This is a complete list of numbers retired by the National Hockey League (NHL). A retired number is a jersey number that is taken out of circulation by a team as a way of honouring a former member of that team who wore that number; after the number's retirement, members of that team are not permitted to wear the number on their jerseys unless by permission of the original number holder.
The first team to retire a number was the Toronto Maple Leafs, which retired Ace Bailey's number 6 on February 14, 1934, prior to an All-Star game organized in his honour.
The NHL currently has 182 retired numbers, 10 former retirements and 24 honoured numbers. Most of the numbers retired by the Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques were put back in circulation when those franchises relocated and became the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, although the Hurricanes keep Gordie Howe's number 9 unofficially retired. The Minnesota North Stars' two retired numbers were carried over when that franchise relocated to become the Dallas Stars, and remain retired today. The Arizona Coyotes had a policy of retaining the numbers retired when the franchise was the Winnipeg Jets but reversed it after the Phoenix Coyotes were sold and became the Arizona Coyotes; these were retroactively classified as honoured numbers as part of the Arizona Coyotes Ring of Honor. Honoured numbers are similar to retired numbers, except that they remain available for use by other players. Presently, only the Calgary Flames, the St. Louis Blues, the Arizona Coyotes and the Winnipeg Jets (the latter honouring the players of the original Jets) employ this designation.
^Finnigan did not play for the current Senators franchise, which does not retain the history of the original team. The number he wore was retired because he played for the original Senators franchise and was active in campaigning to bring a new franchise to Ottawa.
^The Florida Panthers retired the number 37 to honor former owner Wayne Huizenga, who owned the team between 1993 and 2001.
^The Minnesota Wild retired this number to honor their fans prior to their first game on Oct 11, 2000.
^O'Ree is elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.
^The number honors both the franchise being the 32nd to join the NHL, and the 32,000 fans who placed deposits for tickets on the first day they were available.
^At the time of its retirement, number 27 was worn by Anders Lee, and is allowed to continue wearing the number with Tonelli's blessing.
^The Florida Panthers retired the number 93 to honor president and general manager Bill Torrey because the team was founded in 1993. Torrey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1995.
^This number was retired in honor of the 58 people who were killed in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
Unlike the numbers retired by the Flames, these honoured numbers were not necessarily withdrawn from circulation. Some of the numbers honoured by the Blues remain in circulation, while others have been removed from circulation without being officially retired.
It is very rare for a team to reissue a retired number, and usually requires a special circumstance, such as a number being requested for a family member (such as Bobby Hull asking the Phoenix Coyotes to allow his son Brett to wear Bobby's number 9),[107] or the player for whom the number was retired coming out of retirement himself (such as Mario Lemieux).
In cases of franchise relocation, the handling of existing retired numbers is at the discretion of team management. They may decide to continue honouring the retired numbers, such as the Dallas Stars and Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, or they may choose to make a "fresh start" and reissue the numbers, as the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes have done.
The Hurricanes have an unusual exception with regards to Gordie Howe's number 9. While the Hurricanes have not made any formal recognition of the Hartford Whalers' retirement of the number, they have kept the number out of circulation since their 1997 relocation.[96]
The Red Wings and Larry Aurie's number 6 are also something of a unique situation, as the number was officially retired, then un-retired so that his cousin, Cummy Burton, could wear it, much as the Jets/Coyotes did for the Hulls. It was then re-retired until 2000, when the Red Wings ordered it removed from the NHL's Official Guide and Record Book. Despite the unretirement, number 6 is still not available to be worn in Detroit.
^Leighton Accardo never played for the franchise, but was a member of the Arizona Kachinas youth hockey program, a fan of the Coyotes, and signed a one-day contract with the team in 2019 before she died at nine years old from cancer on November 24, 2020. Her youth hockey number of 49 was placed into the Ring of Honor and the Coyotes wore an "LA49" decal on their helmets throughout the 2020–21 season. "Arizona Coyotes to induct 9-year-old girl who died of cancer into team's ring of honor". ESPN. April 16, 2021.
^ abcdeSt. Louis Blues. "History". blues.nhl.com. Retrieved 2012-11-09.