Sweater Switch '09: Part 4

First, check out Part 1: Pronger, Havlat, Tavares, Hedman, Ashton, Part 2: Bouwmeester, Ohlund, Walker, Cammalleri, Gomez, Smyth, and Part 3: Gaborik, Mara, Moen, Gionta, Gill, Spacek.

It's been nearly a week since the previous edition, but the summer blog series trudges on with another handful of players who are getting new jerseys this off-season. We'll begin with a picture that's been out there a while.

Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky

Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky were introduced to the Windy City last week after Part 3 was posted and I've been hanging on to this picture ever since. Both players carry over the sweater numbers they used with the previous red Original Six team they played for.

Hossa wore No. 18 for all of the first 10 seasons of his NHL career, which began in 1997, including seven with the Senators, three with the Thrashers and a dozen games with the Penguins. He joined the Red Wings in 2008, but had to swap his digits for veteran Wings winger Kirk Maltby. Hossa will be forced to keep No. 81 in Chicago as his preferred No. 18 has been retired by the Hawks in honor of Denis Savard (a former Bolt!).

Tomas Kopecky played his first NHL game with Detroit in the 2005-06 season, wearing No. 32. The following year saw him in No. 28 for a couple dozen games, and in his first full season he relinquished No. 28 to Brian Rafalski for the opposite, No. 82 — also his birth year — which he's been wearing since. No. 28 is available in Chicago, but Kopecky is opting to keep No. 82.

Enough blocks of text... more pictures!

The Philadelphia Flyers signed a pair of new goalies this summer, and gave them their new sweaters to debut at the announcement of the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park.

Brian Boucher is actually returning to the club that drafted him in 1995 and will return to the No. 33 he first wore as a rookie in 1999. Since leaving for Phoenix in 2002, Boucher has logged a lot of miles. He managed to keep his number there and for three games in Calgary, but lost it in 2006 to Adrian Aucoin in Chicago and then Fredrik Modin in Columbus, where he donned No. 31 and No. 35, respectively. He finally got it back with San Jose two years ago.

Ray Emery made his NHL debut with a few games in the 2002-03 season in Ottawa, wearing the traditional No. 1. He kept it for all of his five season in the capital city before spending a year in the KHL. Now in Philly, Emery has opted for No. 29 since Bernie Parent was honored with the retiring of No. 1 by the Flyers in 1979.

Ian Laperriere with GM Paul Holmgren

The Flyers also added winger Ian Laperriere who's known more for penalty minutes than anything else. Though it's not clear in this picture, Laperriere will wear No. 14. He debuted with the St. Louis Blues in 1994 with No. 22 on his back, keeping it during a brief stint with the Rangers in 1995 and during his nine-season tenure with the Kings. Following the lockout, Laperriere joined the Avalanche where No. 22 belonged to Steve Konowalchuk. He's worn No. 14 since then.

That brings us to one of the most recent free agent additions of the summer. The Ottawa Senators swiped Alex Kovalev from the Montreal Canadiens and they've already put him in front of the cameras with his No. 27 sweater — all three of them, in fact.

Alex Kovalev

From his rookie year with the Rangers, Kovalev has worn No. 27 throughout his 17-season NHL career. He has since played for the Penguins before a brief return to Manhattan, and more recently, he was a member of the Canadiens. No surprise to see him keep the same number.

That's all I've got for Part 4 and I'm a little concerned it may be the last one for a while. We'll see if any other teams get their new signees into new uniforms anytime soon. August may be a slow month. But we've got the return of the IceHL to follow as well as any third jersey-related developments.