The NHL Should Retire No. 66 In Honor Of Josh Ho-Sang

Josh Ho-Sang needed four games to earn his first NHL goal, but it was worth it. The 21-year-old scored with a hard slap shot in the Islanders’ 4-1 win over the Oilers Tuesday. He probably imagined Mario Lemieux’s face on the puck when he smacked that one.

That was a joke! Should we talk about the jersey thing? Does it matter at this point? The people who want to be mad about Ho-Sang wearing No. 66, a number unofficially-but-not actually retired league-wide for the NHL legend, will continue to be mad, but there doesn’t seem to be that many of them. Ho-Sang likes the number and understands who has worn it before him:

Ho-Sang isn’t even the first person to wear the number since Lemieux. Calgary Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie used No. 66 for a few games during the 2010-11 season, and he sparked a Facebook group of angry Pens fans demanding that he switch:

You realize some Penguins fans aren’t crazy about this?

I understand. He’s a great player, and I have total respect for him. It’s not any disrespect. If I get a chance to change it, I will.

What about the Facebook group dedicated to forcing you to change the number?

It’s pretty funny, but at the same time I can’t worry about it.

The next season, Brodie switched to No. 7. It’s just a number anyway. The concerned can reconvene if Ho-Sang scores five goals five different ways. If that happens, old-ass Super Mario better watch his back.