Why do hockey goalies almost always wear the numbers 1, 30, and 31 on their jerseys?

Question

Why do hockey goalies almost always wear the numbers 1, 30, and 31 on their jerseys?

Answer 1

tradation man, on a team one tender would be 1 and the other would be 30.

Answer 2

Back in the day, teams were kept a 29 man roster, and players were assigned 1-29, with 1 always being the goalie. When they added a backup goalie, 30 was the number given. So goalies were 1 and 30. Always. Since then the positional required numbers have gone away, rosters have gone to 23 before the trading deadline, and numbers got retired, but the traditional numbers are 1 and 30. Nobody uses 1 much, it's too presumptuous for most players. So 30 is the most common goalie number at any level. Players are often assigned it starting in youth hockey because it's the goalie cut jersey the team has or because the player admires an NHL goalie- with number 30, odds are. So the cycle keeps going.

31, 33, 35, 29 and such are all common alternate numbers for goalies who either want to be different or who join a team that already has a 30.

Answer 3

its a superstition thing.. long story