General Leafs Talk

[CarltonTheBear]

Kadri wore 13 in junior, did he not?  Since on the Leafs no more jerseys are being retired he should just go for it and wear 13.  If Stajan could wear Keon's number, Kadri can wear Sundin's.

The images I have of Kadri in Junior are of him wearing #91(another high, non-traditional number).

Either way, I think it's pretty odd to be making a case for numerology and then saying "why not just wear #13?".

OK, I stand corrected -- thought he wore 13.

However, it's not numerology I'm professin' -- numerology is the belief that numbers have some special power or other difference-making property.  I don't believe that; I just like some numbers in some contexts much more than others.

He wore 13 when he was with the Marlies.

Also, the season clearly can't start soon enough.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Also, the season clearly can't start soon enough.

I'm with you on that, I can't believe I read all of that.

 

[Bullfrog]

With some trepidation, I'll say that jersey numbers are important.  Very.  Just like we all prefer same names to others (that surely is not a matter of indifference), some of us -- maybe most of us -- have numbers we prefer, for various personal, though not thereby necessarily irrational, reasons.

For me, 43 is ultralame for Kadri, a skill guy.  Prime numbers in the 40s all stink (yeah, that goes for you too Kulemin).  Why?  Because I grew up watching football and I associate them with blocking backs and other "non-skilled" players.  A personal, but not an irrational, reason.

Kadri wore 13 in junior, did he not?  Since on the Leafs no more jerseys are being retired he should just go for it and wear 13.  If Stajan could wear Keon's number, Kadri can wear Sundin's.

I have no problem with anyone's opinion on jersey numbers, but I do have to disagree with your statement that it's not irrational, because it is. it's irrational because how a number fits in in football doesn't apply to hockey. Once referees figured out they could use two hands at the same time, "normal" numbers became any two digit number.

Your reason is personal and irrational. Nothing wrong with that though, as most emotional opinions are. Most players' superstitions are irrational too, but there's also nothing wrong with having them. I'm trying to point out that, while I think your reasoning (and many others who hold on to such significance on what number a player wears) is irrational, but it's not meant as an insult.

 

[Jalili]

So excited to see Kadri play. Make us proud bro

 

[moon111]

Never before have I felt so uncertain how the team will do.  Counting on allot of young players who haven't proven themselves and older players who have a history of injuries.  It's a high-risk, high-reward season.  Reimer/Gustavsson could become a dynamic duo, or become a pair of shattered hopes.  No sure the defense is well-rounded enough to give the team a good transition game, power-play, and penalty-killing too.  There's only one line that can be counted upon, but any reduction in Bozak's roll should be an improvement.  Really wish Colbourne was furthered developed, think he'd be a great fit.  But the one area I really don't have confidence in is the coaching.  Sure it won't be easy, but Ron Wilson has to do something by now.

 

[Bender]

It's a jersey number. One is as good as the other.

Only in the same way that the guy's garage door down the street is as good as the rest of ours... even if it's painted bright purple.

Exactly. Only in the way in which things are true as opposed to nonsense.

I don't like the aesthetic of 43. Looks odd to me.

 

[Erndog]

It's August 26, but I think we may have found our running ruse about Kadri this year.

"Dammit Kadri change that jersey number!"

 

[Bender]

With some trepidation, I'll say that jersey numbers are important.  Very.  Just like we all prefer same names to others (that surely is not a matter of indifference), some of us -- maybe most of us -- have numbers we prefer, for various personal, though not thereby necessarily irrational, reasons.

For me, 43 is ultralame for Kadri, a skill guy.  Prime numbers in the 40s all stink (yeah, that goes for you too Kulemin).  Why?  Because I grew up watching football and I associate them with blocking backs and other "non-skilled" players.  A personal, but not an irrational, reason.

Kadri wore 13 in junior, did he not?  Since on the Leafs no more jerseys are being retired he should just go for it and wear 13.  If Stajan could wear Keon's number, Kadri can wear Sundin's.

I have no problem with anyone's opinion on jersey numbers, but I do have to disagree with your statement that it's not irrational, because it is. it's irrational because how a number fits in in football doesn't apply to hockey. Once referees figured out they could use two hands at the same time, "normal" numbers became any two digit number.

Your reason is personal and irrational. Nothing wrong with that though, as most emotional opinions are. Most players' superstitions are irrational too, but there's also nothing wrong with having them. I'm trying to point out that, while I think your reasoning (and many others who hold on to such significance on what number a player wears) is irrational, but it's not meant as an insult.

I don't think it's irrational to think that someone wearing something uncommon, whether its a piece of clothing or a jersey number, can look odd. While 91 is an "uncommon" number, he wore 91 in Junior. In that sense, it was traditional for him to wear that uncommon number, which made it normal and expected. In my personal history I don't recall players that stood out wearing 43, much in the way I find Gustavsson's 50 also odd. Over time maybe there will be a stronger history of players wearing these numbers and will no longer be seen as strange.

