Brett Hull forced Brenden Morrow to change his jersey number

Brenden Morrow was one of the toughest players of his generation, carrying respect wherever he went. But there was one moment early in his career when Brett Hull forced him to change his jersey number.

Morrow was selected in the first round, 25th overall, by the Dallas Stars, the team he would represent for 13 seasons—serving as captain for seven of them. His fearless, physical style made him a natural leader on the ice, a reputation reflected in his 1,362 career penalty minutes.

FULL STORY: Brett Hull’s response to Pavel Datsyuk not giving him the puck

Brenden Morrow forced to change jersey number

But in 1999, Morrow was just a 20-year-old rookie entering a locker room filled with established stars, including Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov, and Hull.
During an appearance on the Ice Guardians podcast, hosted by Hull and Kelly Chase, the two recounted the story of how Hull convinced Morrow to change his number.
“I think I played a little bit with you. I was mostly on the fourth line, but I got a little time with you,” Morrow recalled.
“That’s when I told you, ‘Hey, time to change your number. No good players ever wore 45,’” Hull joked.

The hilarious reason

Morrow then explained how the change actually happened.
“It was the summer after. We came back to training camp, and he goes to Hitch”—a reference to head coach Ken Hitchcock—“and says, ‘He can’t play in the NHL in a football number. You need to give him a real number.’ So I took 10.”
Morrow went on to wear No. 10 for the rest of his career, including during his time with Team Canada, when he helped win Olympic gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics.