The latest development in the Lou Lamoriello Culture Change appears to be this: We’re gonna shave beards AND lower uniform numbers. That’s not confirmed, but the signs and hints of this testament to style over substance have increased throughout the summer.
I don’t know about Johnny Boychuk (veteran, always wore #55 except that weird #7 phase in Colorado, probably gets a Mogilny Exception) or Valtteri Filppula (is now bad, but has always worn #51), but apparently Adam Pelech is dropping #50 for #3 and Thomas Hickey is dropping #14 for #4 because reasons.