# 1994–95 Hartford Whalers season

The 1994–95 Hartford Whalers season was the 23rd season of the franchise, 16th season in the NHL. Despite trading away star forward Pat Verbeek to the New York Rangers on March 23, 1995, the Whalers played solid over the next 16 games from March 25 to April 24, with a record of 8-7-1. However, the Whalers could not keep pace with the New York Rangers who went on to take 8th place in the Eastern Conference. It was the third consecutive season that the Whalers missed the playoffs. On a positive note, the Whalers had the most overtime wins and the best overtime record in the NHL, going 4-0-5. Darren Turcotte led all NHL skaters in overtime goals scored with 2.

## Off-season

The Whalers announced on May 19 that head coach Pierre McGuire would not return to the club. McGuire took over the head coaching duties early in the 1993-94, as Paul Holmgren focused on his role as general manager of the team. In 67 games, McGuire led the Whalers to a 23-37-7 record.
On June 28, the Whalers selected Steve Martins in the 1994 NHL Supplemental Draft. Martins played the 1993-94 season with Harvard University, where he 25 goals and 60 points in 32 games.
At the 1994 NHL Entry Draft held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28, the Whalers selected Jeff O'Neill from the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League with their first round, fifth overall selection. O'Neill scored 45 goals and 126 points in 66 games with the Storm during the 1993-94 season. The only other player that the Whalers selected in the draft that played in the NHL was Hnat Domenichelli, who Hartford selected in the fourth round.
On June 28, the NHL announced that the Whalers ownership transferred to the Compuware group, led by Peter Karmanos Jr., Thomas Thewes and Jim Rutherford. The group owned the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League, originally named the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, since they were awarded an OHL expansion franchise on December 11, 1989. Rutherford took over the general manager duties of the Whalers at this time, replacing Paul Holmgren, who returned to head coaching duties. Rutherford was a former NHL goaltender, amassing a 151-227-59 record with a 3.66 GAA in 457 games with the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in a career that spanned from 1970-1983. Following his playing career, Rutherford was the general manager of the Windsor Compuware Spitfires from 1985-1989. He then became the general manager of the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors/Detroit Junior Red Wings franchise from 1989-1994.
The Whalers signed free agent Jimmy Carson on July 13. Carson split the 1993-94 season between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, as he scored 14 goals and 28 points in 59 games. Carson's best NHL season was in 1987-88 with the Kings, when he scored 55 goals and 107 points in 80 games. On August 9, 1988, Carson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in a blockbuster trade in which Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles.
On August 18, the Whalers signed restricted free agent Steven Rice from the Edmonton Oilers. In 63 games, Rice scored 17 goals and 32 points during the 1993-94 season. As compensation for signing Rice, Hartford sent Bryan Marchment to the Oilers on August 30.
The Whalers acquired Glen Wesley from the Boston Bruins in a trade on August 26, sending their first round draft picks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, 1996 NHL Entry Draft and 1997 NHL Entry Draft to the Bruins. Wesley scored 14 goals and 58 points in 81 games during the 1993-94 season. He was drafted third overall by Boston in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, and had accumulated 77 goals and 307 points in 537 games since beginning his career in the 1987-88 season.
Following the 1994-95 NHL lockout, which postponed the start of the season until January 1995, the Whalers participated in the waiver draft on January 18. Hartford selected Brian Glynn from the Vancouver Canucks and Kelly Chase from the St. Louis Blues. Glynn split the 1993-94 season with the Ottawa Senators and Canucks, scoring two goals and 15 points in 64 games. In 17 playoff games with Vancouver, Glynn had three assists. Chase played in 68 games with the Blues during the 1993-94, scoring two goals and seven points, along with 278 penalty minutes.

## Regular season

The Whalers tied the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs for the lowest shooting percentage during the regular season, with just 127 goals on 1,428 shots (8.9%).

### Final standings

Northeast Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Quebec Nordiques | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 3 | 4 | Boston Bruins | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 4 | 7 | Buffalo Sabres | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 5 | 10 | Hartford Whalers | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 6 | 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 7 | 14 | Ottawa Senators | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Eastern Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Quebec Nordiques | NE | 48 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 185 | 134 | 65 |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers | AT | 48 | 28 | 16 | 4 | 150 | 132 | 60 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NE | 48 | 29 | 16 | 3 | 181 | 158 | 61 |
| 4 | Boston Bruins | NE | 48 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 150 | 127 | 57 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 121 | 52 |
| 6 | Washington Capitals | AT | 48 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 136 | 120 | 52 |
| 7 | Buffalo Sabres | NE | 48 | 22 | 19 | 7 | 130 | 119 | 51 |
| 8 | New York Rangers | AT | 48 | 22 | 23 | 3 | 139 | 134 | 47 |
| 9 | Florida Panthers | AT | 48 | 20 | 22 | 6 | 115 | 127 | 46 |
| 10 | Hartford Whalers | NE | 48 | 19 | 24 | 5 | 127 | 141 | 43 |
| 11 | Montreal Canadiens | NE | 48 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 125 | 148 | 43 |
| 12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | AT | 48 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 120 | 144 | 37 |
| 13 | New York Islanders | AT | 48 | 15 | 28 | 5 | 126 | 158 | 35 |
| 14 | Ottawa Senators | NE | 48 | 9 | 34 | 5 | 117 | 174 | 23 |
Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs

