Tragedy or old age should dictate that, not a lack of personal responsibility.

the biography must be out of print. the paperback version is $90 on Amazon.

I got you covered on the next blog idea, Ek;


Max (frank)ing Domi has more points than Snakevares just like everyone predicted


*sips tea*

I wouldn't be against it but in reality I understand why they haven't and probably won't. It's fine because they have unofficially retired it by not handing the number out. Hart won't even be given that number when he comes up

Retire it

Never been a Flyers fan but loved Pelle.

There is more respect in not retiring a number and having players honor the number by voluntarily NOT wearing it out of respect than it is for the number being "retired" by the team or the league

That being said, He sounds like a dirtball drunk driver who killed himself and could have possibly killed innocent others

I would create a statue memorial for Pelle in front of the stadium and create a Ring of Honor for other memorable Flyers around the inside of the arena like the Canucks do. It is very important to preserve the heritage of NHL franchises, especially since Bettman is CLEARLY corrupted by US TV networks and the generally highest bidding US owner in the playoffs. PLUS the NHLPA has ineffective slap on the wrist suspensions/fines leading to chronic injuries of star players which fans really pay to see. My rant is a little off topic but overall it addresses ignored problems by the NHL. Why wait for another player to go down from a cheapshot?

I think the question is, given the tragedy that goes along with it in franchise history, who would want to wear it? I know that almost no player still playing in the NHL can remember it, but it was such a traumatic event surrounding Pelle's death that the team should just retire the #31.

There is more respect in not retiring a number and having players honor the number by voluntarily NOT wearing it out of respect than it is for the number being "retired" by the team or the league

That being said, He sounds like a dirtball drunk driver who killed himself and could have possibly killed innocent others
- RoloTahmasee

He was human, humans make mistakes. People drink and drive because they feel like they are unaffected and frankly when drunk your judgement isnt that good to begin with. You are always think you are fine to drive until you aren't. Many people figure, hey I will take back roads and move slower but all that doesnt matter. People who do this dont recognize their condition and how it affects their driving. To me majority of people who drive cant drive sober. Another thing is you stick to a rule and once you break it, you start to do it more and more if that makes any sense. An example for me would be when I first started driving, I would never go over 10 KM over the limit. Eventually one day I did go over that limit I set. It became easier and easier to break that limit the more I did it to the point where 10 km over the limit seemed too slow. Eventually I got back into the habit of not going over my limit but it was tough.

The fact is 99% of drivers break the law whether they know it or not. Not knowing the rules is not an excuse either. I find drivers to be the most hypocrites because they will criticize things other people do that they do themselves

Eklund: Flyers and #31. Time to pass #31 along or retire it officially..
- Eklund

Maybe after Pete Peeters. Or Bob Froese. I’m 51 and been watching hockey since 1975. If it weren’t for the drama created by such a tragic death, outside of Philadelphia (and Sweden) he was another All-Star goalie that had one spectacular season and held a Lot of promise.

He was human, humans make mistakes. People drink and drive because they feel like they are unaffected and frankly when drunk your judgement isnt that good to begin with. You are always think you are fine to drive until you aren't. Many people figure, hey I will take back roads and move slower but all that doesnt matter. People who do this dont recognize their condition and how it affects their driving. To me majority of people who drive cant drive sober. Another thing is you stick to a rule and once you break it, you start to do it more and more if that makes any sense. An example for me would be when I first started driving, I would never go over 10 KM over the limit. Eventually one day I did go over that limit I set. It became easier and easier to break that limit the more I did it to the point where 10 km over the limit seemed too slow. Eventually I got back into the habit of not going over my limit but it was tough.

The fact is 99% of drivers break the law whether they know it or not. Not knowing the rules is not an excuse either. I find drivers to be the most hypocrites because they will criticize things other people do that they do themselves
- xShoot4WarAmpsx

rationalizing doesn't make it right or even okay

Well-done with this article. I have often thought of the same points. My personal feeling is that I would be ok with retiring the #31 officially. Like others have said, it is already "unofficially" retired. Time to put it to the rafters. I understand that some people are against it because of the circumstances of his death, and that can't be denied.

Others are against it because of the shortness of his career. However, I don't feel that alone should rule it out. Barry Ashbee's #4 was retired, and his career wasn't much longer than Pelle's. Granted...he played more games per season than Pelle, but that is normal when comparing skaters to goalies. Barry played 4 full seasons for O&B, while Pelle played 3 full seasons and 2 partial seasons. That's pretty comparable if you ask me. Again...I am only talking about playing careers, and not at all about death or circumstances around careers ending.

My personal opinion is that the number should be in the rafters.

I'm OK with out of circulation, but not retired.

Konstantinov's 16 is a similar situation in Detroit. And apparently, they offered to let Brett Hull have it when he arrived, but he declined.

It's a show of respect to the person as opposed to the athlete. Lindbergh (and Konstantinov) did not have a career worthy of retired number or HoF, due to tragedy, but they can still be honored otherwise.