The Montreal Canadiens have retired 15 jersey numbers for 18 players, more than any other club in the NHL, and the consequence is visible on the roster: only number 6 is available among the single digits. Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 are retired, 8 belongs to Mike Matheson, and Chris Wideman last wore 6 in the 2023-24 season.
One more number is free for the first time in more than a decade. Number 11 came open when Brendan Gallagher was traded to Vancouver, ending a run that began in 2013 and followed Saku Koivu’s 13 seasons in the same sweater.
Which Canadiens jersey numbers are retired?
15 numbers, for 18 players. No hockey club has retired more.
| No. | Retired for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Plante (7 Oct 1995) |
| 2 | Doug Harvey (26 Oct 1985) |
| 3 | Emile ‘Butch’ Bouchard (4 Dec 2009) |
| 4 | Jean Beliveau (9 Oct 1971) |
| 5 | Bernie Geoffrion (11 Mar 2006); Guy Lapointe (8 Nov 2014) |
| 7 | Howie Morenz (2 Nov 1937) |
| 9 | Maurice Richard (6 Oct 1960) |
| 10 | Guy Lafleur (16 Feb 1985) |
| 12 | Dickie Moore (12 Nov 2005); Yvan Cournoyer (12 Nov 2005) |
| 16 | Henri Richard (10 Dec 1975); Elmer Lach (4 Dec 2009) |
| 18 | Serge Savard (18 Nov 2006) |
| 19 | Larry Robinson (19 Nov 2007) |
| 23 | Bob Gainey (23 Feb 2008) |
| 29 | Ken Dryden (29 Jan 2007) |
| 33 | Patrick Roy (22 Nov 2008) |
Look at the dates rather than the names, and a pattern appears. Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer’s number 12 was raised on 12 November. Serge Savard’s 18 went up on 18 November, Larry Robinson’s 19 on 19 November, Bob Gainey’s 23 on 23 February, and Ken Dryden’s 29 on 29 January. The club has matched the ceremony date to the number five times.
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Has Montreal retired a number for two players?
Three times: number 5 for Bernie Geoffrion and Guy Lapointe, number 12 for Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer, and number 16 for Henri Richard and Elmer Lach. The 12s were raised on the same night in November 2005. The two 16s were raised 34 years apart, Henri Richard’s in December 1975 and Elmer Lach’s in December 2009, which is the longest gap between two ceremonies for the same number anywhere in the league.
One player wore a number into its own retirement. Ryan O’Byrne wore number 3 in the 2009-10 season, the year Butch Bouchard’s 3 was raised in December 2009. O’Byrne appears on number 20 the following season.
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Every Canadiens number in use for 2026-27
Twenty-eight numbers are on the roster.
| No. | Player | No. | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Mike Matheson | 53 | Noah Dobson |
| 13 | Cole Caufield | 62 | Owen Beck |
| 14 | Nick Suzuki | 63 | Florian Xhekaj |
| 15 | Alex Newhook | 64 | David Reinbacher |
| 17 | Josh Anderson | 71 | Jake Evans |
| 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 72 | Arber Xhekaj |
| 21 | Kaiden Guhle | 75 | Jakub Dobes |
| 22 | Chris Kreider | 76 | Zachary Bolduc |
| 24 | Phillip Danault | 77 | Kirby Dach |
| 32 | Jacob Fowler | 82 | Lucas Condotta |
| 35 | Samuel Montembeault | 85 | Alexandre Texier |
| 42 | Adam Engstrom | 91 | Oliver Kapanen |
| 45 | Alexandre Carrier | 93 | Ivan Demidov |
| 48 | Lane Hutson | 94 | Bryce Pickford |
| No. | Player | No. | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Mike Matheson | 53 | Noah Dobson |
| 13 | Cole Caufield | 62 | Owen Beck |
| 14 | Nick Suzuki | 63 | Florian Xhekaj |
| 15 | Alex Newhook | 64 | David Reinbacher |
| 17 | Josh Anderson | 71 | Jake Evans |
| 20 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 72 | Arber Xhekaj |
| 21 | Kaiden Guhle | 75 | Jakub Dobes |
| 22 | Chris Kreider | 76 | Zachary Bolduc |
| 24 | Phillip Danault | 77 | Kirby Dach |
| 32 | Jacob Fowler | 82 | Lucas Condotta |
| 35 | Samuel Montembeault | 85 | Alexandre Texier |
| 42 | Adam Engstrom | 91 | Oliver Kapanen |
| 45 | Alexandre Carrier | 93 | Ivan Demidov |
| 48 | Lane Hutson | 94 | Bryce Pickford |
Chris Kreider took number 22, which came free when Cole Caufield moved from 22 to 13. Noah Dobson took 53, Zachary Bolduc 76, Alexandre Texier 85, Adam Engstrom 42, and Jacob Fowler 32.
Which Canadiens jersey numbers are available?
Forty-nine, and the only one under 10 is number 6. Thirty-two Canadiens have worn it, among them Toe Blake and Ralph Backstrom, and the last was Chris Wideman. Shea Weber wore it from 2017 to 2021.
The full list: 6, 11, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 67, 68, 70, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95 and 97.
Two of those are available only on paper. Number 79 belongs to Andrei Markov in every practical sense: he wore it for sixteen seasons from 2001 to 2017, and no other Canadien has ever worn it, before or since. Number 31 is the other, and it has a longer answer.
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Why is number 31 not retired for Carey Price?
Because the club has honored him without raising a banner. Price wore 31 from 2008 to 2024, and Montreal held a tribute night for him without retiring the number, leaving it unworn and formally available. No Canadien has taken it since he stopped playing. It is the closest thing in the league today to the old distinction Toronto used to draw between honoring a number and retiring it, and it is the strongest case in hockey for a number that should be in the rafters but isn’t. Price was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the class of 2026.
Which numbers has no Canadien ever worn?
Eight: 0, 50, 66, 69, 87, 96, 98, and 99. Number 50 is the surprise on that list, because 82 players have worn it elsewhere in the NHL and not one of them in Montreal. Number 99 has been out of circulation across the entire league since the NHL retired it for Wayne Gretzky in February 2000, and 66 is Mario Lemieux’s. The caveat matters: sweater-number records are complete only from the 1950-51 season, and although Montreal’s reach back to 1917-18 is extensive, coverage before 1950 has gaps. Read this as the modern era rather than the full 109 seasons.
Which Canadiens numbers have had only one owner?
Five: 78 for Eric Landry, 79 for Andrei Markov, 80 for Ben Maxwell, 86 for Jonathan Ferland, and 97 for Joshua Roy. Four of those were single seasons. The Markov row is the one that matters, because 16 seasons on a number nobody else has ever worn, before or since, is the profile of a retired number without the ceremony. Montreal now has two of those: Markov’s 79 and Carey Price’s 31. Neither is in the rafters, and neither is in use.
Where does this data come from?
Number histories were compiled from Hockey-Reference’s Canadiens sweater-number records. The retired list was verified two ways, against the NHL’s list of retired numbers and against Hockey-Reference’s own franchise retired-numbers header. The current roster comes from the NHL’s Canadiens roster.
Last updated: 16 October 2026.
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