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172-810: The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut . The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979 , and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1997 . Originally based in Boston , they were charter members of the WHA, known as the New England Whalers for all seven seasons. After their second season ,
344-419: A centre and two wingers : a left wing and a right wing . Forwards often play together as units or lines , with the same three forwards always playing together. The defencemen usually stay together as a pair generally divided between left and right. Left and right side wingers or defencemen are generally positioned on the side on which they carry their stick. A substitution of an entire unit at once
516-401: A penalty shootout . If the score remains tied after an extra overtime period, the subsequent shootout consists of three players from each team taking penalty shots. After these six total shots, the team with the most goals is awarded the victory. If the score is still tied, the shootout then proceeds to sudden death . Regardless of the number of goals scored by either team during the shootout,
688-610: A three-point field goal arc , pioneered in the earlier ABL. Also, the ABA used a colorful red, white and blue ball, instead of the NBA's traditional orange ball. The ABA also had several "regional" franchises, such as the Virginia Squires and Carolina Cougars , that played "home" games in several cities. In the 1973–74 season, the ABA also adopted the no-disqualification foul rule: instead of fouling out after six infractions, when
860-509: A DUI in Simsbury . The Whalers finished the season with 63 points, only a five-point improvement from the previous season. One bright spot for the Whalers was the emergence of Sean Burke as their franchise and star goaltender. Another highlight of the 1993–94 season was when Brian Propp scored his 1,000th career NHL point with the Whalers. Propp announced his retirement after the season. In
1032-405: A chest protector, a goalie mask, and a large jersey. Goaltenders' equipment has continually become larger and larger, leading to fewer goals in each game and many official rule changes. Ice hockey skates are optimized for physical acceleration, speed and manoeuvrability. This includes rapid starts, stops, turns, and changes in skating direction. In addition, they must be rigid and tough to protect
1204-426: A financial situation or familial needs, players should be able to leave for professional leagues early. While the NBA and NCAA initially contested the rule, after the courts ruled in favor of Haywood playing in the ABA, the NBA followed suit and relaxed the four year rule to allow players to enter the league if they qualified as a hardship on the basis of “financial condition…family, [or] academic record.” Haywood paved
1376-537: A forward. The seventh defenceman may play as a substitute defenceman, spend the game on the bench, or if a team chooses to play four lines then this seventh defenceman may see ice-time on the fourth line as a forward. A professional ice hockey game consists of three periods of twenty minutes, the clock running only when the puck is in play. The teams change ends after each period of play, including overtime. Recreational leagues and children's leagues often play shorter games, generally with three shorter periods of play. If
1548-676: A franchise to New England businessmen Howard Baldwin , W. Godfrey Wood , John Coburn and William Edward Barnes to begin play in Boston. The team began auspiciously, signing former Detroit Red Wings star Tom Webster , hard rock Boston Bruins ' defenseman Ted Green (the team's inaugural captain ), Toronto Maple Leafs ' defensemen Rick Ley , Jim Dorey and Brad Selwood , and former Pittsburgh Penguins ' goaltender Al Smith . New England signed an unusually large number of American players, including Massachusetts natives and former U.S. Olympic hockey team members Larry Pleau (who had been
1720-477: A game in Kansas City due to the lack of a suitable arena. In addition to the four surviving ABA teams, eight current NBA markets have ABA heritage: Utah , Dallas , Houston , Miami , New Orleans , Memphis , Minnesota , and Charlotte all had an ABA team before their current NBA teams. With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play. In 1999,
1892-549: A game is tied after regulation, then a 20-minute period of 5-on-5 sudden-death overtime will be added. If the game is still tied after the overtime, another period is added until a team scores, which wins the match. Since 2019, the IIHF World Championships and the gold medal game in the Olympics use the same format, but in a 3-on-3 format. In ice hockey, infractions of the rules lead to a play stoppage whereby
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#17327730274982064-534: A goal horn and the song " Hot, Hot, Hot " by Buster Poindexter , then a year later, " Rock and Roll Part 2 " by Gary Glitter . While the goal horn is still used by the Hurricanes today, "Brass Bonanza" was quickly reintroduced after Burke left the team the following year. The song is still very popular with Hartford crowds and continues to occasionally be played at XL Center events, including at Hartford Wolf Pack /Connecticut Whale games from 2011 to 2013 and at
