Finnigan died before the new team played its first game in 1992, for which he was scheduled to drop the puck for the ceremonial face-off. Instead, on opening night the honour went to his son, Frank Jr. to drop the puck. On that night, the team honoured him by retiring his #8 jersey, making him one of three players in NHL history to have his uniform retired by a team for which he never actually played. Finnigan's number was retired 55 years after he finished his NHL career - the longest wait for a player to have his number retired.