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Hartford Whalers: How the Brass Bonanza fell silent

By Conor Power

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - CIRCA 1988: John Anderson #20 of the Hartford Whalers skates against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL Hockey game circa 1988 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Anderson's playing career went from 1977-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - CIRCA 1988: John Anderson #20 of the Hartford Whalers skates against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL Hockey game circa 1988 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Anderson's playing career went from 1977-94. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – CIRCA 1987: Ron Francis #10 of the Hartford Whalers skates against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL Hockey game circa 1987 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Francis’s playing career went from 1981-2004. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – CIRCA 1987: Ron Francis #10 of the Hartford Whalers skates against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL Hockey game circa 1987 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Francis’s playing career went from 1981-2004. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

The Hartford Whalers swan song

When Peter Karmanos took the team over in 1994, it was in pieces. Remember, this team still played at the Harford Civic Center in the Hartford Civic mall. Karmanos didn’t want to lose money in a market that had struggled to support the team beforehand and tried everything to bring fans to see the Hartford Whalers, but it was to no avail.

In 1996, Karmanos said if the Hartford Whalers did not sell enough season tickets, the team would be relocated. Ticket sales went through the roof, from the average 14 thousand to well over 17 thousand tickets were sold per game during the 1996-97 season, but by then, Karmanos had agreed on a lease on a building in Greensboro, North Carolina.

It was the final season for the Hartford Whalers, and it would be the last time that fans of hockey would see the iconic whale tail, or hear the classic brass bonanza song play during an NHL game. It was the NHL saying goodbye to an iconic logo, and a city that deeply treasured their team. It would be a truly heartfelt goodbye as the Whalers skated down the tunnel and away from their adoring fans for the last time.

The team would move to Carolina and become the Hurricanes we adore today, but the Whalers name was thrown to the wind and almost forgotten about. At least it was until new majority owner Tom Dundon purchased the team and brought back the Whalers jerseys to honor the team’s history and its past form in the constitution state.

Today, we know Whalers night as the night the Canes take to the ice in the beautiful green sweaters the Whalers used to wear and the goal song changes from Raise Up to Brass Bonanza. It’s a night to honor the Whalers and the fans that the team left behind in its wake (Ha, Hurricane pun). It’s also used for marketing, which cannot be denied, but it’s certainly a touching tribute to the team’s previous form.

Today, the city of Hartford is home to the AHL’s Wolf Pack, they are the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. However, there is an expectation that the league will never return to the city of Hartford due to its struggles to support the team in the first place. The Hartford Whalers are now just another piece of history, the most iconic US-based NHL team to no longer exist.

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