Hartford Whalers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hartford Whalers
Founded	1972
History	New England Whalers 1972 – 1979 Hartford Whalers 1979 – 1997 Carolina Hurricanes 1997 - Present
Home Arena	Hartford Civic Center
City	Hartford, Connecticut
Colors	Navy, Green and Silver
Avco World Trophy	1972–73
Division Championships	1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1986–87

The Hartford Whalers were an American professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. Known as the New England Whalers when they were members of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–79, the club played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979–97. In 1997, the Whalers franchise was moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where it became the Carolina Hurricanes.

Arenas: Boston Arena, Boston Garden, The Big E Coliseum, Springfield Civic Center and Hartford Civic Center

Uniform colors: Green, Black, White (1972–1975); Green, Gold, White (1975–1979); Green, Blue & White (1979–1992); Navy, Green and Silver (1992–1997)

[edit] The WHA days

New England Whalers logo 1972-1979

The Whalers franchise was born in November 1971 when the World Hockey Association awarded a franchise to New England businessmen Howard Baldwin, John Coburn, Godfrey Wood, and William E. Barnes, to begin play in Boston. The team began auspiciously, signing former Detroit Red Wing star Tom Webster, hard rock Boston Bruins' defenseman Ted Green (the team's inaugural captain), Toronto Maple Leafs' defensemen Rick Ley, Jim Dorey, and Brad Selwood, and former Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltender Al Smith. New England also signed an unusually large number of American players including Massachusetts natives and former US Olympic hockey team members Larry Pleau (who had been a regular with the Montreal Canadiens the previous season), Kevin Ahearn, John Cunniff and Paul Hurley. Two other ex-US Olympians on the Whalers roster (Minnesotans Timothy Sheehy and Tommy Williams) had spent a significant part of their respective careers in Boston with Boston College and the Bruins, respectively. The Whalers would have the WHA's best regular-season record in the 1972–73 WHA season, with Webster leading the team in scoring and rampaging through the playoffs, and behind legendary ex-Boston University coach Jack Kelley, would win the inaugural Avco World Trophy, the WHA championship.

For the first 2½ years of their existence, the Whalers played home games at the Boston Arena, Boston Garden, and The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield. With sagging attendance related to the ebbing of the early 1970s hockey boom in the Boston area, however, the franchise's owners decided to move it to Connecticut, an area that, except for various minor league teams in New Haven, had been largely bereft of pro hockey. The Whalers' ownership group was attracted to the city of Hartford. With many large corporations and an area rich in hockey tradition, Hartford was seen as a natural choice.

On January 11, 1975, the team played its first game in front of a sellout crowd at the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum. With the exception of a period in the late 1970s when the Whalers played at the Springfield Civic Center while the Hartford Civic Center was being renovated (due to the collapse of a portion of its roof after a blizzard), the franchise was located in Hartford until it relocated to North Carolina in 1997.

Though they never again won the league championship, the New England Whalers were a successful team, never missing the playoffs in the WHA's history, and finishing first in its division three times. They had a more stable roster than most WHA teams—Ley, Webster, Selwood, Pleau, and Tommy Earl would all play over 350 games with the club—and scored a major coup when they signed legend Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty from the Houston Aeros (WHA) in 1977.

While the first two full seasons in Hartford were not glittering (the Whalers recorded losing records both years), the final two WHA seasons saw more success. They went to the finals again in 1978, with a veteran team spearheaded by the Howes—50-year-old Gordie led the team in scoring—future NHL stars Gordie Roberts and Mike Rogers, All-Star defenseman Ron Plumb, and forwards John McKenzie, Dave Keon, and Mike Antonovich, and possessed of the league's best defense. The next season was not so fine, but while age finally caught up with Gordie Howe, the slack was picked up by Andre Lacroix, the WHA's all time leading scorer, acquired from the folded Aeros.

As it was one of the most stable of the WHA teams, it was one of the four franchises admitted to the National Hockey League when the rival leagues merged in 1979. Following lobbying from the Boston Bruins, one of the conditions of the merger stipulated that the Whalers were to drop "New England" from their name. The Howes, Rogers, Ley, Keon, Smith, Roberts and Lacroix would go on to wear the uniform of the Hartford Whalers. Most of the members of the 1978–79 Whalers were available as only Selwood, George Lyle and Warren Miller were reclaimed by their former NHL teams. Legendary goal scorer Bobby Hull would be acquired late that season in a trade with another former WHA team, the Winnipeg Jets, and play the last games of his career not only as a Whaler, but also as a member of the same team as his childhood idol, Gordie Howe (who also retired following the Whalers' first NHL season).

