BREAKING> Bruins formally reveal the new arrivals’ jersey numbers.
The Boston Bruins officially unveiled the jersey numbers for new additions Riley Tufte, Elias Lindholm, Mark Kastelic, Max Jones, Joonas Korpisalo, and Nikita Zadorov on Monday. The Bruins made a ton of additions early in the offseason, and now we know what numbers they’ll be wearing when they don the black and gold.
Riley Tufte: No. 10
Riley Tufte, one of several players added to Boston’s front-line depth this summer, will wear the No. 10 in an effort to establish himself in the NHL for the first time.
Tufte, who was chosen with the 25th overall choice in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, has only made five appearances in his career while suiting up for the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
23 players, including Marty McInnis (2002–03), Ron Sutter (1996), Barry Pederson (1982–86), Jean Ratelle (1976–81), and Rick Smith (1969–72), have worn No. 10 for the Bruins in the past.
The final person to don the number in 2023 was A.J. Greer.
Elias Lindholm: No. 28
Elias Lindholm, one of Boston’s top free agents this offseason, will don the same No. 28 he has worn for the most of his Bruins career.
The number 28 has been worn by six different players since 2009, and it has been distributed rather frequently during the past few years. Mark Recchi (2009–11), Dominic Moore (2017), and Ondrej Kase (2020–21) are a few of them.
For the final three seasons with the Bruins, Derek Forbort wore the same number.
Mark Kastelic: No. 47
As a member of the Ottawa Senators, Mark Kastelic wore the No. 47 for the first two years of his career before moving to the No. 12 last year. Kastelic is reversing the switch and is now a Bruin.
Kastelic could have liked to wear the same number that his grandfather Pat Stapleton wore for the Bruins in 1962–1963. Regretfully, the No. 4 became linked with his name after a few years, thanks to the arrival of Robert Gordon Orr.
In Bruins history, ten players have worn the No. 47 jersey. Torey Krug was the most prominent of them, having been the last to accomplish so between 2012 and 20.
Max Jones: No. 49
Max Jones has worn the No. 49 jersey for the Boston Bruins, the London Knights, and the Anaheim Ducks.
49 is a number that Bruins players have rarely used—only seven have done so in the past—despite its significance elsewhere in Boston sports history.
It wasn’t until Shayne Stevenson wore the No. 49 on the back of a Bruin in 1991. When Rich Peverly played in Boston from 2011 to 2013, he was the final player on the team to wear number 49.
Joonas Korpisalo: No. 70
Joonas Korpisalo has worn the No. 70 on his back for every team he has played for in his career, and he isn’t going to change it now that he is a member of the Boston Bruins.
Only four other players—three of whom were goalies—have worn the No. 70 jersey in Boston history.
The first was Matt DelGuidice in 1991, and Tim Thomas carried the torch for one season in 2003 before he moved to his more identifiable No. 30.
It was Jesper Boqvist’s number last year.
Nikita Zadorov: No. 91
Given that Nikita Zadorov is the biggest player on the Bruins roster—he will wear No. 91—it makes sense that he will be the player with the biggest number on the programs distributed at TD Garden this season.
Throughout his career, Zadorov has worn the famed No. 16, but in 2018 it was sent to the rafters in honor of Rick Middleton, making it one of Boston’s legendary numbers.
After being forced to alter his number, Zadorov explained that he went with No. 91 as, as he put it, “it’s an upside down 16” during his Bruins debut earlier this month.
Marc Savard, who played for the Bruins from 2007 to 2011, is the only other player to have worn number 91. When Zadorov was a player with the Calgary Flames, Savard was his coach. According to Zadorov, he requested permission from Savard to accept the number.