2236-412: A goal scored by the other team. Major penalties assessed for fighting are typically offsetting, meaning neither team is short-handed and the players exit the penalty box upon a stoppage of play following the expiration of their respective penalties. The foul of boarding (defined as "check[ing] an opponent in such a manner that causes the opponent to be thrown violently in the boards") is penalized either by
2408-603: A home game against the Los Angeles Kings, on January 11, 2020. Its fourth appearance came on January 29, 2022, against the New Jersey Devils. The most recent appearance came on March 26, 2023, in a 4–3 shootout loss to the Bruins. Adidas ' "Reverse Retro" program in 2021 saw the Hurricanes wear silver versions of the classic Whalers uniform, bridging both Whalers eras in the design. In the 2023–24 season,
2580-528: A larger blade and a wide, flat shaft. This stick is primarily intended to block shots, but the goaltender may use it to play the puck as well. Ice hockey is a full-contact sport and carries a high risk of injury. Players are moving at speeds around approximately 20–30 mph (30–50 km/h) and much of the game revolves around the physical contact between the players. Skate blades, hockey sticks, shoulder contact, hip contact, and hockey pucks can all potentially cause injuries. Lace bite , an irritation felt on
2752-507: A minor or major penalty at the discretion of the referee, based on the violent state of the hit. A minor or major penalty for boarding is often assessed when a player checks an opponent from behind and into the boards. Some varieties of penalty do not require the offending team to play a man short. Concurrent five-minute major penalties in the NHL usually result from fighting. In the case of two players being assessed five-minute fighting majors, both
2924-521: A more stable roster than most WHA teams: Ley, Webster, Selwood, Pleau, and Tommy Earl played over 350 games each with the club. The team scored a major coup when it signed legend Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty from the Houston Aeros in 1977. The Whalers recorded losing records in their first two full seasons in Hartford, their final two WHA seasons saw more success. They went to
3096-436: A neck protector. Goaltenders use different equipment. With hockey pucks approaching them at speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h) they must wear equipment with more protection. Goaltenders wear specialized goalie skates (these skates are built more for movement side to side rather than forwards and backwards), a jock or jill, large leg pads (there are size restrictions in certain leagues), blocking glove, catching glove,
3268-698: A nine-game losing streak in January and a six-game losing streak in March. Despite the poor performance down the stretch, the Whalers still had an opportunity to make the playoffs in the final week of the season. However, the Whalers lost two games on the road to Ottawa and the New York Islanders, which eliminated them from the playoffs before their final regular season game against the Tampa Bay Lightning . Owner Peter Karmanos pledged to keep
3440-539: A penalty, but was an infraction in the NHL before recent rules changes, is the two-line offside pass . Prior to the 2005–06 NHL season, play was stopped when a pass from inside a team's defending zone crossed the centre line, with a face-off held in the defending zone of the offending team. Now, the centre line is no longer used in the NHL to determine a two-line pass infraction, a change that the IIHF had adopted in 1998. Players are now able to pass to teammates who are more than
3612-527: A player is charged with his seventh or succeeding fouls, the opposing team retains possession and the offended team attempts any free throw. The ABA also went after four of the best referees in the NBA: Earl Strom , John Vanak , Norm Drucker and Joe Gushue , getting them to "jump" leagues by offering them far more in money and benefits. In Earl Strom's memoir Calling the Shots , Strom conveys both
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#17327730274983784-409: A player may receive up to nineteen minutes in penalties for one string of plays. This could involve receiving a four-minute double-minor penalty, getting in a fight with an opposing player who retaliates, and then receiving a game misconduct after the fight. In this case, the player is ejected and two teammates must serve the double-minor and major penalties. A penalty shot is awarded to a player when
3956-456: A playoff contender. By the end of January, they had a record of 26–20–1 for 53 points after 47 games. At this time, however, the Whalers began to struggle when they lost their franchise player Ron Francis and star goal scorer Kevin Dineen to injuries. As a result, the Whalers struggled through February, winning just two games in the month and in danger of missing the playoffs for the sixth year in