[edit] Career leaders (WHA, 1972–1979)

• Games: Rick Ley, 478
• Goals: Tom Webster, 220
• Assists: Larry Pleau, 215
• Points: Webster, 425
• Penalty Minutes: Ley, 716
• Goaltending Wins: Al Smith, 141

[edit] The NHL days

The original Hartford Whalers logo 1979-1992, designed by Peter Good, a Connecticut-based graphic designer. This logo replaced the harpoon in the WHA logo by combining a green W for Whalers with a blue whale's tail. Some people never notice that the negative space--the white area between the W and the whale's tail--acts as an H for Hartford.This logo was updated in 1992, the most noticeable change being the darkening of the colors and the addition of a silver background. Subtle changes to the shape of the whale's tail were also made.

The Whalers were never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA, yet they attracted a passionate fan base over the years. They only recorded three winning seasons in their eighteen years in the NHL, missed the playoffs ten times, and only once won a playoff series, earning along the way the derisive nickname "Forever .500s." The team developed heated rivalries with the nearby Boston Bruins and New York Rangers—for home games against the Bruins especially, the Civic Center would have as many as a quarter of the fans in the seats from Boston, two hours drive away—achieving all-time records of 37–69–12 and 23–26–6 respectively against those clubs.

The Whalers' NHL history was plagued by disastrous trades, especially in dealing stars for several mediocre players in an attempt to gain "depth." For instance, they dealt star defenseman Mark Howe and their first NHL scoring leader Mike Rogers in separate deals for players and draft picks which never panned out, and also swapped hardrock defenseman Gordie Roberts for the remaining half-season of Mike Fidler's NHL career. While a few trades did work out, such as trading Chris Pronger for Brendan Shanahan, all too often the players acquired left as soon as possible.

The team had a brief moment in the sun in the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons. The Whalers finished fourth in the Adams Division in the 1985–86 regular season. In the playoffs they eliminated the first place Quebec Nordiques in three straight games, winning their sole playoff series. The Whalers pushed the division finals to seven games, losing the final game 2–1 in overtime to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens. The following season, the Whalers won their lone division championship in 1987. The Whalers were led by centers Ron Francis and Ray Ferraro, emerging hardcore winger Kevin Dineen, superstar goalie Mike Liut, and troubled scorer Sylvain Turgeon. However, they were quickly eliminated in the first round. While they would make the playoffs for the next five seasons in a row, they would never come close to duplicating their previous success.

The most psychologically damaging moment for the club was the 1991 trade of Francis to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The reaction of the fan base was savage in condemnation, especially after Francis promptly helped the Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles. Francis was one of the most popular players on the team, and held nearly every significant offensive record in the franchise's NHL history. Coincidentally, Eddie Johnston, the Hartford general manager who had orchestrated the Francis trade, would follow him to Pittsburgh as the Penguins' head coach two years later.

The Whalers went to the playoffs in 1992 behind Jimmy Roberts' coaching, but lost a dramatic double overtime Game 7 in the Adams Division Semifinal against the Montreal Canadiens, as Russ Courtnall scored on a turn-around shot. Roberts was fired thereafter, and while the Whalers had some stars in their remaining five seasons in Hartford— including forwards Geoff Sanderson, Pat Verbeek, and Andrew Cassels and goalie Sean Burke—they would never again make the playoffs.

[edit] Departure from Hartford

The primary factors in the Whalers' departure from Hartford were market size and the lack of a modern playing facility. The Hartford Civic Center had a capacity of 15,635, and was attached to a downtown shopping mall. As teams in the NHL began moving into larger, corporate-sponsored stadiums with luxury suites and other amenities, it became apparent that a team playing in an aging municipal facility with limited revenue streams could not compete.

In 1994, Compuware founder Peter Karmanos purchased the Whalers. Karmanos pledged to keep the Whalers in Hartford for four years. Frustrated with lackluster attendance and corporate support, he announced in 1996 that if the Whalers were unable to sell at least 11,000 season tickets for the 1996–97 season, he would likely move the team. Furthermore, ownership only made season tickets available in full-season (41-game) packages, eliminating the popular five- and ten-game "mini plans," in a strategy largely designed to spur purchases from wealthier corporations and individuals. Sales were underwhelming at the beginning of the campaign, and at the end of the 1995–96 season it was still unknown whether the Whalers would stay in Connecticut or move. However, thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, and the creative efforts of many fans (who pooled together resources to purchase some of the full-season packages collectively) the Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut for the 1996–97 season.

In early 1996, negotiations between the Whalers and Connecticut Governor John Rowland to build a new $147.5 million arena seemed to be going well. However, negotiations fell apart when Rowland and the state refused Karmanos' demand to reimburse the Whalers for up to $45 million in losses during the three years the new arena was to be built. As a result, the team announced on March 26, 1997, that they would leave Hartford, one of the few times that a team announced it would leave its current city without having already selected a new city. Many suspected that Rowland had no intentions of building an NHL arena for the Whalers, as he harbored hopes of instead luring the New England Patriots to Connecticut. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

On April 13, 1997 the Whalers played their last game in Hartford, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1. Team captain Kevin Dineen scored the final goal in Whaler history.

