Bringing Back The Whale

I'm still a fan of the Hartford Whalers to this day. Yes, I'll admit that they had some inferior teams compared to their Adams Division rivals, but the Hartford Whalers still have one of the most iconic logos in the entire sports world. Couple that logo with the famous tune of Brass Bonanza, and hockey in Hartford was pure fun. Sure there were some low points, and there was no shortage of bad trades made during their history, but the Hartford Whalers will always have a special place in my love of all things hockey. Today, I want to post a few videos of the Hartford Whalers in action, and relive a little of the Whale's time in the NHL.

Captain Kevin Dineen scores the last goal by a Hartford Whaler at the Hartford Civic Center. Kudos to the announcers for speaking about Kevin Dineen's importance to the Hartford Whalers. He went through a lot in Hartford.

The Whalers rarely blew a team out when they played, but when they did pull off the magic trick, it was a big event. Case in point? October 8, 1996 saw the Whalers hammer the Pittsburgh Penguins by a 7-3 score. Note some of the names on the Whalers: Marek Malik, Brendan Shanahan, Geoff Sanderson, Jeff O'Neill, Sami Kapanen, Andrew Cassels, Glen Wesley. That's some pretty impressive talent!

Whatever happened to Robert Kron? He always showed such potential, but never came close to meeting expectations. Perhaps he needed to play with Kent Manderville more often. Manderville goes off for a hat trick against the Boston Pooh Bears on March 12, 1997.

I think we need to bring back the WHA teams. More Jets. More Nordiques. More Whalers. Those cities just seemed to love hockey whenever their teams took to the ice.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!