Sports are all about numbers. And the most important ones are those that identify the players.

Basketball players are only allowed a number between zero and 55 so that the referees can identify the guilty party to the scorer's table from across the court by simply holding up the required fingers on each hand. The number a football player wears depends on the position he plays. You'll never see an offensive lineman sporting a number in the teens. It's simply not allowed. And in baseball, well, baseball's kind of nutty. Everyone knows Jackie Robinson wore number 42 and Mickey Mantle was good ol' number 7, but nowadays the only numbers that baseball players are known for are the ones on their contracts.

But hockey is a little different. In hockey, more so than any other sport, the number a guy wears reflects his personality. There are no rules limiting the field of choices. And almost from the very moment the player pulls on his first sweater, he is forever linked to the numeral on his back. After all, when Doug Weight scores a goal, the announcer doesn't say "Goal scored by Doug Weight." Nope, he says, "Goal scored by number 39, Doug Weight." A player's number is almost like a second set of finger prints, identifying him to the world and lasting his entire life. So the choice needs to be a wise one.

A number can even go a long way to defining a player. It's hard to imagine Wayne Gretzky being Wayne Gretzky with 54 on his jersey. And what about Mario Lemieux? From the moment he decided to turn Gretzky's 99 upside-down, he sent a warning to the world that he was on a mission to lay claim to the NHL. Now it's impossible to see the number 66 without thinking of the Pittsburgh savior. And can you imagine at any point in the future that another NHLer will ever wear the numbers 99 or 66 again? It's not likely.

Aside from Gretzky, there aren't many players in the NHL these days that have their own signature numbers. Arguments could be made for Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov being pioneers by selecting 89 and 91, respectively, in honor of the years they defected from the former Soviet Union. But neither one has really intimidated others from wearing their numbers. The only two guys that fall in that category are Eric Lindros and Jaromir Jagr. There won't be anymore 88s or 68s skating around NHL rinks in the near future.

Lindros, who wears 88 in honor of a deceased friend, has emerged as the most dominating physical presence in all of hockey. Fear could be the greatest factor in keeping newcomers away from the number, since Lindros would probably give a serious beating to anyone who tries to sweat him. But 88 hasn't always been the sole property of Lindros. A certain youngster by the name of Joe Sakic actually wore 88 in his rookie year with the Quebec Nordiques. The same is true for former Nordique Owen Nolan.

As for Jagr, his stickhandling brilliance and sheer talent makes 68 practically off limits. Who in their right mind is going to want their skill level compared to Jagr's? That burden was too much even for Ziggy Palffy, who broke into the NHL wearing 68. But he didn't ask for the number, instead it was given to him by a good-natured trainer who felt Ziggy bore a striking resemblance to Pittsburgh's Czech Wonder Kid.

While Lindros and Jagr are extremely special cases, every player is bonded with his number to some extent from the very first moment he dons his club's sweater. It soon becomes his identity. It's important a player and his number are as one. If not, the contrasting spiritual forces can wreak havoc on a player's performance and, in some instances, cause chaos throughout the cosmos. Such was the case with Pavel Bure. Last season the Russian Rocket wanted to pay tribute to the year he gained U.S. citizenship by switching from 10 to 96. Bad move. Somehow, when Bure had 96, the sky wasn't as blue, the malt liquor wasn't as tasty, and reruns of "Gilligan's Island" just weren't as funny. While LCS knew the number change was a grievous mistake from the start, it took a terribly subpar season to drive Bure back to the comfortable confines of number 10 again this year.

That's the usual story when guys try and change numbers after enjoying success. Obviously Sakic, Nolan, and Palffy all thrived following a number change, but none of the three were established stars when they switched. Teemu Selanne tackled superstition and wrote "mucus" on its forehead when he blitzed the league for 76 goals while wearing number 13 in his rookie season of 1992-93. He then further tempted the fates by switching to his old Finnish League number 8. And while he is now back to his old scoring ways, the transition wasn't without its painful moments. Changing midstream, particularly after already enjoying a great deal of success, is definitely a risky proposition. Not to mention a costly one for fans trying to keep up to date with their heroes latest jersey.

Then again, some players don't have a choice. If a guy gets traded to a team that already has a warm body occupying his number, then a change is almost always in the cards. Of course, most prominent players can pull a few strings and get their number, as Luc Robitaille did this past summer when he was traded back to the Kings and cut a friendly deal with Ray Ferraro to regain custody of his familiar number 20. But unless you're a perennial all-star or a former 50-goal scorer, a trade can mean the end of a beautiful relationship between man and number.

