Forty-Seven

There was an election yesterday in the United States of America. You may have heard a little about it, but the 47th President of the United States was forecasted sometime late into the evening. I had no stake in the game, but, if you did, here's hoping the results will continue to push America in the right direction when it comes to a number of key things that were apparently on the ballots across the country. Today is all about forty-seven, but not the candidate who won. Instead, we'll take a look at a few men who wore #47 in the NHL including some of the cameos made by players in that number. You may be surprised!

According to Hockey-Reference.com, the first player to have ever worn #47 was Don Murdoch with the Edmonton Oilers in 1980, pictured to the right. Murdoch was acquired by the Oilers in a trade that happened on March 11, 1980 as Cam Connor and a third-round pick in 1981 were sent to the New York Rangers. in 50 games with the Oilers, Murdoch scored 15 goals and added 11 helpers before the Oilers flipped him to the Minnesota North Stars for Don Jackson and round 3 pick in the 1982 draft. On the same day, Minnesota dealt him to Detroit where he played just 49 games before landing in Adirondack in the AHL and never playing in the NHL again. For a guy who was just below a point-per-game average in Manhattan, he finished his playing career with the IHL's Toledo Goaldiggers in 1985-86 with 121 goals and 116 assists in 320 NHL games to his name. And the first to wear #47.

While he'd eventually win a Conn Smythe Trophy wearing another number, Jean-Sébastien Giguère started his career in Hartford wearing #47, and brought that number with him to Calgary after being traded there. Giguère was drafted 13th-overall by the Whalers in 1995 and played two more seasons with the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads before joining the Whalers in 1996-97 following the Mooseheads' season coming to an end. Those eight games with the Whalers logo on his chest saw him don #47 before an August 25, 1997 trade saw him and Andrew Cassels traded from the newly-named Carolina Hurricanes to the Flames for Trevor Kidd and Gary Roberts. He'd only log 22 games in Flames' colours, but the #47 was on his back and sleeves once more. The irony is that after being traded to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Giguère moved into the Ducks' goaltending tandem with Guy Hebert while wearing #70! Of course, he'd move to #35 before the season he helped the Mighty Ducks to the Stanley Cup Final against the New Jersey Devils where he earned the Conn Smythe, but Jean-Sébastien Giguère broke into the league as #47 and took it with him to one additional team! Who would have known Giguère started in #47?

Of course, there has been one player who has worn #47 no matter where he played or what team he represented. Alexander Radulov has worn #47 throughout his entire career whether he was playing for Nashville twice, Dallas, Montreal, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Ak Bars Kazan, CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, or Team Russia. It's funny how that became his professional number despite him wearing #22 for the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts and for the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, but the 15th-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft has been consistent as #47 since breaking into the NHL with Nashville in 2006-07. AT 38 years old, I doubt that Alex Radulov will make a return to the NHL anytime soon, so it seems likely that he'll finish his career with 144 goals and 224 assists in 524 NHL games. He did win a Gagarin Cup in 2010-11 with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, so he can boast one league championship, and he may have a chance to add a second Gagarin Cup to his legacy if the KHL Western Conference-leading Lokomotiv Yaroslavl can find their way through the KHL playoffs this season. Could #47 be a champion again?

The next #47 is a cameo appearance as it's not the number he chose to wear for most of his career, but Alex Galchenyuk did sport #47 for his 11 games in Denver. Galchenyuk signed with the Avalanche on November 28, 2022 as the Avalanche looked to add more scoring up front. The problem was that Glachenyuk never really fit into the Avalanche's offensive system as he didn't record a single point, and he spent the majority of the season with the AHL's Colorado Eagles where he was a point-per-game player. He was traded to Nashville that summer who opted not to re-sign Galchenyuk, allowing him to sign a free agent deal with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2023. The only problem? His contract was terminated 12 days later when he was arrested following a hit-and-run incident. Despite playing in Russia for the last two seasons, it would seem his NHL career is over at 654 games in which he recorded 146 goals and 208 assists.

Of course, the most famous #47 might be former Islanders defenceman Rich Pilon simply because he ended up as part of a statue in his #47 jersey! Standing outside PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh is the statue at the top in the image to the right, and it was designed and modelled after the play below where Penguins superstar Mario Lemieux found space between the already-mentioned Pilon and defensive partner Jeff Norton on December 20, 1988 where Lemieux would record his 247th career NHL goal! To his credit, Pilon skated in 631 NHL games that saw him skate with the Islanders, the Rangers, and the Blues where the tough-as-nails defender scored eight goals and 69 assists while amassing 1745 PIMs! He would be waived by the Islanders in 1999, claimed by the Rangers on December 1, 1999, traded to the San Jose Sharks for a conditional pick in the 2002 draft on June 29, 2001, and signed a free agent deal with St. Louis in 2001 where he'd play his final eight games. It should be noted that Pilon didn't always wear #47 with the Islanders as he changed to wearing #2 (including the Fisherman jersey) in 1996-97 before going back to #47 with the Rangers and Blues.

There's a little fun with a few players who have worn #47 in their careers as America gets set to inaugurate its 47th President. Because this isn't Political Blog In Canada, I'm not here to make political statements one way or another, especially when I have no say in the matter, so please don't fill the comments with political chatter. It will just be deleted because HBIC isn't the place for that. And if an American-based team wins a Stanley Cup in the next four years, expect another #47 jersey to be given to the President!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!