The Vancouver Canucks shared a photo this week of Brendan Gallagher proudly wearing his brand new jersey, now sporting the number 7. For longtime Montreal Canadiens fans, the image was already jarring enough.
After 14 consecutive seasons giving everything he had in the bleu-blanc-rouge, seeing the gritty winger in different colors is disorienting on its own. But the absence of his iconic number 11, the one he wore throughout his entire tenure in Montreal, adds another layer of unfamiliarity.
The switch, however, is not a matter of personal preference. It stems from a tragic chapter deeply embedded in the Canucks' organizational memory.
The number 11 in Vancouver has been unofficially retired in honor of Wayne Maki, one of the franchise's earliest stars. Maki was selected by the Canucks during the 1970 expansion draft and quickly became a fan favorite. After two and a half productive seasons, however, the beloved player received a devastating brain cancer diagnosis in December 1972.
Maki fought the disease bravely but ultimately passed away on May 12, 1974. He was just 29 years old. A terrible tragedy...
Following that Maki's passing, Chris Oddleifson briefly wore number 11 near the end of the 1973-74 season before agreeing to switch. From that point forward, the organization chose to keep the number out of circulation as an unofficial tribute to Maki's memory.
For more than two decades, no Canuck wore the number 11. That changed in 1997 when Mark Messier signed with Vancouver and the team's front office made a highly controversial exception, allowing him to keep the number he had worn with the Oilers and Rangers. The decision reportedly drew emotional objections from the Maki family. Once Messier departed in 2000, the organization reversed course and restored the tradition. No player has been allowed to wear the number 11 since.
It is out of respect for that painful history and the team's internal policy that Gallagher will begin his new chapter in British Columbia with the number 7 on his back.
