Hartford Whalers 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 . The WHA days . 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 league 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 . However , with sagging attendance related to the ebbing of the early 1970s hockey boom in the Boston area , ownership decided to move the franchise to Connecticut , an area which , 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 , Larry 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 ) . The Hartford Whalers . 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 of 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 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 . All too often when the trades were sound — as in trading Chris Pronger for Brendan Shanahan — the players acquired were not happy in Hartford and left as soon as possible . The team had a brief moment in the sun in the 1986 and 1987 seasons . It made the playoffs both years , winning its sole playoff series in 1986 and its lone Adams Division championship in 1987 . The Whalers were led by center Ron Francis , emerging hardcore winger Kevin Dineen , superstar goalie Mike Liut , and troubled scorer Sylvain Turgeon . The team would drift back into its losing ways the season following . The most psychologically damaging moment for the club was the 1991 trade of Francis , the team ' s captain and a bona fide NHL superstar , to the Pittsburgh Penguins . While Francis was unhappy , and the trade made sense on paper , the players acquired in return did not lead the Whalers to success , while the very popular Francis promptly helped the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cup titles . The reaction of the fan base was savage in condemnation . 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 or attain a winning record . 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 was small but adequate , and famously mocked for being attached to a shopping mall . As teams in the NHL began moving into larger , corporate - sponsored stadiums with luxury suites and other high - end amenities , it became increasingly 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 Governor John Rowland did not want to keep the Whalers , as he harbored hopes of instead landing an NFL franchise . Ideally , Rowland wanted to use the state ' s resources to build a new stadium to lure the New England Patriots to Connecticut and did not have serious intentions of building an NHL arena for the Whalers . On April 13 , 1997 the Whalers played their last game in Hartford , defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2 - 1 . Fittingly , team captain Kevin Dineen scored the final goal in Whaler history . Many ex - Whalers are still active in the NHL , including Chris Pronger , Geoff Sanderson , Sami Kapanen , and Brendan Shanahan . Glen Wesley is the final Whaler still active with the Carolina / Hartford franchise , although his stint has not been continuous , playing seven games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003 after a deadline deal before re - signing in Carolina in the 2003 offseason . Possible NHL Return ? During the last few years , there was 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 Invesment Corporation both have desire to help return NHL hockey to Hartford . To that end , 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 seriously contemplating moving , but this particular avenue became a moot point when an agreement was brokered between the NHL , the Penguins and the city of Pittsburgh to build a new arena there . The Hartford Civic Center now run under the operation of the AEG company is trying to buy a new franchise to put in place of Hartford ' s AHL team , the Hartford Wolfpack . 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 . Continuing the hockey tradition , the song is also played during the UConn men ' s hockey home games , and also recently at Hartford Wolfpack games as well . Reference in Popular Culture . In the Kevin Smith written movies Mallrats and Chasing Amy , two different characters played by Jason Lee reference the Whalers . In Mallrats , Lee ' s character Brody says , " Breakfasts come and go , Rene . Now Hartford , the Whale ? They only beat Vancouver once or twice in a lifetime . " In Chasing Amy , Lee ' s character Banky says , " What difference does it make if I refer to her as a dyke ? Or if I call the Whalers a bunch of faggots in the comfort of my own office , far from the sensitive ears of the rest of the world ? " Notable players . Team captains . " Note : includes both WHA Whalers and NHL Whalers " NOTE : Since moving to Raleigh , # 2 and # 19 were brought back into circulation . First round draft picks . " Note : This list does not include selections from the WHA . "