Blues’ New Jersey Numbers & Who Wore Them in the Past

On Wednesday, the St. Louis Blues announced their newest jersey numbers. Brandon Carlo will wear #25, Ross Johnston will wear #49, Connor McMichael will wear #77, and Mason McTavish will wear #83.

Let’s have some fun with numbers, shall we? Here’s a look at the history of the players who have worn those numbers for the Blues and who is the best to wear the number?

Jersey Number 25

Twenty-nine players have worn #25 before Brandon Carlo:

• Norm Dennis 1970-1971
• Curt Bennett 1971-1972
• Larry Hornung 1971-1972
• Connie Madigan 1973
• Larry Giroux 1974
• Chuck Lefley 1975-1981
• Don Wheldon 1975
• Brian Ogilvie 1978
• Ken Richardson 1978
• Bob Murdoch 1979
• Paul MacLean 1981
• Bill Baker 1982
• Tim Bothwell 1983-1985
• Mike Posavad 1986
• Herb Raglan 1986-1991
• Ron Hoover 1992
• Jason Marshall 1992
• Vitali Prokhorov 1993-1995
• Patrice Tardif 1995
• Peter Zezel 1996-1997
• Pascal Rhéaume 1998-2004
• Mike Keane 2002
• Shjon Podein 2002-2003
• John Pohl 2004
• Dennis Wideman 2006-2007
• Yan Stastny 2008-2010
• Chris Stewart 2011-2014
• Chris Butler 2015-2019
• Jordan Kyrou 2021-2026

Best to Wear #25?

I’m giving the honor to Chuck Lefley. Lefley wore the Blue Note for five seasons, scoring 83 goals. His best season was in 1975-76, when he scored 43 goals, a team record at the time. Brett Hull would double that total later, but there was a time when Lefley stood atop the team’s goal-scoring mountain.

Jersey Number 49

Four players have worn #49 before Ross Johnston:

• Dale Clarke 2001
• Brian Savage 2004
• Steve Wagner 2008-2009
• Ivan Barbashev 2017-2023

Best to Wear #49?

The answer is obvious. In seven seasons with the Blues, Ivan Barbashev was a physical forward who played in multiple roles. In 2019, he played on the fourth line alongside Oskar Sundqvist and Alexander Steen, shutting down opponents’ top lines in their Cup-winning season.

The Russian would then transition into a top-line scorer, scoring 26 goals in 2021-22.

Jersey Number 77

Seven players have worn #77 before Connor McMichael:

• Pierre Turgeon 1997-2001
• Jay McKee 2008-2009
• T.J. Hensick 2011
• Brad Hunt 2017
• Niko Mikkola 2020-2023
• Pierre-Olivier Joseph 2025
• Nick Bjugstad 2026

Best to Wear #77?

Pierre Turgeon spent five seasons with the Blues, averaging more than 70 points a season. His best season wearing the Blue Note came in 2000-01 when he scored 30 goals and recorded 82 points. His biggest moment with the team, however, was his overtime-winning goal in Game 7 against the Phoenix Coyotes in the conference quarterfinals of the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.

Jersey Number 83

McTavish will be the first player in team history to wear #83. He has never worn the number, having worn #23 and #37 with the Anaheim Ducks. However, Logan Mailloux and Jack Finley currently wear those numbers, so he chose #83.

Here are the numbers not yet worn by a Blue:

• #60
• #66
• #67
• #69
• #84
• #85
• #87
• #94
• #95
• #96
• #97
• #98

Blues History of Numbers

Entering their 60th season, it’s hard to believe there are still numbers that no player has worn for the Blues. However, 26 numbers have been assigned to two or fewer players.

We’ll end this Blues history lesson with a little quiz: Which number has been worn the most in team history? I will give you a second, but please keep your eyes on your own paper.

If you guessed #12, you are correct – 39 players have worn it, most recently Radek Faksa.

Thank you for joining me for this Blues’ history lesson. Be sure to check in with The Hockey Writers for more team and league-wide coverage.