Newly Acquired Defenseman Marcus Pettersson Changes His Number Out of Respect For Canuck Who Passed Away

After months and months of looking on the trade market for a top-four defenseman, the Vancouver Canucks were finally able to acquire one landing Marcus Pettersson from the Pittsburgh Penguins late on Friday night.

As with any player who signs with a team or is traded to a new club, one of the first things they need to do is inform the equipment manager of what jersey number they want to wear.

For the four new players acquired by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday night - Filip Chytil, Marcus Pettersson, Drew O'Connor and Victor Mancini, they've all decided on what number they'll be wearing for the club.

Filip Chytil will be sticking with his number 72 that he wore in New York, Drew O'Connor has gone with number 18, Victor Mancini has chosen number 90 and Marcus Pettersson has picked number 29.

For his entire tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with part of one season in Anaheim, Marcus Pettersson has worn number 28, but out of respect for Luc Bourdon, a former Canuck who passed away after a motorcycle accident in 2008, the Swedish blueliner has opted to wear 29 instead.

Since Bourdon's passing in 2008, no player has worn number 28 for the Vancouver Canucks.

This is a really nice gesture from Marcus Pettersson and one that will absolutely win over those fans that weren't too happy with the trade on Friday night.

Marcus Pettersson is expected to make his Vancouver Canucks debut tonight when they host the Detroit Red Wings at Rogers Arena for a 5 pm PT puck drop.