## Schedule and results

1994–95 regular season :
January: 1–2–2 (home: 1–1–2; road: 0–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1TJanuary 21, 19951–1 OTWashington Capitals (1994–95)0–0–115,635Recap
2TJanuary 22, 19952–2 OTNew Jersey Devils (1994–95)0–0–212,054Recap
3WJanuary 25, 19954–1Ottawa Senators (1994–95)1–0–28,567Recap
4LJanuary 26, 19952–3@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)1–1–216,557Recap
5LJanuary 28, 19951–2Florida Panthers (1994–95)1–2–29,419Recap :
February: 6–7–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
6WFebruary 1, 19952–1@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)2–2–29,663Recap
7LFebruary 4, 19954–5@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)2–3–214,448Recap
8LFebruary 5, 19951–3@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)2–4–213,207Recap
9LFebruary 8, 19952–3Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)2–5–28,032Recap
10LFebruary 10, 19953–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)2–6–216,639Recap
11LFebruary 11, 19953–4@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)2–7–214,311Recap
12TFebruary 13, 19952–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)2–7–316,370Recap
13WFebruary 15, 19954–1Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)3–7–311,445Recap
14LFebruary 16, 19952–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)3–8–313,179Recap
15WFebruary 18, 19954–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)4–8–312,888Recap
16WFebruary 22, 19953–2 OTBoston Bruins (1994–95)5–8–314,021Recap
17WFebruary 24, 19952–1@ New York Rangers (1994–95)6–8–318,200Recap
18LFebruary 25, 19951–3Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)6–9–313,117Recap
19WFebruary 28, 19956–3@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)7–9–39,174Recap :
March: 6–6–2 (home: 5–4–0; road: 1–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
20LMarch 1, 19952–5New York Rangers (1994–95)7–10–315,011Recap
21WMarch 4, 19953–2 OTTampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)8–10–39,151Recap
22LMarch 5, 19952–5Boston Bruins (1994–95)8–11–315,635Recap
23LMarch 7, 19951–3@ New York Islanders (1994–95)8–12–310,371Recap
24WMarch 9, 19952–1Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)9–12–38,886Recap
25LMarch 12, 19951–4Florida Panthers (1994–95)9–13–39,741Recap
26WMarch 14, 19956–4New York Islanders (1994–95)10–13–38,137Recap
27TMarch 16, 19952–2 OT@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)10–13–416,032Recap
28LMarch 20, 19950–5Washington Capitals (1994–95)10–14–48,219Recap
29WMarch 22, 19954–3Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)11–14–410,149Recap
30WMarch 25, 19955–1New York Islanders (1994–95)12–14–413,337Recap
31WMarch 26, 19954–3 OT@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)13–14–411,739Recap
32TMarch 29, 19954–4 OT@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)13–14–513,507Recap
33LMarch 31, 19950–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)13–15–517,961Recap :
April: 6–8–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 3–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
34LApril 4, 19953–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)13–16–513,751Recap
35WApril 5, 19958–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)14–16–515,091Recap
36WApril 8, 19954–2Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)15–16–513,409Recap
37LApril 9, 19950–3Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)15–17–510,725Recap
38WApril 12, 19954–2Ottawa Senators (1994–95)16–17–510,509Recap
39WApril 14, 19954–3 OTMontreal Canadiens (1994–95)17–17–515,635Recap
40LApril 16, 19952–3@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)17–18–513,613Recap
41WApril 18, 19952–1@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)18–18–515,123Recap
42LApril 20, 19952–3@ New York Rangers (1994–95)18–19–518,200Recap
43LApril 21, 19953–6@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)18–20–515,721Recap
44LApril 23, 19952–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)18–21–514,813Recap
45WApril 24, 19954–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)19–21–516,794Recap
46LApril 26, 19950–1@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)19–22–514,448Recap
47LApril 28, 19953–4Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)19–23–515,515Recap :
May: 0–1–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–1–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
48LMay 3, 19951–4@ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95)19–24–515,399Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 21 | Andrew Cassels | C | 46 | 7 | 30 | 37 | −3 | 18 |
| 89 | Darren Turcotte | C | 47 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 1 | 22 |
| 8 | Geoff Sanderson | LW | 46 | 18 | 14 | 32 | −10 | 24 |
| 12 | Steven Rice | RW | 40 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 2 | 61 |
| 28 | Paul Ranheim | LW | 47 | 6 | 14 | 20 | −3 | 10 |
| 4 | Frantisek Kucera | D | 48 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 3 | 30 |
| 33 | Jimmy Carson | C | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 29 |
| 18 | Robert Kron | LW | 37 | 10 | 8 | 18 | −3 | 10 |
| 11 | Andrei Nikolishin | C | 39 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 7 | 10 |
| 6 | Adam Burt | D | 46 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 65 |
| 16 | Pat Verbeek‡ | RW | 29 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 53 |
| 20 | Glen Wesley | D | 48 | 2 | 14 | 16 | −6 | 50 |
| 44 | Chris Pronger | D | 43 | 5 | 9 | 14 | −12 | 54 |
| 26 | Jocelyn Lemieux | RW | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | −7 | 32 |
| 13 | Ted Drury | C | 34 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 21 |
| 22 | Mark Janssens | C | 46 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −8 | 93 |
| 7 | Brian Glynn | D | 43 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −2 | 32 |
| 14 | Kevin Smyth | LW | 16 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −3 | 13 |
| 32 | Igor Chibirev | C | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | Kelly Chase | RW | 28 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 141 |
| 24 | Jim Storm | LW | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 36 | Glen Featherstone† | D | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −7 | 32 |
| 17 | Scott Daniels | LW | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 55 |
| 1 | Sean Burke | G | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 8 |
| 23 | Marek Malik | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Brad McCrimmon | D | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 42 |
| 5 | Alexander Godynyuk | D | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 39 | Robert Petrovicky | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Jeff Reese | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |
| 52 | Jim Sandlak | RW | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −10 | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 1 | Sean Burke | 42 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 1233 | 108 | 2.68 | .912 | 0 | 2418 |
| 35 | Jeff Reese | 11 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 234 | 26 | 3.27 | .889 | 0 | 477 |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| Team | Booster Club MVP Award | Sean Burke |
| Team | Favorite Whaler Award | Jocelyn Lemieux |
| Team | Frank Keys Memorial Award | Adam Burt |
| Team | Mark Kravitz Award | Sean Burke |
| Team | Most Valuable Defenseman | Frantisek Kucera |
| Team | Three Star Award of Excellence | Sean Burke |
| Team | Top Gun Award | Andrew Cassels |
| Team | True Grit Award | Andrei Nikolishin |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date | Ref |
| First game | Andrei Nikolishin | January 21, 1995 | |
| First game | Marek Malik | January 22, 1995 | |