4128-537: A regular with the Montreal Canadiens the previous season), Kevin Ahearn , John Cunniff and Paul Hurley . Two other ex-U.S. Olympians on the Whalers' roster ( Minnesotans Timothy Sheehy and Tommy Williams ) had spent a significant part of their careers in Boston with Boston College and the Bruins, respectively. The Whalers had the WHA's best regular season record in the 1972–73 season . Webster led
4300-549: A row. In March, Francis and Dineen returned from their injuries and the Whalers put up a record of 12–4–2 in the months of March and April. The Whalers finished fourth in the Adams Division in the 1985–86 regular season, earning themselves a playoff berth for the first time since 1980. The Whalers went on to eliminate the first-place Quebec Nordiques in a three-game sweep in the first round, winning their first, and only, NHL playoff series in Hartford. The Whalers then pushed
4472-621: A second consecutive overtime winner in the first overtime period on a breakaway, but his shot missed the net. It was the last time the Whalers would qualify for the playoffs for the rest of their time in Hartford. Roberts was fired thereafter, along with general manager Eddie Johnston. At the end of the three-year Johnston era, only seven players remained from the Whalers' active roster prior to Johnston taking over as general manager. Those players were forwards Ed Kastelic and Terry Yake ; defensemen Randy Ladouceur , Brad Shaw and Adam Burt ; and goaltenders Peter Sidorkiewicz and Kay Whitmore. During
4644-415: A shot or pass play. Officials also stop play for puck movement violations, such as using one's hands to pass the puck in the offensive end, but no players are penalized for these offences. The sole exceptions are deliberately falling on or gathering the puck to the body, carrying the puck in the hand, and shooting the puck out of play in one's defensive zone (all penalized two minutes for delay of game). In
4816-485: A small market for a team with an uncertain future about its location. Whalers fans and local media condemned Shanahan for his comments and he was immediately stripped of his captaincy; Kevin Dineen took over the role. After the second game of the season, Shanahan was traded (along with Brian Glynn ) to the Detroit Red Wings for Keith Primeau , Paul Coffey and a first-round draft pick. Despite these problems,
4988-492: A team losing a skater during regulation instead causes the other side to add a skater. Once the penalized team's penalty ends, the penalized skater exits the penalty box and the teams continue at 4-on-4 until the next stoppage of play, at which point the teams return to three skaters per side. International play and several North American professional leagues, including the NHL (in the regular season), now use an overtime period identical to that from 1999–2000 to 2003–04 followed by
5160-409: A tie occurs in tournament play, as well as in the NHL playoffs, North Americans favour sudden death overtime , in which the teams continue to play twenty-minute periods until a goal is scored. Up until the 1999–2000 season, regular-season NHL games were settled with a single five-minute sudden death period with five players (plus a goalie) per side, with both teams awarded one point in the standings in
5332-485: A whole playoff series. The Nordiques won the next four games and thus the series, four games to two. While Hartford would make the playoffs for the next five seasons in a row, they never came close to duplicating their previous success, with one exception in the 1989–90 season . In 1989–90, the Whalers finished seventh overall in the NHL standings and fourth overall in the Wales Conference, with 85 points. This
Hartford Whalers - Misplaced Pages Continue
5504-462: Is a full-contact sport, body checks are allowed so injuries are a common occurrence. Protective equipment is mandatory and is enforced in all competitive situations. This includes a helmet with either a visor or a full face mask, shoulder pads, elbow pads, mouth guard, protective gloves, heavily padded shorts (also known as hockey pants) or a girdle, athletic cup (also known as a jock, for males; and jill, for females), shin pads, skates, and (optionally)
5676-410: Is also a penalty in certain leagues in order to reduce the chance of injury to players. Often the term checking is used to refer to body checking, with its true definition generally only propagated among fans of the game. One of the most important strategies for a team is their forecheck . Forechecking is the act of attacking the opposition in their defensive zone. Forechecking is an important part of
5848-459: Is called a line change . Teams typically employ alternate sets of forward lines and defensive pairings when short-handed or on a power play . The goaltender stands in a, usually blue, semi-circle called the crease in the defensive zone keeping pucks out of the goal. Substitutions are permitted at any time during the game, although during a stoppage of play the home team is permitted the final change. When players are substituted during play, it
