Numbers game

At the end of a follow-up interview with Willie Mitchell today, I asked him the question that seems to be predominant in a lot of fans’ minds whenever a free agent signs: what number will he wear? Mitchell wore No. 8 in Vancouver, but that’s sort of taken by a 20-year-old Norris Trophy candidate. Mitchell said his favorite number to wear has always been 2, which is also taken (Matt Greene). He said that while he follows the tradition of a defenseman wearing a single-digit number, he doesn’t like 6, or 9, and indicated he would stay away from 4 “out of respect for what Rob Blake did for the organization.” I suggested 22, but Mitchell said he would think about a number that held some significance to him. There’s your hard-hitting news for the early afternoon… I got a lot of good stuff from Mitchell about his recovery, so that should make for a good story in the near future.

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