1996–97 Hartford Whalers season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1996–97
Team=Hartford Whalers
Conference=Eastern
ConferenceRank=
Division=Northeast
DivisionRank=5th
Record=32–39–11
HomeRecord=23–15–3
RoadRecord=9–24–8
GoalsFor=226
GoalsAgainst=256
GeneralManager=Jim Rutherford
Coach= Paul Maurice
Captain=Kevin Dineen
AltCaptain=
Arena=
Attendance=
GoalsLeader=
AssistsLeader=
PointsLeader=
PIMLeader=
WinsLeader=
GAALeader=

The 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season was the 25th season of the franchise, 18th and final season in the NHL.

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.

eason standings

December

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

March

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

Goaltenders

"Note: GP = Games Played; TOI = Time On Ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average"
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Departure from Hartford

The primary factors in the Whalers' departure from Hartford were the greedyness of Peter Karmonos and the stupidity of Gary Betman. The state of Connecticut gave Peter Karmonos everything he wanted and more, but he still decided to move the team. Money did not have anything to do with it..

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. [ [http://sophia.smith.edu/~jeue/John/pete4.html How's It Goin', Pete? Part 4 ] ] [ [http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=15 The Recorder ] ] [ [http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/articles%201999/Patriots1.html The Patriots Nix Hartford, Stay in Foxboro - Background ] ]

ee also

*1996–97 NHL season

References

* [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000461997.html Whalers on Hockey Database]