Did you know that the Carolina Hurricanes used to be the Hartford Whalers?
Then again, how could you not?
Nearly every recounting the Hurricanes' Stanley Cup victory has mentioned the fact that the club once played in Hartford, Connecticut (motto: "Open until 5:30 on Fridays!).
By now the story has been well-told: The New England Whalers, along with the Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques, and ironically, the Edmonton Oilers were the sole survivors of the upstart World Hockey Association and were merged into the NHL in 1979.
The Whalers were re-named the Hartford Whalers and were famous for two things: playing in an arena, the Hartford Civic Center, that was connected to a shopping mall; and a unique yet hideous theme/fight song,
Brass Bonanza, that sounded like background music from an NFL Films documentary from the early 1970s.
While the Whalers were rarely very good, they developed a small yet loyal following that was often praised for their rabid support of the team. But the economics of hockey became such that with four other NHL teams within two hours of Hartford (New Jersey, Boston, and the two New York teams), it was harder for the Whalers to make it in the corporate sponsorship world.
In the mid 1990s, owner Peter Karmanos sought a new arena deal with Hartford, but the deal fell through and he announced his intention to move the team, albeit without a firm destination in hand. Karmanos investigated Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta (all of whom were later awarded NHL expansion teams), before settling on Raleigh, North Carolina, and its brand-spanking-new arena which was being built for NC State University.
North Carolina
was virgin territory for hockey and the arena that would become the RBC Center would not be ready until the 1999 season. So the re-named Hurricanes played 80 miles away in Greensboro where they developed a small, but loyal following that was the object of ridicule by the national media.
After a number of marketing blunders and missteps by team management, the Hurricanes began making a foothold in a market full of immigrants from many northern states, and by 2002, when the Canes made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup finals, hockey was firmly entrenched.
Despite the uncertainty that surrounded the lockout that cancelled the 2005 season, Carolina re-emerged as one of the NHL's elite teams in 2006 and rode that all the way to a Stanley Cup title.
Which brings us back to Hartford.
All throughout the playoffs, viewers were reminded that the Hurricanes were once the Whalers. Graphics were shown of Game Sevens in Carolina/Hartford fanchise history. After the Canes' dramatic Game 7 win to clinch the Cup, ESPN's Steve Levy remarked "If the Triangle had a fourth point, it would be Hartford."
Funny, but I don't seem to remember all this talk a few years ago when the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup. I didn't see graphics of the Colorado/Quebec franchise history.
Pro sports franchises move all the time, so why is the NHL stuck on Hartford? Maybe some of it has to do with ESPN, which is headquartered in Bristol, Conn. The Whalers were Connecticut's only pro sports team, and by default were ESPN's official team. As a result, some of the most biting criticism about the move and the derisive comments about the Canes came (and still come) from ESPN.
In a great irony, all of the WHA franchises that came into the NHL in 1979 except Edmonton have moved - Quebec to Colorado and Winnipeg to Phoenix. Edmonton, on the other hand, was on the brink of financial collapse in the late 1990s. Yet it is Carolina who is somehow singled out for their move.
Maybe it has to do with the bristly personality of the Carolina owner, Peter Karmanos. But few franchise moves are amicable, and the names of owners Bob Irsay and George Shinn are still considered vulgarities in Baltimore and Charlotte, so maybe there's more to it than that.
Still, this is now Raleigh's hockey team, and in fact, all of Carolina can join in the celebration. To Hartford, let me say this: I hope you have found us to be good stewards of what you consider to be your hockey team. But if not, get over it already. The Carolina Hurricanes have, in the 5 seasons of the 2000s, eclipsed every mark of franchise success ever achieved in Hartford, and can now join the Avs and the New Jersey Devils as relocated teams who won the Stanley Cup in their new homes.
There's a saying in the South that you don't forget where you came from, and the new Canes have even taken to playing Brass Bonanza at the RBC Center. But we also know when to let the past go, and that time is now.
So, good night, Hartford. Thanks for playing. The Whalers are now just a footnote in sports history, like the Dallas Texans, the Buffalo Braves, or the California Seals.
