April 13th 1997 was the last time one of these was used. 

I know a lot of people from the Hartford area miss the Hartford Whalers. I’ll admit it; I do as well. People wonder why the Whalers left Hartford. There were a few factors, and I must emphasize I am only being objective on this subject. Being a Hartford native and a hockey fan, you can see what route I would follow if I were to go off on a rant. Nonetheless, this is a brief timeline of when the relationship between Hartford and the Whalers went south…all the way to Carolina (nice play on words, right?):

• June 28th 1994; Peter Karmanos, founder of Compuware, purchases the Hartford Whalers for $47.5 million. That same day, the Hartford Civic Center hosts the 1994 NHL Draft.

• June 1994; Connecticut Governor Lowell P. Weicker announces Karmanos’ purchase of the Whalers, and pledged he and Karmanos would keep the Whalers in Hartford for at least four years.

• Early 1996; Negotiations are strong between Connecticut Governor John Roland and Karmanos regarding a new arena for the Whalers.

• Summer 1996; Karmanos, unhappy with the support from both fans and corporations, announces if 14,000 season tickets weren’t sold by the end of the ’96-’97 season, the team would relocate. Karmanos eliminates mini season-ticket plans, the five and ten game plans, and offers only 41-game plans.

• Prior to ’96-’97 season; Whaler fans combine money to group-purchase time-share season tickets. Season tickets had passed the 14,000 mark asked of Karmanos.

• 1996; Negotiations regarding a new arena fall through due to financing issues. Roland would not reimburse the $45million Karmanos estimated the Whalers would lose during the three years the arena would be built.

• Early 1997; Former Governer Lowell P. Weicker is hired as a member of the board of directors for Compuware.

• March 26, 1997; Karmanos announced the Whalers would be leaving Hartford after the season, even before another location was confirmed.

• April 13th 1997; Whalers play their final game in the Hartford Civic Center, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1.

There may be some of you die-hard Whaler fans that read this and are upset I left out some information: The Hartford Civic Center was too small to hold an NHL team, Hartford was a small market, surrounded by both New York and Boston, and so on. I’ll admit I did, but I did so only in efforts to keep this entry as neutral as possible. I could go on and on about why it was Karmanos’ fault, why it was Roland’s fault, the state’s fault, etc. I have posted some links below to other web sites that will give some strong opinions.

The Blowhold- Hartford/New England Whaler History

Hartford Whalers - Ice Hockey Wikia

Hartford Whalers Booster Club

Hartford Whalers Hockey.com

Thanks for reading, and guess what? Horray for my tenth article!