6020-418: Is called changing on the fly . An NHL rule added in the 2005–06 season prevents a team from changing their line after they ice the puck. The boards surrounding the ice help keep the puck in play and they can also be used as tools to play the puck. Players are permitted to bodycheck opponents into the boards to stop progress. The referees, linesmen and the outsides of the goal are "in play" and do not stop
6192-422: Is ice hockey. While the general characteristics of the game remain constant, the exact rules depend on the particular code of play being used. The two most important codes are those of the IIHF and the NHL. Both of these codes, and others, originated from Canadian rules of ice hockey of the early 20th century. Ice hockey is played on a hockey rink . During normal play, there are six players on ice skates on
6364-528: Is if a team opts to pull their goalie in exchange for an extra skater during overtime and is subsequently scored upon (an empty net goal), in which case the losing team receives no points for the overtime loss. Since the 2015–16 season, the single five-minute sudden-death overtime session involves three skaters on each side. Since three skaters must always be on the ice in an NHL game, the consequences of penalties are slightly different from those during regulation play; any penalty during overtime that would result in
6536-403: Is the left wing lock , which has two forwards pressure the puck and the left wing and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. Offensive tactics include improving a team's position on the ice by advancing the puck out of one's zone towards the opponent's zone, progressively by gaining lines, first your own blue line, then the red line and finally the opponent's blue line. NHL rules instated for
6708-457: The dump and chase strategy (i.e. shooting the puck into the offensive zone and then chasing after it). Each team uses their own unique system but the main ones are: 2–1–2 , 1–2–2, and 1–4. The 2–1–2 is the most basic forecheck system where two forwards go in deep and pressure the opposition's defencemen, the third forward stays high and the two defencemen stay at the blueline. The 1–2–2 is a bit more conservative system where one forward pressures
6880-581: The 1993–94 season as members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference, and with high hopes from a core of young talented players. The Whalers were also able to draft defenseman Chris Pronger , who began his career with the Whalers, playing alongside veteran defenseman Brad McCrimmon , and later became an NHL star. However, problems began at the management level when general manager Brian Burke announced he would resign when
7052-662: The Hampton Roads Rhinos , but the failure of a season-ticket drive in Norfolk, coupled with a lack of an adequate arena, led to those plans being canceled. Karmanos stated that Rowland had no intention of making a serious offer to keep the Whalers in Connecticut since Rowland harbored hopes to bring a National Football League (NFL) franchise to the State. Rowland went on to negotiate a tentative deal that would bring
Hartford Whalers - Misplaced Pages Continue
7224-538: The Hartford Civic Center . The city had hoped to get an American Basketball Association (ABA) team as the main tenant, but when that fell through, city leaders got in touch with the Whalers. Aside from various minor league teams in New Haven , the area had been largely bereft of professional hockey until the Whalers' arrival. The Civic Center was still being finished when the 1974–75 season began, so
7396-758: The Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace , in Paris , France, the precursor to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The sport was played for the first time at the Olympics during the 1920 Summer Games —today it is a mainstay at the Winter Olympics . In 1994, ice hockey was officially recognized as Canada's national winter sport. While women also played during the game's early formative years, it
7568-620: The New England Patriots to Connecticut, but those talks also fell apart after the state and Patriots ownership failed to reach an agreement on a new stadium, instead choosing to stay in Foxborough to build what would become Gillette Stadium . On April 13, 1997, the Whalers played their last game in Hartford, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1. Team captain Kevin Dineen , who had returned to Hartford midway through
7740-548: The Premier Hockey Federation 's Connecticut Whale , being played after goals scored by the teams.The Victoria Royals of the WHL - Western Hockey League - have used the theme for goals since 2017. The official mascot of the Whalers was named "Pucky The Whale" and most commonly referred to as "Pucky". Depicted as a green whale, it was the team's secondary logo appearing on the shoulders of their jerseys from
7912-539: The Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003 after a deadline deal before re-signing in Carolina in the 2003 off-season. Craig Adams was the last player drafted in Whalers' history. However, Adams did not become a member of the team until 2000, after the team had already moved to North Carolina, and he retired in 2015. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the final former Hartford Whalers player still playing in
