Zuccarello wears custom warmup jersey in honor of Sam Rosen’s retirement

Mats Zuccarello traded in his No. 36 for a No. 40 for a special reason on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Wild forward sported a custom warmup jersey to celebrate the retirement of New York Rangers broadcaster Sam Rosen before the two teams played at Madison Square Garden.

Zuccarello skated around with “Rosen” and No. 40 written on the back of his Wild jersey, a nod to the announcer's 40 years as the voice of the Rangers.

The veteran forward played with the Rangers for nine of his 15 NHL seasons from 2010-19.

After warmups, the Wild signed the jersey and general manager Bill Guerin presented it to Rosen.

Zuccarello said the gesture was about respect for the announcer's career.

"I spent some time with him [Rosen], around him," Zuccarello said after the game. "For me, it's a thank you to a special friend to have [on] the last game he's probably going to commentate for me. I think it's a nice token [of] respect from the team. And [to] wish him good luck."

In August, Rosen announced this season would be his last in the broadcast booth. He started calling Rangers games in 1984. Teams throughout the league have been honoring his illustrious career all season.

-NHL.com Staff Writer David Satriano contributed to this report.