As of June 6, 2008 several ex-Whalers are still active in the NHL, including Chris Pronger, Geoff Sanderson, Bobby Holik, Jean-Sebastian Giguere, and Brendan Shanahan. Glen Wesley was the last Whaler still active with the Carolina/Hartford franchise until he retired on June 5, 2008; although his stint was not continuous, playing seven games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003 after a deadline deal before re-signing in Carolina in the 2003 offseason ^[4].

[edit] Possible NHL Return?

During the last few years, there has been a certain groundswell of support to return the NHL to Hartford following the Whalers' departure to the Raleigh metropolitan area. Former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin along with Larry Gottesdiener, Chairman of Northland Investment Corporation, both have expressed to help return NHL hockey to Hartford. In early 2007 Hartford mayor Eddie A. Perez sent a letter to Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux to try and see if he would add Hartford to his list of possible relocation sites when the Penguins were contemplating moving,^[5] but the Penguins were subsequently able to work with the NHL and the city of Pittsburgh to build a new arena.^[6]

[edit] Theme song

The Hartford Whalers' official theme song was "Brass Bonanza," a tune composed by an aspiring musician Jack Say. The song is still very popular with Hartford crowds, and continues to occasionally be played at Civic Center events (including University of Connecticut basketball games) and, in recent years, at Fenway Park during Boston Red Sox games and at the TD Banknorth Garden during Boston Bruins games. Continuing the hockey tradition, the song is also played at UConn and Quinnipiac men's hockey home games.

[edit] Career leaders (NHL, 1979–1997)

• Games: Ron Francis, 714
• Goals: Francis, 264
• Assists: Francis, 557
• Points: Francis, 821
• Penalty Minutes: Torrie Robertson, 1368
• Goaltender Games: Sean Burke, 256
• Goaltender Wins: Mike Liut, 115
• Shutouts: Liut, 13

[edit] Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals scored for, GA = Goals scored against, PIM = Penalty minutes

[edit] WHA Era

[edit] NHL Era

¹Season was shortened due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Hall of Famers

• Paul Coffey, D, 1996–1997, inducted 2004
• Dave Keon, C, 1976–1982, inducted 1986
• Gordie Howe, RW, 1977–1980, inducted 1972
• Bobby Hull, LW, 1980, inducted 1983
• Ron Francis, C, 1981–1991, inducted 2007
• Emile Francis, General Manager, 1983–1989, inducted 1982 (Builder)

[edit] Team captains

Note: includes both WHA Whalers and NHL Whalers

[edit] Retired numbers

• 2 Rick Ley, D, 1972–81
• 9 Gordie Howe, RW, 1977–80
• 19 John McKenzie, RW, 1977–79

[edit] First round draft picks

Note: This list does not include selections from the WHA.

• 1979: Ray Allison (18th overall)
• 1980: Fred Arthur (8th overall)
• 1981: Ron Francis (4th overall)
• 1982: Paul Lawless (14th overall)
• 1983: Sylvain Turgeon (2nd overall)
• 1984: Sylvain Cote (11th overall)
• 1985: Dana Murzyn (5th overall)
• 1986: Scott Young (11th overall)
• 1987: Jody Hull (18th overall)
• 1988: Chris Govedaris (11th overall)
• 1989: Bobby Holik (10th overall)
• 1990: Mark Greig (15th overall)
• 1991: Patrick Poulin (9th overall)
• 1992: Robert Petrovicky (9th overall)
• 1993: Chris Pronger (2nd overall)
• 1994: Jeff O'Neill (5th overall)
• 1995: Jean-Sebastien Giguere (13th overall)
• 1996: none

[edit] Hartford Whalers Individual Records (NHL)

• Most Goals in a season: Blaine Stoughton, 56 (1979–80)
• Most Assists in a season: Ron Francis, 69 (1989–90)
• Most Points in a season: Mike Rogers, 105 (1979–80/1980–81)
• Most Penalty Minutes in a season: Torrie Robertson, 358 (1985–86)
• Most Points in a season, defenceman: Mark Howe, 80 (1979–80)
• Most Points in a season, rookie: Sylvain Turgeon, 72 (1983–84)
• Most Wins in a season: Mike Liut, 31 (1986–87)

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Head Coaches of the Hartford Whalers
• List of defunct NHL teams
• List of Hartford Whalers players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players
• List of WHA seasons
• World Hockey Association

[edit] External links

• The Official Hartford Whalers Booster Club - Still Active!
• The Blowhole, Uniform history
• WHAhockey.com - New England Whalers
• WhalersHockey.com