Some guys look upon trades as a way of starting anew and elect to go in an entirely different direction. When Rick Tocchet was traded to Pittsburgh in 1992, his number 22 was being worn by defenseman Paul Stanton. So Tocchet chose to take the year of the trade as his number, and helped Pittsburgh to a Stanley Cup with 92 stitched on his sweater. But it wasn't long after that Tocchet made a deal with Stanton to get his good ol' 22 back. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh's fortunes turned sour. Now Tocchet is back to wearing 92.

While some traded players adopt the year as their new numbers, others, like Doug Gilmour, just choose to change the digits around a little bit. Gilmour won a Cup in Calgary wearing number 39, but when he arrived in Toronto he simply reversed it to 93. Gilmour did turn the Maple Leafs from a laughing stock into a contender, but some of the magic must have been lost when the three and nine changed sides because he never could quite make it back to the Cup Finals with the Leafs.

The importance of player numbers hasn't been lost on Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Gauthier. In an attempt to strengthen team unity, Gauthier insisted that all Senators wear a number between 1 and 35. The two most prominent players forced to change were Alexandre Daigle and Radek Bonk. Daigle ditched 91 and went with 9, which is truly a great number. Meanwhile, Bonk scrapped 76, which would have been a smooth number for Ben Franklin and few others, and replaced it with 14. Coincidentally, Bonk got off to the best start of his career this season.

So what makes a great number? Well, Gauthier was on the right track. As a general rule, high numbers are lame. Unless you're a Lemieux or Gretzky, stay out of the high-rent district. Nothing is funnier than a stiff stumbling around with a number higher than his career point total. But if you're in a recreational league of some sort, or even in the big show contemplating a change, and need some guidance in choosing the perfect number, rest easy. LCS has compiled the following list of the coolest numbers available and the names of the guys that made them so great.

2 - Brian Leetch and the Mac Daddy, Al MacInnis, have made snake eyes a favorite among blueliners. Don't even think about it if you're a forward, tho'.

4 - This number has fallen on some serious hard times lately, but Bobby Orr made it immortal.

7 - Lucky number seven is a favorite among today's youth because of the great Chris Chelios. But don't forget that Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque both used to wear 7 back in the day. If you're a defenseman, it just doesn't get any better than 7. Once again, if you're a forward keep your distance. Chris Dingman, I'm looking in your direction...

8 - Cam Neely made 8 great, and Selanne created quite the resurgence when he switched to it. Geoff Sanderson and Mark Recchi haven't hurt the cause any, either. And Sandis Ozolinsh has even made it a viable choice for defensemen.

9 - Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe. What more do you want? But if more recent role models are needed, look no further than Mike Modano, Paul Kariya, and Adam Graves.

10 - Pavel Bure and Tony Amonte made it synonymous with speed. Gary Roberts brings it character, leadership, and toughness. And John LeClair is a powerful goal-scoring machine. So 10 has all the bases covered.

11 - Johnny Cullen's number back in the day with the Penguins. Nuff said.

12 - Peter Bondra made 12 worthy of a true offensive weapon. Plus, it's newer Cullen.

13 - Believe it or not, 13 is usually quite lucky. Selanne had his big rookie year with it. Mats Sundin is on Nike commercials because of it. And look what it did for Valeri Kamensky. The guy was breaking bones every other week while wearing 17 and 31, but he's been all good with the baker's dozen.

14 - Li'l Theo Fleury makes it a force to be reckoned with.

16 - Two words: Brett Hull. Two more words: Ziggy Palffy. And, oh yeah, two more words: Patty LaFontaine. So, let's see, that's, like, seven words... no, wait, six words. No, I was right the first time... seven words.

17 - Sure, Kamensky did have bad luck with it, but Jari Kurri made 17 a number for the masses.

19 - Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, and old school Brendan Shanahan. 19 is where it's at. As an added bonus, in old diners of the 1940s and 50s, 19 was spoken code for a banana split. LCS has mad knowledge.

21 - Peter Forsberg will have the youth of tomorrow all wearing this one, so get on the bandwagon before it's too late.

22 - Mike Bossy is as cool as it gets.

