By the time Kevin Lowe broke into the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers he had been wearing the number six jersey his whole life.
But current NHL director of hockey operations, Colin Campbell, already had that number.
“He’s a very good friend to this day, but he actually tried to sell me No. 6,” said the Oilers president. “I think he wanted to charge me $5,000 at the time and I was making $50,000 and that just seemed like too much of my pay.”
So the Oilers’ first-ever draft pick pulled on the number four jersey and nobody has worn it since. Until now.
“When I saw him in a No. 4, he just looked right in it,” Lowe said about Taylor Hall, who was given the number yesterday. “As far as a decision coming down from us, it was as simple as that.”
Hall, who has worn the number four for years, said the jersey suits him just fine.
“I’m not a huge number guy but for me to wear the four, it’s pretty comforting,” he said. “I’ve always thought it’s a pretty cool number for a forward.”
Magnus Paajarvi was also given the No. 91 jersey yesterday and Jordan Eberle will take No. 14.
