26 Facts About Hartford Whalers

Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1997, the Hartford Whalers franchise relocated to North Carolina, where it became the Carolina Hurricanes.

However, the Garden was owned by the rival NHL Bruins, and the Hartford Whalers found themselves fourth in priority for dates behind the Bruins, Boston Celtics and even the American Hockey League's Boston Braves.

Hartford Whalers was about to open a new, modern downtown arena and convention center, the Hartford Whalers Civic Center.

The Hartford Whalers were the only American-based WHA team to join the NHL.

Related searches

Hartford Whalers were never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA.

Hartford Whalers was the smallest American market in the NHL and was located on the traditional dividing line between the home territories for Boston and New York area teams.

The Hartford Whalers acquired another NHL legend, Bobby Hull, near the NHL trade deadline in 1980.

The Whalers went on to eliminate the first-place Quebec Nordiques in a three-game sweep in the first round, winning their first, and only, NHL playoff series in Hartford.

The Hartford Whalers started the series strongly, winning the first two games at home, but, beginning in Game 3, the Nordiques were able to successfully take the Hartford Whalers off their game by playing a tough, chippy style of hockey.

Hartford Whalers went on to face the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.

Parker would only play four games in Hartford Whalers before suffering a concussion and a knee injury within two weeks of each other, effectively ending his NHL career.

Trades that Johnston made, particularly the Ron Francis trade, proved to be disastrous for the Whalers, since the players acquired did not meet the team's expectations, leaving the Whalers depleted of talent and costing them substantial goodwill in Hartford.

Hartford Whalers went to the playoffs for the final time in 1992 behind Jimmy Roberts' coaching, despite winning only 26 games.

The Hartford Whalers acquired goaltender Sean Burke in exchange for former first-round draft pick Bobby Holik.

The Hartford Whalers were able to draft defenseman Chris Pronger, who began his career with the Hartford Whalers, playing alongside veteran defenseman Brad McCrimmon, and later became an NHL star.

The Hartford Whalers reached a low point in the season when six players and two assistant coaches were arrested in Buffalo, New York, after being involved in a bar room brawl.

The Hartford Whalers finished the season with 63 points, only a five-point improvement from the previous season.

One bright spot for the Hartford Whalers was the emergence of Sean Burke as their franchise and star goaltender.

On draft day, the Hartford Whalers selected the highly rated Jeff O'Neill in the first round.

Unfortunately, the Hartford Whalers played poorly down the stretch, winning only one game in the last seven and missed the playoffs by four points.

The Hartford Whalers won their first four games of the season, but then struggled for the rest of the calendar year of 1995.

Hartford Whalers demanded a trade out of Hartford because he claimed he did not want to play in a small market for a team with an uncertain future about its location.

However, the Hartford Whalers lost two games on the road to Ottawa and the New York Islanders, which eliminated them from the playoffs before their final regular season game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

However, thanks to an aggressive civic campaign and the efforts of many fans, the Hartford Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut through at least 1997.

Related searches

Unlike most sports teams at any level the Hartford Whalers' had an official theme song entitled "Brass Bonanza", a tune composed and arranged by Jacques Ysaye and originally called "Evening Beat".