Chicago Sports: The legendary number 23 for each team

The Chicago Blackhawks are the only Chicago team that has never had an all-time great player ever wear the number 23. They have had some pretty good players wear it but nobody that you would ever even come close to being considered a Chicago legend. 19 players have worn it in the history of the franchise and only one really sticks out above the rest.

Kris Versteeg wore 23 in the 2013-15 timeframe for Chicago. It was a short amount of time but he is the most notable player on the list of players to wear the number. He wore 32 in his first stint with Chicago but Michal Rozsival was wearing it by the time he got back. He flipped the two numbers to make it 23. He won the Stanley Cup twice with Chicago as an important role player both times. The first Cup came wearing 32 and the second while wearing 23.

Versteeg just recently retired after carving out a really nice career. There is no doubt that he was a very important part of two teams that won it all. Brandon Manning wore 23 in his very short time with Chicago since then but nobody great has worn it. The fact that the Hawks share the United Center with the Bulls makes you wonder if not many greats chose it because of the fact that they play at “The House That Jordan Built”.