8084-900: The University of Connecticut 's basketball and men's ice hockey games. The song plays whenever a player on the city's minor-league baseball team, the Hartford Yard Goats , hits a home run. It was also previously used by the Whalers' AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Whalers , the Danbury Whalers of the Federal Hockey League (FHL), and Quinnipiac University 's men 's and women 's ice hockey teams. It has also been played at Fenway Park in Boston during Boston Red Sox games in between innings for several years. Rock bands have been known to play
8256-462: The 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup , emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was initially commissioned in 1892 as the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup" and was first awarded in 1893 to recognise the Canadian amateur champion and later became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the early 1900s, the Canadian rules were adopted by
8428-490: The 18th and 19th centuries in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere, primarily bandy , hurling , and shinty . The North American sport of lacrosse , derived from tribal Native American games, was also influential. The former games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules developed, such as shinny and ice polo, but later were absorbed into a new organized game with codified rules which today
8600-659: The 1930s, hockey was an on-side game, meaning that only backward passes were allowed. Those rules emphasized individual stick-handling to drive the puck forward. With the arrival of offside rules, the forward pass transformed hockey into a true team sport, where individual performance diminished in importance relative to team play, which could now be coordinated over the entire surface of the ice as opposed to merely rearward players. The six players on each team are typically divided into three forwards, two defencemen, and one goaltender. The term skaters typically applies to all players except goaltenders. The forward positions consist of
8772-412: The 1970s WHA days until the mid 1980s. In the 2010s a new mascot costume version of Pucky was making appearances around Connecticut. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals scored for, GA = Goals scored against, PIM = Penalty minutes Notes: Note: includes both WHA Whalers and NHL Whalers The retirement of McKenzie's number was notable, in so far as it
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#17327730274988944-822: The 1995–96 season after being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers , scored the final goal in Whalers history. On May 6, 1997, Karmanos announced the team would move to Raleigh, North Carolina , to become the Carolina Hurricanes , playing its first two seasons in North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum while awaiting arena construction in Raleigh, a year earlier than planned. Talks with Nashville , Columbus , and even Suburban Detroit were discussed before bringing
9116-416: The 2006 season redefined the offside rule to make the two-line pass legal; a player may pass the puck from behind his own blue line, past both that blue line and the centre red line, to a player on the near side of the opponents' blue line. Offensive tactics are designed ultimately to score a goal by taking a shot. When a player purposely directs the puck towards the opponent's goal, he or she is said to "shoot"
9288-467: The ABA eventually caught on with fans, but the lack of a national television contract and protracted financial losses would spell doom for the ABA as an independent circuit. In 1976, its last year of existence, the ABA pioneered the now-popular slam dunk contest at its all-star game in Denver . The league succeeded in forcing a merger with the NBA in the 1976 offseason. Four ABA teams were absorbed into
9460-447: The Bruins scored four unanswered goals in the third period, winning the game 6–5. Sidorkiewicz struggled for the rest of the series and Moog was spectacular for the Bruins. Without Liut, the Whalers had to either stick with Sidorkiewicz, which they did, or use the unproven rookie, Kay Whitmore, in goal. Goaltending turned out to be one of the big differences in this series and the Bruins won it in seven games. The Bruins went on to dispose of
9632-827: The Canadiens in five games, then sweep the Capitals in the Wales Conference Finals before losing in the Stanley Cup finals to the Edmonton Oilers. On March 4, 1991, Francis was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins , along with Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings , in exchange for John Cullen , Zarley Zalapski and Jeff Parker . Francis was one of the most popular players on the team, and held nearly every significant offensive record in
