Adam Fantilli Switches Number After One Season, Leaving Some Fans Miffed

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced yesterday that soon-to-be second-year man Adam Fantilli would be switching his number from 11 to 19. Fantilli wore 19 in college at the University of Michigan. Some of the names that have worn #19 before are, Mathieu Darche, Michael Peca, and Ryan Johansen. It won't take long for Fantilli to be the best player to ever wear this number.

The announcement did not go over well with some fans. Fantilli is very popular and people were rushing out to buy his #11 jersey in packs. One fan I talked to, even bought one over this past weekend. Horrible timing for that young fan. 

Some of the fan responses were: 

• undefined
• undefined
• undefined
• undefined

Some pointed out that the familiar #11 will be a collector's item one day, but that's no comfort for those who spent $200-$300 on a new jersey. 

This begs the question, why would anyone want to buy jerseys with names on them ever again in the salary cap era? In any sport, you're favorite player could be traded at any time, but in hockey, it just seems more common. Of all the jerseys that I've acquired over the years, only one has a player who is currently on that team. The rest have been traded.

Hockey jerseys are expensive, and even more so with player's names and numbers on them. When Adidas took over, the prices got even worse. The price of an Adam Fantilli(11) Adidas jersey on Fanatics is currently $230, while the blank Adidas version is only $180. You might want to keep your eye on the Fanatics site however, those #11 jerseys could drop in price now. 

Many are hoping that when Fanatics takes over, the prices drop a little to make it a tad more affordable, but for a lot of people, this may be the last straw. Seeing a player change his number after one season, especially a very popular player like Fantilli has left a lot of people miffed. "Maybe the Jackets will offer some sort of number exchange," one fan said. 

I'll finish by saying that this is definitely not Adam Fantilli's fault, but more of a system issue. 

Where do you stand on this issue? Please share your thoughts on our forum by leaving a comment below. 

More From THN Columbus