1996–97 Hartford Whalers season

The 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season was the twenty-fifth season of the franchise and the eighteenth and final season in Hartford. The Whalers would move to North Carolina the next season to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
Key dates prior to the start of the season:
*The 1996 NHL Entry Draft 
==Regular season==
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.
===Final standings===
===Game log===
No.	R	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	W	October 5, 1996 	1–0 	Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 	1–0–0
2 	W	October 8, 1996 	7–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	2–0–0
3 	L	October 12, 1996 	0–6 	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	2–1–0
4 	W	October 17, 1996 	3–1 	@ New York Islanders (1996–97) 	3–1–0
5 	W	October 19, 1996 	6–2 	New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	4–1–0
6 	W	October 24, 1996 	4–1 	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 	5–1–0
7 	L	October 26, 1996 	3–6 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	5–2–0
8 	T	October 30, 1996 	2–2 OT	New York Islanders (1996–97) 	5–2–1
9 	T	October 31, 1996 	4–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	5–2–2
10 	L	November 2, 1996 	2–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 	5–3–2
11 	L	November 4, 1996 	1–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 	5–4–2
12 	W	November 6, 1996 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	6–4–2
13 	L	November 8, 1996 	1–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 	6–5–2
14 	W	November 9, 1996 	4–3 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	7–5–2
15 	W	November 12, 1996	4–3 	@ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 	8–5–2
16 	W	November 14, 1996	2–1 	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 	9–5–2
17 	T	November 16, 1996	4–4 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 	9–5–3
18 	W	November 20, 1996	3–1 	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	10–5–3
19 	L	November 22, 1996	1–7 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	10–6–3
20 	T	November 23, 1996	3–3 OT	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	10–6–4
21 	L	November 27, 1996	2–6 	Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 	10–7–4
22 	T	November 29, 1996	1–1 OT	@ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	10–7–5
23 	W	November 30, 1996	6–3 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	11–7–5
24 	T	December 3, 1996 	4–4 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	11–7–6
25 	W	December 5, 1996 	4–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	12–7–6
26 	W	December 7, 1996 	6–4 	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	13–7–6
27 	W	December 11, 1996	5–2 	Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	14–7–6
28 	L	December 12, 1996	2–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	14–8–6
29 	L	December 14, 1996	0–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	14–9–6
30 	L	December 16, 1996	2–5 	@ New York Rangers (1996–97) 	14–10–6
31 	W	December 17, 1996	5–3 	St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 	15–10–6
32 	L	December 20, 1996	1–4 	Dallas Stars (1996–97) 	15–11–6
33 	W	December 21, 1996	6–5 OT	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	16–11–6
34 	L	December 26, 1996	1–5 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	16–12–6
35 	W	December 28, 1996	3–2 	Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	17–12–6
36 	L	December 29, 1996	3–4 	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 	17–13–6
37 	L	January 1, 1997 	2–3 OT	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	17–14–6
38 	L	January 2, 1997 	4–5 OT	Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	17–15–6
39 	T	January 4, 1997 	1–1 OT	Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	17–15–7
40 	L	January 6, 1997 	4–5 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	17–16–7
41 	L	January 9, 1997 	2–3 	@ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 	17–17–7
42 	L	January 10, 1997 	3–5 	@ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 	17–18–7
43 	L	January 12, 1997 	1–2 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 	17–19–7
44 	L	January 15, 1997 	0–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	17–20–7
45 	W	January 20, 1997 	3–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 	18–20–7
46 	W	January 22, 1997 	2–1 OT	Florida Panthers (1996–97) 	19–20–7
47 	L	January 24, 1997 	2–5 	New York Islanders (1996–97) 	19–21–7
48 	W	January 25, 1997 	5–1 	@ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	20–21–7
49 	L	January 30, 1997 	3–5 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 	20–22–7
50 	L	January 31, 1997 	3–6 	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97)	20–23–7
51 	L	February 5, 1997 	2–5 	@ New York Rangers (1996–97) 	20–24–7
52 	W	February 6, 1997 	5–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	21–24–7
53 	L	February 8, 1997 	2–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	21–25–7
54 	L	February 12, 1997	2–3 	New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	21–26–7
55 	L	February 13, 1997	0–4 	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	21–27–7
56 	W	February 15, 1997	2–1 	Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	22–27–7
