Playing the uniform numbers game with the recently traded

During our weekly XM Radio chat today, Jim "Boomer" Gordon lamented the fact that Mark Recchi won't be able to rock the No. 8 with his new team, the Boston Bruins, because they retired it for Sea Bass.

So Recchi will wear No. 28 with the Bruins, attempting to eclipse the memories of Andre Savage, Jamie Huscroft and Reed Larson in the minds of B's fans.

Boomer struck a nerve. Remember back on NHL '96 when you'd try and make a trade for some star, it goes through and then you have to adjust the dude's classically accepted jersey number because some schmoe's already wearing it on your roster? If you were obsessively compulsive as we were, then you probably went through the trouble of releasing the schmoe and redoing the trade just to maintain digital integrity.

Besides Recchi, there are a few notable players who are changing numbers after changing teams. Foremost is Olli Jokinen, who has worn No. 12 with the Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes for nearly a decade. There's a fellow on the Calgary Flames that's already wearing No. 12 and will have it hanging from the rafters one day. So according to the Flames' official site roster, Jokinen will wear No. 21 with the Flames. The 'ole fliperoo!

Coming up, some number changes and lateral moves from yesterday's significant deadline deals.

All current numbers are from official Web site rosters; old numbers from Hockey-Reference.com. Nothing yet for the Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks.

Anaheim Ducks

26  Erik Christensen (16 with Pittsburgh, 9 with Atlanta)

17  Petteri Nokelainen (29 with Boston)

34  James Wisniewski  (43 with Chicago)

Brad Larsen's wearing No. 29 and Bobby Ryan wears No. 9 for the Ducks; hence the changes for Nokelainen and Christensen.

Boston Bruins

28  Mark Recchi  (8 with Tampa, Philly and Pittsburgh)

23  Steve Montador (5 with Anaheim; 7 with Florida)

Recchi you know about with Cam Neely. But Aubrey "Dit" Clapper has No. 5 retired, and Phil Esposito has No. 7, of course.

Calgary Flames

21  Olli Jokinen (12 with Florida and Phoenix)

40  Jordan Leopold (6 with Calgary, 44 with Colorado)

Olli has the Jarome issue; Jordan comes to a team that still has Rhett Warrener as No. 44 and Cory Sarich as No. 6.

Carolina Hurricanes

26  Erik Cole  (26 with Edmonton and Carolina)

Chicago Blackhawks

26  Samuel Pahlsson  (26 with Anaheim) 

Columbus Blue Jackets

50  Antoine Vermette  (20 with Ottawa)

Kristian Huselius wears No. 20 for the BJs; Vermette joins Rick Nash, Jakub Voracek, Huselius, Jared Boll, Chris Gratton, Rostislav Klesla and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen as players who wear numbers 40 and above.

Dallas Stars

11 Brendan Morrison (7 with Anaheim and Vancouver)

Neal Broten's No. 7 is retired by the franchise.

Edmonton Oilers

21 Ales Kotalik (12 with Buffalo)

19  Patrick O'Sullivan (12 with Los Angeles)

Robert Nilsson wears No. 12 for the Oilers, affecting two players.

New York Rangers

80  Nik Antropov  (80 with Toronto)

53  Derek Morris  (53 with Phoenix)

Philadelphia Flyers

13  Daniel Carcillo (13 with Phoenix)

Pittsburgh Penguins

13  Bill Guerin (13 with the Islander and 80 other teams)

27  Craig Adams (28 with Chicago)

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