Opinion: Let's not retire Johnny Gaudreau's act

Editor's Note: As the Columbus Blue Jackets prepare to celebrate the lives of Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in their home opener on October 15, The Cannon contributor Neil B. brings us a history lesson about former players in hockey and a Suggestion for something different a way to honor and remember Gaudreau's legacy.

The story of a retired number

Pop quiz, hotshot – why is Toronto's No. 6 sweater retired? No more looking at Wikipedia.

The picture shows Irvine Wallace “Ace” Bailey. On December 12, 1933, he was hit from behind by Eddie Shore. Bailey, caught off guard, fell to the ice, causing multiple skull fractures and traumatic brain damage to the point of causing him to have seizures as he lay unconscious on the ice. Shortly before, Shore had been knocked over by “King” Clancy, also hitting his head on the ice. Shore got back to his feet, pounced on Bailey, mistaking Bailey's No. 6 for “King” Clancy's No. 7 and went looking for revenge for what he thought was a dirty hit. In the ensuing scrum, Bailey's teammate Red Horner knocked Shore out cold, knocking him unconscious with one punch. Both players were carried off the ice on stretchers. Shore regained consciousness and went to Bailey's side to apologize. Bailey briefly regained consciousness, long enough to say “part of the game,” and then fell into a coma. Neurosurgeons worked on Bailey through the night, giving him little hope of survival, let alone recovery. Bailey's father left Toronto on a train to Boston, a revolver in his pocket, determined to kill Shore. Frank Selke, Toronto's deputy general manager, had Mr. Bailey met in his hotel room by a Boston police officer and dissuaded him from his mission. Ten days later, Bailey fully regained consciousness. Bailey made a full recovery and lived to the age of 88, but never played another minute of NHL hockey.

The consequences of this incident were:

• Shore was suspended for 16 games in a 48-game season, a full third of the season and roughly equivalent to a 27-game suspension today.
• On February 14, 1934, the NHL held its first-ever “friendly game,” the Ace Bailey Benefit Game, which eventually led to the NHL's annual All-Star Game in February. Yes, that's why it's in February and not at the end of the season like some other sports.
• Despite the at least three concussions in this incident, two of which were caused by a player's head hitting the ice, it was not until 1978 that the NHL implemented a helmet requirement.
• Notably, Eddie Shore wore a helmet in every game he played after his suspension ended until the end of his career.

The Maple Leafs retired number 6 at Bailey's request by 1968, allowing Ron Ellis to wear number 6 for Toronto. He was decommissioned again on April 1, 1992. That same day, Bailey suffered a stroke; he died six days later from complications of lung cancer.

The number of people who know the details of the above is limited to hockey historians, hockey nerds, and a few people like me who share a last name with “Ace” Bailey (to be fair, I fall into all three camps ). How many Toronto fans know that the number 7 is retired in honor of Tim Horton and “King” Clancy? How many know that number 5 is retired for Bill Barilko, other than fans of the Tragically Hip song “50 Mission Cap” – and those who knew that he wore number 19 for most of his short career with the Leafs wore, and only switched to sweater No. 5 for his final season in 1951?

The sad reality is that the numbers hanging from the rafters are only remembered for a short time by most fans, perhaps as little as five years. After that, they become stories, sometimes passed down through families, sometimes inscribed in a book or recorded on a Wikipedia page, which is now often considered generational memory. Let's not do this to Johnny. Let's do something better.

A better option

Instead of a fading memory dangling from the rafters, we give Johnny a living memorial, an organically (both literally and figuratively) growing tribute. Instead of preventing a player from ever wearing their sweater again, we should do almost the exact opposite.

Let's have every rookie play their first game in a No. 13 sweater every year from now on.

After that, they can switch to a different sweater number or play in number 13 for the rest of the season (assuming no one else is called up for the rest of the season). Every year our freshmen are reminded of the hockey superstar who decided to come to Columbus and help build a young team into the championship contender he thought they could become. I decided to build something special here, for the franchise, for the fans, for the people of Columbus and Ohio. He didn't want to pursue a championship; he wanted make a championship, right here.

Don Waddell wants to change the culture of the team. Let's do this. Let's instill in every rookie – star player, midfielder, face puncher, goalie – the mentality that they are here to build something special and raise the expectations of a small franchise. Let's create a living story of Johnny Hockey that will be passed down year after year, player after player.

Let's not retire Johnny Gaudreau's jersey. Let's keep #13 flying on the icewhere it belongs.