The Chicago Blackhawks have brought back a familiar face as they welcome Andrew Ladd back into the mix, but the question over what uniform number the winger would wear was an open ended one.
Until now.
On Friday, the Blackhawks announced that Ladd will indeed wear his old number 16, which he wore both in Winnipeg and with the Hawks during his first stint with the team. Since then, the number 16 has belonged to center Marcus Kruger, but according to the team, the forward will give up the number to the new Blackhawk.
The Blackhawks announced that Kruger will switch to the number 22 when he returns to the lineup, as he’s still recovering from surgery that has knocked him out for a good chunk of the regular season. The last Blackhawks player to wear that uniform number was Jamal Mayers, who wore it when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2013.
During Ladd’s tenure in Chicago, Troy Brouwer wore the jersey before being traded to the Washington Capitals in 2011.
Ladd is in some good company among players that donned the number 16 sweater for the Blackhawks. Bobby Hull wore the jersey during his first three seasons in the league, and broadcaster Eddie Olczyk rocked the “16” during his long career with the Blackhawks.
