because he’s obviously close to Caps fans’ hearts, but the guy never won an award, a Cup, the captain’s “C”, or an All-Star Team selection (the real AS team, not the game). Great resume’ in terms of consistency, but doesn’t it seem a little less elite than Langway’s… or even Hunter’s?

By: mark

mark — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:12:53 +0000

I agree that few (if any) of the Caps have met the standard NHL threshold for retired numbers, but if the bar is set with Labre, Hunter, and Langway, then by all means #11 should be next.
In fact, it surprised me when so many other players wore #11 — Tim Bergland (1990-92), Bob Carpenter (1992-93), Tim Bergland (1994), Jeff Nelson (1995-96), Esa Tikkanen (1998), and Jeff Halpern (1999-06). That’s directly from caps.com

By: OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)

OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:57:22 +0000

I don’t think they should rush on Bondra, or even Kolzig when his career ends. Retiring numbers should be done with adequate perspective, like a Hall of Fame candidacy, and not right after the player retires.
Perhaps Gartner’s number hitting the rafters is a bit overdue, but I think a minimum 3- or 5-year wait after a player retires before a jersey can be raised seems reasonable.

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:45:33 +0000

I guess I shouldn’t be too worried about the Caps retiring Bondra’s number, since they’re just now coming around to Gartner.

By: Gustafsson

Gustafsson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:29:57 +0000

We just received word from the Caps that the number will indeed be retired, so scratch that off the list.