Eichel, Kane, Forsberg choices for top current player to wear No. 9

Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is retired throughout the NHL not only because he is considered the greatest player in League history, but because the number and his name are synonymous.

Though there is no debate over the best player to wear that number, there are 98 other numbers with more than one worthy candidate. That is where the "NHL's Who Wore It Best?" comes in.

NHL.com writers and editors have cast their votes, each selecting his or her top three for each number, with the top vote-getter receiving five points, second place getting three points and third place one point. Candidates will be debated, and the winners revealed in a weekly, five-part series first airing on Sportsnet, NHL.com and League platforms each Friday at 5 p.m. ET, and re-airing each Tuesday on NBCSN (5 p.m. ET) and NHL Network (6:30 p.m. ET). NHL.com will provide the list of winners each Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, following the premiere of each episode.

Each Tuesday on NHL.com, selected writers will each make his or her case for which player in the history of the League wore a certain number best. Each Friday, in a companion piece, the debate will center on current players.

Today, the discussion focuses on the best current player to wear No. 9.

Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Since being selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel has scored 337 points (137 goals, 200 assists) with a points-per-game average of 0.95. Compared to the other two players in this debate, Eichel has scored 53 more points than Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg, and his points-per-game-average is .28 points higher than Evander Kane of the San Jose Sharks. Eichel wore No. 15 for his first three NHL seasons, switching to No. 9 when Kane was traded away from the Sabres. Since doing so before the 2018-19 season, Eichel has scored 160 points (64 goals, 96 assists) in 145 games. The case for Eichel goes beyond the numbers. Consider the respect he's earned from his peers both past and present. Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele said Eichel was his pick for the Hart Trophy this season, when he scored 78 points in 68 games. In addition, Hockey Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault, the Sabres' leader in goals (512), assists (814) and points (1,326), said in December he wouldn't be surprised if Eichel "breaks all the records in Buffalo if he plays his whole career there."

Shawn Roarke, senior director of editorial

Taylor Hall would have been my pick here, especially since he won the Hart Trophy in 2017-18 season, but he switched to No. 91 when was traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 16, 2019. So now I will stump for the Kane, who has been No. 9 since he joined the NHL with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009-10. He has also played for the Jets, the Sabres and now the Sharks and has been consistent for each team. He has seven seasons of at least 40 points and has scored 30 goals twice, including the 2018-19 season.

Nick Cotsonika, columnist

Forsberg has been central to the success of the Predators. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, he's scored 166 goals, 22 more than any of his teammates. He's scored 352 points, second on the Predators to defenseman Roman Josi's 379. (Josi has played 532 games; Forsberg has played 453.) In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Forsberg has been even more of a leader. He has scored 23 goals, nine more than any of his teammates, and 44 points, seven more than any of his teammates. When the Predators made the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, he led them in goals (nine) and points (16). Oh, and he's pretty fun to watch too. Not only did he score a lacrosse-style goal earlier this year, he did it on his backhand. Has Eichel or Kane done that?

Roarke

Look, I'll be the first to admit that Kane is not as flashy as either Eichel or Forsberg and his points-per-game throughout his NHL career (0.64) is not as impressive. But he has been productive for a longer period of time and brings a physical element to the game that few scorers do today. Last season, 45 players scored at least 30 goals. Kane was the only one who had more than 100 penalty minutes (153), playing a power forward game that is far less prevalent than it was even a generation ago. For me, the ability to play a physical, two-way game makes him different than the two other candidates in this roundtable and wins the day for me.

Cotsonika

I love the No. 9 because of all the great players who have worn it in NHL history, from legends of the past like Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard and Bobby Hull, to stars of the more recent past like Glenn Anderson, Mike Modano and Paul Kariya. The list of current players goes behind Eichel, Kane and Forsberg. How about J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks, who set NHL career highs in goals (27), assists (45) and points (72) this season, and has barely been acknowledged? If you wear No. 9, you have to be good, which brings me back to Forsberg. Eichel very well might end up doing more for the Sabres when all is said and done. Kane has been a points producer wherever he has been. Which current player has done more for his team in No. 9 to this point than Forsberg has?

Zeisberger

Forsberg has scored some spectacular goals, sure, and Kane has been a steady source of goals, but the consistent Eichel has led his team in scoring in each of the past four seasons. How much better than that can a resume be? Besides, who am I to argue with the likes of Scheifele and Perreault who, again, are each in his corner?