9804-772: The Civic Center. They averaged only 13,867 from 1980 to 1997. Most of their sellouts came when either the Bruins, the New York Islanders , or the New York Rangers played in Hartford, bringing thousands of their own fans with them. Upon joining the NHL, the Whalers were placed in the Norris Division of the Wales Conference. Their first NHL season in 1979–80 looked somewhat promising. They were led by Mike Rogers , Blaine Stoughton , Dave Keon , Mark Howe , Rick Ley , NHL legend Gordie Howe and
9976-679: The Connecticut Whale in the middle of the 2010–11 season, adopting the Whalers' old green-blue-white palette. The team changed back to the Hartford Wolf Pack after the Rangers terminated the relationship following the 2012–13 season. Glen Wesley was the last Whaler still active with the Hartford/Carolina franchise, upon his retirement on June 5, 2008, though his stint was not continuous, playing seven games for
10148-535: The Hurricanes announced they would wear green Hartford Whalers throwback uniforms during two games against the Boston Bruins , first on December 23, 2018, at home and again on March 5, 2019, in Boston. The announcement was generally viewed as positive recognition of the roots of the Hurricane franchise, although not all former Whalers' fans approved of the use. The Hurricanes again wore the Whalers uniforms for
10320-505: The Hurricanes wore a white version of the Whalers uniform against the Devils, and donned Cooperalls in pregame warmups. Unlike most sports teams at any level the Whalers' had an official theme song. The song was entitled "Brass Bonanza", and was a tune composed and arranged by Jacques Ysaye (under the pseudonym of Jack Say), originally called "Evening Beat". The song was a big hit with the team, Whalers fans, and even fans of other NHL teams and
10492-754: The Knicks, the Nets were forced to pay $ 4.3M to the Knicks organization. The Nets offered league superstar Julius Erving instead but the Knicks declined. The Nets had to settle for an arena in Piscataway, New Jersey , and, to meet expenses, were forced to sell the contract of Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers . Two other clubs, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis , were disbanded upon
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#173277302749810664-597: The NBA after being one year removed from their high school graduation. The origin of the Hardship Rule was a result of the NBA prohibiting players from joining the league until they had completed their four years of college eligibility. In 1969, Spencer Haywood left the University of Detroit as a sophomore and signed with the Denver Rockets. The ABA believed that in extenuating circumstances, such as
10836-514: The NBA and the Spirits ownership agreed to phase out future payments in exchange for a one-time payment of $ 500M, making the total value for the deal over $ 800M. The seventh remaining team, the Virginia Squires , received nothing, as they had ceased operations shortly before the merger. The players from the Colonels, Spirits, and Squires were made available to NBA teams through a dispersal draft;
11008-564: The NBA and the introduction of the NBA 3-point shot in 1979. The ABA was conceived at a time stretching from 1960 through the mid-1970s when numerous upstart leagues were challenging, with varying degrees of success, the established major professional sports leagues in the United States. Basketball was seen as particularly vulnerable to a challenge; its major league, the National Basketball Association ,
11180-615: The NBA in 1976–77 as a season-long competition for that season only, and on a permanent basis as a standalone event as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in 1984. Of the original 11 teams, only the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers remained for all nine seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. However, the Denver Larks/Rockets/Nuggets , a team that had been planned for Kansas City, Missouri , moved to Denver without playing
11352-410: The NHL, a unique penalty applies to the goalies. The goalies now are forbidden to play the puck in the "corners" of the rink near their own net. This will result in a two-minute penalty against the goalie's team. Only in the area in front of the goal line and immediately behind the net (marked by two red lines on either side of the net) can the goalie play the puck. An additional rule that has never been
11524-414: The NHL. The New England Whalers renamed themselves the Hartford Whalers in May 1979, at the insistence of the Boston Bruins who objected to the team naming themselves for New England. Connecticut-based graphic designer Peter Good (1942–2023) was hired by the Jack Lardis Associates advertising agency to design a new logo for the team. Good put a whale's tail over a "W", allowing the negative space between
11696-409: The NHL; he retired after the end of the 2013–14 season . Robert Petrovicky was the last former Whaler active in professional hockey, playing in European leagues through the end of the 2015–16 season. As the New England Whalers, the team generally wore dark green and white uniforms with a similar style to the iconic Detroit Red Wings uniforms. The uniforms feature the team roundel in front and