Notice that goaltenders weren't mentioned in the above list. That's pretty much because no one really cares what number a goaltender wears. But if you are a netminder, you can't go wrong with Patrick Roy's 33, Martin Brodeur's 30, or even Felix Potvin's 29. And Jocelyn Thibault's 41 is wizard in its own right.

If originality is your thing and you'd like to be a trendsetter, LCS has a few vastly underused numbers for consideration.

1 - Sure, a lot of goaltenders wear it, but when is a prominent skater ever going to claim it? It would be the perfect number for a high-scoring center. And even when fans on the road give you obscene gestures, they'd still in a way be honoring you. Aw, that's swell.

37 - Only nine players in the NHL wear it, with Olaf "The Berserker" Kolzig and Eric Desjardins being the two most prominent. But we like 37 because it was Cool Hand Luke's prison number. Luke was a bad man. Ya know, he ate 50 eggs...

86 - Would you believe it, 15 players in the NHL wear 86? 15! Oh, you find that a little hard to believe? Would you believe 12 players? No, huh? Well, how about three players and one team mascot? Yes, that's right, the secret agent number of good ol' Maxwell Smart is nowhere to be found in NHL circles. This must change.

Speaking of changing, there are a number of players in the NHL that desperately need a number change. As chronicled above, changing numbers can be a dicey situation, but all the following guys have nothing to lose, because the numbers they have now are solid drags.

Joe Thornton, Boston Bruins #6: Sure, the kid's career is only a month old, but he is pointless. And he's never going to win any scoring titles wearing 6. That number's okay if you're a defenseman, but it's a one-way ticket to Dorksville if you're a forward.

Jeff O'Neill, Carolina Hurricanes #92: It won't be long before this guy is the posterboy for first-round disappointments. He just shouldn't be wearing 92. That's a big, heavy number. Tocchet can get away with it, but a fast, skill guy like O'Neill should avoid it like the plague.

Sergei Zubov, Dallas Stars #56: 56 is great... if you're an outside linebacker! 56 is just a terrible hockey number. A big, tough guy might be able to pull it off, but Zubie? Not gonna happen. Zubov wearing 56 is, without doubt, the worst combination of player and number in the entire NHL.

Ryan Smyth, Edmonton Oilers #94: Smyth enjoyed incredible success with 94 last season when he racked up a career-high 39 goals, but it's really just a stupid number. He only has three goals in his first 13 games this season. It may not be panic time yet, but a change would be nice.

Esa Tikkanen, Florida Panthers #97: Dave Lowry already had 10, but there had to be better choices available. 97 is weak.

Vladimir Malakhov, Montreal Canadiens #38: Malakhov broke in with 23 but had to give it up when the Islanders retired it in honor of Bobby Nystrom. Then when he arrived in Montreal he adopted 38. LCS is still trying to figure out why.

Sebastien Bordeleau, Montreal Canadiens #71: If Bordeleau is wearing 71 to commemorate the year that "Shaft" was released, then it's bad as hell. Otherwise, forget about it.

Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix Coyotes #97: "Dear Mr. Kotter, please allow Jeremy to change his number because he has a rare eye condition. He can no longer see himself score. Signed -- Epstein's Mother".

Chris Ferraro, Pittsburgh Penguins #57: 57? What happened, Chris, did you lose a bet? Take a tip from your brother and go with a more respectable number, like his swell 17. And next time you guys activate your Wonder Twin Powers, and I think I speak for everyone here when I say this, "Don't turn into a bucket of water! Enough already with the water!"

Alexei Morozov, Pittsburgh Penguins #95: Morozov might just have the talent to make this one work, but put a 19 on his back and all will be right with the world.

Andrei Nazarov, San Jose Sharks #62: Oh boy.

Vladimir Vujtek, Tampa Bay Lightning #79: This guy is a foreigner, so we'll cut him some slack. But 79 isn't a hockey number, it's a test score... and a damned good one at that.

Sergei Berezin, Toronto Maple Leafs #94: Berezin has so many skills they're falling out of his pockets, but the 94 has gots to go.

Mathieu Schneider, Toronto Maple Leafs #72: Schneider did that wacky swapping-numbers thing when he went from a 27 in Montreal to a 72 on Long Island. In the process he gained one of the worst numbers in hockey. Nice job there, chief.

Phil Housley, Washington Capitals #96: Who knows why Housley took 96? Maybe he was just looking for a number higher than his career minus total? But get this, Housley's career plus-minus total is only -33. Hmm ha...

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