For many hockey fans, the league would never - and could never - be the same after the Hartford Whalers skated out of town and became the Carolina Generics Hurricanes. Gone was the kitsch of a small-market team with one of the best logos in pro sports history, and in its place was just another franchise in a market with all the tradition, character, and charm of your local Applebee’s.
(Best logo ever? No, that’s the 1980s Milwaukee Brewers. This is #2.)
But according to the HARTFORD COURANT, the dream may not be dead, as Mayor Eddie Perez and the city are in talks with commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL about bringing a franchise back to the city. There’s no indication that they’d bring back the Whalers name, but there’s no talk that they wouldn’t, either. Hey, if the Cleveland Browns can do it (and this is the only time you ever want to do something like the Browns), then why not the Whalers, eh? But unsurprisingly, there are hurdles to be leapt:
City and state officials have long agreed that major league hockey would need a new arena to replace the city-owned XL Center to entice it to Hartford. In the press release, Perez said that the meeting was a good chance for him to tell Bettman that Hartford still wants an NHL team. But he noted that “difficult financial times” mean that it would take “a considerable amount of work” to make an arena a reality.
Hey, “a considerable amount of work” is way, way better than “impossible.” And - one would imagine - the recession won’t last forever, so it would be wise for the businessmen to not confuse “not now” with “never.” The return is the goal, and the goal is the first step. So without further ado, let’s cue up the Whalers’ legendary theme song, Brass Bonanza:
Sexy, no? Yes, it is sexy. Carmen Electra can prove it:
We’ll leave you alone with that last video for a while. You’re welcome.
7:15 pm on January 19th, 2009
Are you drunk. That's barely readable.
7:16 pm on January 19th, 2009
That was quick.
7:20 pm on January 19th, 2009
Watching Carmen Electra dance to Brass Bonanza made my day. Thank you. Thank you very much.
7:22 pm on January 19th, 2009
Can't read this, Freddy? Maybe you're the one who's drunk.
7:23 pm on January 19th, 2009
Coolest. Team song. Ever.
7:34 pm on January 19th, 2009
Doesn't Karmanos or whoever owns the team now also own the Whalers' name & logos?
8:03 pm on January 19th, 2009
If the Whalers come back to Hartford, they need to start their opening night ceremonies by having Carmen Electra perform her Brass Bonanza dance at center ice.
9:29 pm on January 19th, 2009
I believe The Onion perfectly summed up the feelings of Carolinians toward the Hurricanes:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/49761
9:30 pm on January 19th, 2009
Whatever happened to Craig Kilborn, anyway?
10:29 pm on January 19th, 2009
Move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hartford. At least they'll be appreciated there - and probably won't be as bankrupt.
8:55 pm on January 20th, 2009
Bring back the Whalers! The NHL belongs in cities like Hartford, Quebec & Winnipeg, not in places like Nashville, Columbus & Carolina.
1:21 am on January 22nd, 2009
Phoenix is unlikely to relocated to Hartford. They will likely sold and moved due to the fact that the franchise is hemorrhaging money (I've read they lost over $250M since moving from Winnipeg and are likely to lose almost $40M this year alone) but the team will likely end up in the hands of Jim Balsille. He's a Billionaire that wants an NHL team badly, and after the Boots del Biaggio fiasco with Nashville I very much doubt Gary Bettmann will have the stroke in the league offices to prevent him getting a team this time. Especially since a team needs to be sold soon so franchise values can be assessed for capital purposes. Banks will want to know how much teams are worth in the current economic climate before lending them money.
1:52 am on January 22nd, 2009
Hello, Hamilton Coyotes?
8:52 pm on August 18th, 2009
The state of Connecticut owns the Whalers name and logo. Karmanos gave up rights to it when he hijacked the team to Carolina, and the state snapped it up in case of an NHL return. The Whalers could live again!