 

[Erndog]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Honest question.

 

[Deebo]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Honest question.

99 is retired league wide.

 

[Tigger]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Honest question.

I know it was pretty sideways but that's what my blues song reference was about...

 

[Erndog]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Honest question.

99 is retired league wide.

I know it is.

Hence the "assuming of course, they would be allowed."

 

[Newbury]

Zzzzzzz.

 

[Tigger]

It's a jersey number. One is as good as the other.

Only in the same way that the guy's garage door down the street is as good as the rest of ours... even if it's painted bright purple.

Exactly. Only in the way in which things are true as opposed to nonsense.

I don't like the aesthetic of 43. Looks odd to me.

Yeah, Goose looked odd to me as well but supposedly the idea was that 50 looked like SO but, y'know, there aren't any reasons it's all superstition vs. weighty import that relegates to crude analogies and other things worthy of time wasting.

Bollocks.

Daniel Tammet sees different shapes in numbers while making extraordinary calculations in his head and notes that to him each positive integer up to 10,000 has its own unique shape, colour, texture and feel. Just because somethings intuitive doesn't mean it's irrational.

 

[Kin]

I don't think it's irrational to think that someone wearing something uncommon, whether its a piece of clothing or a jersey number, can look odd. While 91 is an "uncommon" number, he wore 91 in Junior. In that sense, it was traditional for him to wear that uncommon number, which made it normal and expected. In my personal history I don't recall players that stood out wearing 43, much in the way I find Gustavsson's 50 also odd. Over time maybe there will be a stronger history of players wearing these numbers and will no longer be seen as strange.

You're absolutely correct. Kadri wearing #43 is odd. Much like Grabo wearing 84 or Crosby wearing 87 or Gilmour wearing 93. So if someone had said "Kadri's wearing #43, huh, that's unusual" they would have been right. But that's fairly value-neutral. The idea that new or unusual = bad or lame simply by the virtue of being new or unusual is different and one I reject pretty strongly.

 

[Bender]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Honest question.

Never for 99. 13 would be distasteful I think, but Sundin's been gone for a few years so I think I'd be ok with it. Other Leafs numbers are being worn to pay homage to the previous players who wore them.

 

[Kin]

This is a serious question and not meant to incite anything one way or another but for those who think numbers aren't a big deal, how would you feel it someone wore #99 (assuming of course, they would be allowed) or if say, Lupul or Boyce or someone decided to wear #13 next season?

Those, to me, are two very different issues. As a Leafs fan, most of my memories of Gretzky are negative. Aside from the '93 playoffs there's the fact that he tended to score at will against the Leafs over the years. If a Leafs player wanted to wear #99 and do a little good for the club with it I'd be fine with it. I think it'd be awfully ballsy of any such player though.

13 is a different story for me just because it would be less about my feelings on Mats Sundin specifically and more about how stupid I think it is that the team doesn't retire numbers. Being as that policy seems to be pretty firmly in place, I'm pretty much at peace with it. They gave Jamal Mayers #21 and Marchment #27, so it's not like a minor player getting #13 will knock my socks off.

 

[maplesyrup]

I'm not attempting to bash Sundin here but I don't think he did anything here that was well above and beyond all the other players that are currently being "honoured" in the ACC rafters. - There is no good reason why another player can't wear #13 in my opinion.

 

[Kin]

I'm not attempting to bash Sundin here but I don't think he did anything here that was well above and beyond all the other players that are currently being "honoured" in the ACC rafters. - There is no good reason why another player can't wear #13 in my opinion.

I agree for the most part(although I think Sundin being the Franchise's all-time leading scorer is notable) but I sort of wonder if MLSE maybe has a sort of soft-retiring of numbers these days. Of the players whose numbers they've raised, which is just #93 and #17 as far as I'm aware, I don't think anyone's worn them since(although I may be spacing on someone wearing #17 and #93 is obviously unusual).

 

[maplesyrup]

I'm not attempting to bash Sundin here but I don't think he did anything here that was well above and beyond all the other players that are currently being "honoured" in the ACC rafters. - There is no good reason why another player can't wear #13 in my opinion.

I agree for the most part(although I think Sundin being the Franchise's all-time leading scorer is notable) but I sort of wonder if MLSE maybe has a sort of soft-retiring of numbers these days. Of the players whose numbers they've raised, which is just #93 and #17 as far as I'm aware, I don't think anyone's worn them since(although I may be spacing on someone wearing #17 and #93 is obviously unusual).

I'm not sure why that is. Actually, I think it would be rather cool if Sundin passed off his number to a young player like Kadri at the ceremony. Likewise, I think it would have been a cool thing at the Clark and Gilmour ceremonies had a Leaf at the time been interested in the number. Circle of life. Closure. Yada, yada, yada.