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Hartford Whalers Team History

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Hartford Whalers




  • 1974
  • 1994
  • 1997
  • Hartford Whalers Banners

    Relocate to Hartford

    While in Boston, the club played their home games at the Boston Arena and Boston Garden. However game scheduling at Boston Garden owned by the rival NHL Bruins became increasingly difficult, and the owners decided to relocate the team to Hartford, Connecticut beginning with the 1974 – 1975 season. The area, aside from various minor league teams in New Haven, had been largely bereft of pro hockey until the team’s arrival. While waiting for their new arena in Hartford, the Whalers played the first part of the 1974 – 1975 season at The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield, MA.

    On January 11, 1975, the team played its first game in front of a sellout crowd at the Hartford Civic Center Coliseum. The franchise remained in Hartford until it relocated to North Carolina for the 1997 – 1998 season, save for a temporary relocation to the nearby Springfield Civic Center in the late 1970s while their Hartford arena was being rebuilt after heavy snow followed by heavy rain caused the roof to collapse, which suffered from several engineering and construction shortcomings.

  • karmanos-hall-of-fame-whalers

    Peter Karmanos New Owner

    In the summer of 1994, the Whalers were purchased, in a deal brokered by the Connecticut Development Authority, by Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos, along with partners Thomas Thewes, and Jim Rutherford. Rutherford became the team’s new General Manager and Holmgren came back as the Head Coach. The new ownership wanted to turn the team into a winner for the 1994 – 1995 season.

  • hartford_whalers to Carolina

    Heading to North Carolina

    Despite assurances made when he purchased the team in 1994 that the Whalers would remain in Hartford at least through 1998, in March 1997 owner Peter Karmanos announced that the team would move elsewhere after the 1996 – 1997 season because of the team’s inability to negotiate a satisfactory construction and lease package for a new arena in Hartford. On May 6, 1997, Karmanos announced that the Whalers would move to the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and the new Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh.

Whalers Primary Logo
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Whalers Wordmark Logo

The Hartford Whalers were an American professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1997.





Established
1972

City
Boston – Hartford – Raleigh

League History
1979 – Present / National Hockey League
1972 – 1979 / World Hockey Association

Team History
1997 – Present / Carolina Hurricanes
1979 – 1997 / Hartford Whalers
1972 – 1979 / New England Whalers

Nickname
Whalers – Whaling is a major industry in Massachusetts seaport towns.

Championship
Stanley Cups 0
2006
Avco Cup 0
1973

Arena
2013 – Present / PNC Arena
2002 – 2012 / RBC Center
1999 – 2002 / Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena
1997 – 1999 / Greensboro Coliseum

*Hartford*
1975 – 1978, 1980 – 1997 / Hartford Civic Center
1978 – 1980 / Springfield Civic Center

*Boston*
1974 – 1975 / The Big E Coliseum
1972 – 1974 / Boston Garden
1972 – 1973 / Boston Arena

Owner
2017 – Present / Thomas Dundon
1994 – 2017 / Peter Karmanos, Jr.
1972 – 1993 / Howard Baldwin, John Coburn, W. Godfrey Wood and William Edward Barnes

Who is the greatest Hartford Whalers?
  • Add your greatest player

Retired Number
2 / Glen Wesley
10 / Ron Francis
17 / Rod Brind’Amour
99 / Wayne Gretzky

*Blue is this team’s history

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