## Transactions

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season.

### Trades

| August 26, 1994 | To Boston Bruins1st round pick in 1995 - Kyle McLaren 1st round pick in 1996 - Johnathan Aitken 1st round pick in 1997 - Sergei Samsonov | To Hartford WhalersGlen Wesley |
| August 30, 1994 | To Edmonton OilersBryan Marchment (Compensation for Restricted Free Agent) | To Hartford WhalersSteven Rice (Restricted Free Agent) |
| March 23, 1995 | To New York RangersPat Verbeek | To Hartford WhalersGlen Featherstone Michael Stewart 1st round pick in 1995 - Jean-Sébastien Giguère 4th round pick in 1996 - Steve Wasylko |

### Waivers

| January 18, 1995 | From Vancouver CanucksBrian Glynn |
| January 18, 1995 | From St. Louis BluesKelly Chase |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Jeff Chychrun | Edmonton Oilers |
| Jimmy Carson | Vancouver Canucks |
| Steven Rice | Edmonton Oilers |
| Bob Wren | Los Angeles Kings |
| Player | New Team |
| Marc Potvin | Boston Bruins |
| Frank Pietrangelo | New York Islanders |

## Draft picks

Hartford's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 5 | Jeff O'Neill | Center | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 4 | 83 | Hnat Domenichelli | Left Wing | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 5 | 109 | Ryan Risidore | Defense | Canada | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| 8 | 187 | Tom Buckley | Center | United States | St. Joseph's High School (USHS-NY) |
| 9 | 213 | Ashlin Halfnight | Defense | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 9 | 230 | Matt Ball | Right Wing | Canada | Detroit Junior Red Wings (OHL) |
| 10 | 239 | Brian Regan | Goaltender | United States | Westminster School (USHS-CT) |
| 11 | 265 | Steve Nimigon | Left Wing | Canada | Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL) |
| S | 5 | Steve Martins | Center | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |