Lou Lamoriello rule forces Bo Horvat to change his number after trade with Canucks
Some of the biggest news to come out of the NHL this week has been Vancouver's longtime captain, Bo Horvat, being traded to the New York Islanders. On top of Horvat wearing a new jersey, he'll also be wearing a new number.
Previously, Horvat wore the number 53, which he'd chosen to wear until this point in his career. After being drafted by Vancouver in 2013, Elliotte Friedman spoke to Horvat about his number choice, which Horvat explained was to honour past London Knights teammate and friend Ian Jenkins. Unfortunately, Jenkins passed away in a 2011 car accident; just weeks after being drafted to the Knights with Horvat.
So why change a number that has so much significance? Well, it seems it may have been out of Horvat's hands.
Given Gord Miller does mention this rule from Lou Lamoriello has some wiggle room, it's hard not to assume that if Horvat explained his reasoning, that would be good enough to keep number 53. Maybe Lamoriello forced Horvat to change his number, or Horvat was open to a completely fresh slate with his new team. However, it does need to be considered that 53 is also currently worn by Casey Cizikas, so perhaps Cizikas wasn't comfortable offering it up or perhaps Horvat simply didn't want to come in and take someone else's number.
