Number 27: Who Wore It Best?

Although the 27 hasn't been worn by too many men, there are a few guys that could earn your votes! So let's get to it, who do you think wore it best?

Paul Stewart (80). Paul Stewart played in both the WHA and the NHL. By the time he made his way to the Nords, he was at the tail end of his NHL career. He played 21 games in 1980, during those games he netted 2 goals, and had no assists. He also had 74 penalty minutes. After his playing career ended, Paul went on to be a long-time NHL referee. He retired from reffing in 2003.

Richard David (80, 82). Richard was drafted in the third round by the Montreal Canadiens in 1978. Richard actually played for the Nords for four seasons. He only played two seasons wearing the number 27. He played 15 games in those two seasons, had 1 goal and 1 assist. He had 6 penalty minutes in that time.

Wilf Paiement (82-86). Wilf was the second overall pick in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. He stayed with the team that drafted him, the Kansas City Scouts for two seasons, then made the move with the team and stayed in Colorado as part of the Rockies. He made his way to the Nords in 1982 via a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wilf was a bit of a bad boy. He hit a Detroit Red Wing player with a two-handed slash. He served a 15 game suspension, which was the second longest given at the time, and was sued by the Wings player and - in 1982 - settled for $850,000. In his time with the Nords he played a total 236 games, he had 95 goals, 109 assists and 474 penalty minutes.

David Latta (86, 88-89). David was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, 15th overall, in the 1985 Draft. In his first three seasons with the Nords he played 35 games, had 4 goals, had 8 assists, and 4 penalty minutes. Although David came back to the Nords in 1991, the number was taken by then so he had to chose a different number.

Jaroslav Sevcik (90). Jaroslav was a 9th round draft pick in the 1987 Draft. He played 13 games, had 2 assists and 2 penalty minutes.

Mark Vermette (90). Mark was a 7th round draft pick in 1986. The Quebec draft pick played for the Nords from 1989 until 1992. He only wore the 27 during the 1990 season. He played 11 games had 1 goal, 5 assists and 8 penalty minutes.

Randy Velischek (91-92). Randy was drafted 53rd overall in 1980. In his two years with the Nords he played 117 games, had 4 goals, 13 assists and 64 penalty minutes.

Ron Hextall (93) - Ron was drafted in the 6th round by the Philadelphia Flyers he played 6 seasons with the Flyers before being part of the block buster trade that involved Peter Forsberg heading to the Nords. He, along with Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Peter Forsberg and Steve Duchesne, future considerations, a first round draft pick in each the 1993 and 1994 draft *and* cash for... Eric Lindros. Yeah, I'm still bitter about Lindros. But Damn, his becoming the Most Hated Man in Quebec, sure did get the Nords quite a package. Anyway, back to Ron. He only played in Quebec for a season. In that season he played 54 games, had 2 assists, 56 penalty minutes, 3.45 goals against average, and had a 0.888 save percentage. This was just a pit stop for him... he headed back to Philly a season later.

Brad Werenka (94). Brad was a second-round draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers. He played11 games for the Quebec Nordiques in 1994. In those 11 games he had 0 goals, 7 assists, 8 penalty minutes.

John Slaney (96). John was drafted 9th overall in the 1990 draft by the Washington Capitals. He played 7 regular season games for the Avalanche in 1996, he didn't make an appearance in the playoffs. In his 7 games he had no goals, 3 assists and had 4 penalty minutes.

Christian Matte (97). Christian was drafted in the 6th round by the Quebec Nordiques in 1993. He played no games with the Nords, but he played with the Avalanche from 1997 until 2000. However, he only wore the 27 for the 1997 season. He played 5 games, had 1 goal, 1 assist and no penalty minutes.

Francois Leroux (98). Francois was the 19th overall pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1988 draft. He played 50 games in Avalanche gear, had 1 goal, 2 assists and 140 penalty minutes.

Scott Parker (99, 01, 02, 03, 08). Scott Parker was drafted twice. In 1996 he was drafted 63rd overall by the New Jersey Devils. In 1998 he was drafted 20th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. The Sheriff, as he was affectionately known, wasn't known as a scorer. He was an enforcer. He had two stints with the Avalanche. His first one was from 1999 until 2003. He played 202 regular season games, had 4 goals, 10 assists and had a massive 462 penalty minutes. He had 5 playoff games, no points and 4 penalty minutes. His second stint was for the 2007 and 2008 season. He didn't wear his trusty 27 in 2007 , Vaananen was a ballsy man not giving up that number, but after Ossi left he switched back in 2008. His scoring didn't improve in '08. He had no points in 25 appearances and had 70 penalty minutes. If you missed it, our very own Brett had a pretty great interview with Scott in the summer. You should check it out.

Ossi Vaananen (04-07). Ossi was drafted 43rd overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1998 draft. He played three seasons for the Avalanche. In that time he played 139 regular season games, had 2 goals, 10 assists and 127 penalty minutes and averaged a +/- +4. He played 12 playoff games and had a point and 18 penalty minutes.

Kyle Quincey (10-12). Once a Red Wing, then an Avalanche, and now back to being a Red Wing. He was drafted by the Wings in the 4th round in 2003. He made his way to the Kings before stopping for two and a half seasons in Denver. His time in Denver saw many highs and lows. After a bad hit in the corner Kyle was hearing the word "retirement". Working his butt off, lifting a 1 pound dumbbell, he gained strength back in his shoulder. In his 154 games in the Avalanche uniform he had 11 goals, 42 assists and 154 penalty minutes.

Steve Downie (12). Steve was traded for Kyle Quincey at the tail end of the 2012 season. As such, the 29th overall pick in the 2005 draft has only played 20 games for the Avalanche. He had 2 goals, and 11 assists and 16 penalty minutes. He was also +9. Once the NHL comes back, if it ever comes back, Steve will be donning the 27 once again.