Blackhawks Share New Numbers for 2026-27 Season

As shown above, Jordan Greenway will wear #12, Cole Smith will wear #22, Bowen Byram will wear #24, Ian Cole will wear #28, Roman Kantserov will wear #80, and Sacha Boisvert is changing his number to #90.

The Prospects

Perhaps the most fascinating number choice, Kantserov has elected to wear #80 with the Blackhawks. He wore #8 in the KHL, which is currently worn by Ryan Donato. It appears the pivot to #80 was with intention of keeping his KHL number to some degree.

As for Boisvert, it appears Jordan Greenway convinced the youngster to give up his number. Boisvert wore #12 in his small sample size with the Hawks last season, but will now wear #90 going forward. Boisvert wore #9 in college, which is retired for Bobby Hull, so its a similar pivot for both Kantserov and Boisvert with their number choices.

Kantserov will join Antoine Vermette as the only players to wear #80 in team history. As for #90, Boisvert will join Joe Veleno, Tyler Johnson, and Scott Foster as the only players to wear the number.

The Trade Acquisitions

Jordan Greenway and Bowen Byram were acquired from the Buffalo Sabres before the NHL Draft. Although Byram is the center of the package, including a brand new extension, Greenway will be a notable piece for this upcoming season.

Greenway wore #12 in Buffalo and #18 in Minnesota. With #18 retired for Denis Savard, #12 was Greenway’s only choice of former numbers. Based on Boisvert’s switch, it appears the veteran convinced him to give up #12. Prior to Boisvert, Alex DeBrincat was the last player to wear #12 in Chicago.

As for Byram, he wore #4 in Colorado and Buffalo, and his dad once wore #46 with the Blackhawks. However, Byram takes #24, a number with a lot of history in Chicago. Bob Probert, Doug Wilson, and Martin Havlat are some of the notable players to don the number. Byram expressed his respect for Niklas Hjalmarsson and why he passed up on #4 in his selection process. Byram has already been seen with a #24 helmet while skating in Chicago.

Prior to Byram donning #24, Sam Lafferty and Jaycob Megna both wore the number in their stints with the Blackhawks.

The Free Agents

Finally, the Blackhawks two new free agent additions have selected their numbers. Cole Smith will wear #22 and Ian Cole will wear #28.

Smith wore #22 in his short stint with the Vegas Golden Knights, after wearing #36 in Nashville. Inking a three-year deal, Smith had some notable things to say to the media on Tuesday. Smith is coming to Chicago with high expectations, and looking to bring his experience and rough style of play to the Windy City. Before Smith, Joey Anderson was the last player to wear #22.

As for Ian Cole, he joins the Blackhawks on a one-year deal, adding a veteran, left-handed defenseman to the group. Just like Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Murphy one season ago, Cole will be leaned on as the grizzled veteran and a stable presence on the blue line. Its unclear how often Cole will suit up, but he is earning a handsome paycheck for one season.

Ian Cole has almost always worn #28 in his career. The recently-traded Andre Burakovsky was the last player to wear the number in Chicago.

The complete history of jersey numbers in Chicago can be found at the link here.