57 	L	February 16, 1997	2–4 	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	22–28–7
58 	T	February 19, 1997	2–2 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	22–28–8
59 	W	February 21, 1997	7–2 	New York Rangers (1996–97) 	23–28–8
60 	W	February 22, 1997	2–0 	Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	24–28–8
61 	T	February 26, 1997	2–2 OT	Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 	24–28–9
62 	L	February 28, 1997	2–3 	San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 	24–29–9
63 	L	March 2, 1997 	2–5 	Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 	24–30–9
64 	W	March 5, 1997 	2–0 	Calgary Flames (1996–97) 	25–30–9
65 	W	March 7, 1997 	2–0 	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	26–30–9
66 	T	March 8, 1997 	1–1 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 	26–30–10
67 	W	March 12, 1997 	6–3 	Boston Bruins (1996–97) 	27–30–10
68 	L	March 13, 1997 	0–6 	@ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 	27–31–10
69 	L	March 15, 1997 	2–4 	Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 	27–32–10
70 	L	March 16, 1997 	3–5 	@ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 	27–33–10
71 	L	March 20, 1997 	1–4 	@ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 	27–34–10
72 	L	March 21, 1997 	0–2 	@ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 	27–35–10
73 	L	March 25, 1997 	0–4 	Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 	27–36–10
74 	W	March 27, 1997 	5–2 	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	28–36–10
75 	W	March 29, 1997 	2–1 	New York Rangers (1996–97) 	29–36–10
76 	L	April 2, 1997 	1–4 	Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	29–37–10
77 	T	April 3, 1997 	5–5 OT	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 	29–37–11
78 	W	April 5, 1997 	4–1 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 	30–37–11
79 	W	April 7, 1997 	4–2 	Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 	31–37–11
80 	L	April 9, 1997 	4–5 	@ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 	31–38–11
81 	L	April 11, 1997 	4–6 	@ New York Islanders (1996–97) 	31–39–11
82 	W	April 13, 1997 	2–1 	Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 	32–39–11
==Playoffs==
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW 	82	36	31	67 	29 	-9 	12 	1 	4
 	C 	81	22	44	66 	46 	-16	8 	0 	2
 	C 	75	26	25	51 	161	-3 	6 	3 	2
 	RW 	78	19	29	48 	141	-6 	8 	0 	5
 	RW 	66	9 	29	38 	34 	-21	2 	1 	2
 	RW 	78	21	14	35 	59 	-11	5 	0 	2
 	D 	68	6 	26	32 	40 	0 	3 	1 	0
 	RW 	72	14	16	30 	40 	-24	2 	1 	2
 	RW 	45	13	12	25 	2 	6 	3 	0 	2
 	LW 	68	10	12	22 	10 	-18	2 	0 	4
 	LW 	67	10	11	21 	18 	-13	0 	3 	1
 	D 	64	4 	13	17 	30 	-19	1 	1 	1
 	D 	18	3 	11	14 	7 	-10	3 	0 	0
 	D 	71	2 	11	13 	79 	-13	0 	0 	0
 	C 	44	6 	5 	11 	18 	3 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	56	1 	10	11 	40 	-9 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	20	3 	5 	8 	18 	0 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	35	2 	6 	8 	48 	-11	0 	0 	0
 	D 	41	2 	5 	7 	87 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	12	2 	5 	7 	2 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	55	1 	6 	7 	41 	-10	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	12	3 	3 	6 	2 	0 	1 	0 	0
 	C 	54	2 	4 	6 	90 	-10	0 	0 	0
 	D 	47	1 	5 	6 	50 	5 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	75	2 	2 	4 	218	-7 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	0 	4 	4 	6 	-6 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	13	2 	1 	3 	7 	-4 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	28	1 	2 	3 	122	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	8 	1 	1 	2 	10 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	51	0 	2 	2 	14 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	10	0 	2 	2 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	0 	2 	2 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	1 	0 	1 	2 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	1 	0 	1 	0 	1 	0 	1 	0
 	C 	2 	0 	1 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	31	0 	1 	1 	18 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-4 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2985	51	22	22	6 	134	2.69	4 	1560	1426	.914
 	1591	31	9 	13	5 	91 	3.43	0 	815 	724 	.888
 	394 	8 	1 	4 	0 	24 	3.65	0 	201 	177 	.881
Team: 	4970	82	32	39	11	249	3.01	4 	2576	2327	.903
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage; 
==Awards and records==
===Records===
===Milestones===
==Transactions==
The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.
===Trades===
===Free agents acquired/lost===
{|class="wikitable"	
Player	Former team
==Draft picks==
Hartford's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft
 
Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
==Farm teams==
=== American Hockey League ===
===ECHL===
==Roster==
THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST
 						
Goaltenders		
Defensemen		
Wingers		
Centers
*GM: 
*Coach:
===Departure from Hartford===
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 G. 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 G. 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.How's It Goin', Pete? Part 4
The Recorder
The Patriots Nix Hartford, Stay in Foxboro - Background
==See also==
*1996–97 NHL season
==References==
* Whalers on Hockey Database
 
1996–97
Category:1996 in hockey
Category:1997 in hockey