Before you get indignant about the Canadiens letting Scott Gomez wear Saku Koivu's old jersey number -- and indignation was my knee-jerk reaction until I sought historical perspective -- consider this: fewer than half of the 15 uniform numbers the Canadiens have retired went to the rafters bearing the name of the last player who wore the jersey.
Giving Gomez number 11 opens up a two-fold debate: is Koivu worthy of having the number retired in his honour, and if he is, do Gomez and the Canadiens dishonour him by taking it out of mothballs?
The short answer to the first question is "yes." Koivu's service record alone, including the second longest run as Canadiens captain after Jean Beliveau's tenure, makes the case compelling enough. What seals the deal is that there's nothing in franchise history as stirring and uplifting as Koivu's courage and poise in his battle against cancer, his unforgettable comeback against all odds, and his selfless initiative in creating the Montreal-based medical foundation that he continues to represent, despite now playing his home games four thousand kilometers away.
However, franchise history also includes ample precedent for soiling Koivu's old jersey with the sweat of another. Nine former Canadiens -- Hall of Famers all -- watched their old jerseys make the rounds among a parade of journeymen before the numbers were retired. Two of them - Jacques Plante and Boom Boom Geoffrion - didn't survive to participate in the ceremony.
If common sense and decency prevail over the petty politics that often marred Saku Koivu's time in Montreal, number 11 will be retired in his honor sometime after he retires from the NHL. In the meantime, if the legendary likes of Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey and Serge Savard can tolerate their fabled jerseys being worn by the Ron Flockharts, Turner Stevensons and Valeri Bures of the hockey world, Koivu could do worse than have Scott Gomez babysit his number until such time as it takes its rightful place in the Bell Center rafters.