11868-417: The National Hockey League, a number of leagues have implemented the "four-official system", where an additional referee is added to aid in the calling of penalties normally difficult to assess by one referee. The system is used in every NHL game since 2001, at IIHF World Championships , the Olympics and in many professional and high-level amateur leagues in North America and Europe. Officials are selected by
12040-438: The New England Whalers players who stayed on the team as it made the transition to the NHL and became the Hartford Whalers. (In the case of the Howes, Detroit intentionally turned down their option to re-sign longtime Red Wing Gordie, out of respect for his legacy already in place there.) Only Selwood, George Lyle and Warren Miller were reclaimed by their former NHL teams. The Whalers were the only American-based WHA team to join
12212-416: The Pucky logo on either shoulder. In 1974, the white uniform added yellow trim and replaced the roundel logo with the "harpoon W" logo, and the following year, the green uniform adopted the same elements. In 1977, the striping on the waist and socks was modified. After becoming the Hartford Whalers, the team adopted its most iconic uniform design: green and white uniforms with blue, white and green stripes and
12384-547: The Stanley Cup Finals in 1994 . Burke hired Paul Holmgren to be the Whalers' new head coach. Holmgren had been the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers . Holmgren immediately named Pat Verbeek the new captain and he ended up playing on a line with young stars Andrew Cassels and Geoff Sanderson . The Whalers also acquired goaltender Sean Burke in exchange for former first-round draft pick Bobby Holik . Cassels, Sanderson and Sean Burke remained star players for
12556-500: The Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut through at least 1997, one year shy of his original promise. The "Save the Whale" campaign netted season ticket sales totaling 8,563 in less than a 45-day span, despite the Whalers raising ticket prices by an average of 20 percent, eliminating partial ticket plans and increasing the deposit amount for season tickets by 750 percent. This represented an expansion of over 3,500 tickets from
12728-476: The Whalers found themselves fourth in priority for dates behind the Bruins, Boston Celtics , and even the American Hockey League 's Boston Braves . Fed up with the situation, Baldwin decided to move elsewhere. In late February 1974, he announced the Whalers' upcoming relocation to Hartford, targeted for early April. Hartford was about to open a new, modern downtown arena and convention center,
12900-443: The Whalers got off to a very good start, with a 14–7–6 record after the first 27 games, sitting in first in their division. They were led by a strong first line of Sanderson, Cassels and Dineen along with a solid second line of Primeau, O'Neill and Sami Kapanen . During the calendar year of 1996, the Whalers achieved a record of 41–30–10 in 81 games. In 1997, following the good start, the Whalers' season began to slip away. This included
13072-535: The Whalers had many aging veterans left over from their WHA days. To make matters worse, the Whalers reputation of making disastrous trades began to unfold, as the team began to trade away stars for mediocre players in an attempt to gain depth. For instance, they traded star defenseman Mark Howe and their first NHL scoring leader, Mike Rogers, in separate deals for players and draft picks which never panned out, and also swapped defensive-defenseman Gordie Roberts , who would go on to play 15 remaining professional seasons, for
13244-426: The Whalers in the city of Hartford for four years when he purchased the team in 1994. However, two years later, frustrated with lackluster attendance and little corporate support, he announced 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
13416-575: The Whalers played the first part of the season at The Big E Coliseum in West Springfield , Massachusetts, about thirty miles (50 km) north. On January 11, 1975 , the team played its first game at the Hartford Civic Center in front of a sellout crowd. The franchise remained in Hartford until it relocated to North Carolina for the 1997–98 season , save for a temporary relocation to the nearby Springfield Civic Center in
13588-404: The Whalers through their final season in Hartford. In addition, future NHL star Michael Nylander began his NHL career with the Whalers during the 1992–93 season . Since the 1992–93 season was a rebuilding year for the Whalers, they finished the season with only 58 points, the second-worst point total in franchise history, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1985. The Whalers entered
13760-609: The Whalers to North Carolina. The following summer in 1997, the Binghamton Rangers , the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New York Rangers , relocated to the Hartford market to take the place of the Whalers, renaming themselves the Hartford Wolf Pack . Former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin acquired the right to manage the team in 2010 and announced that the Wolf Pack were changing their name to
13932-588: The Whalers, however, since McGuire was not popular with the players; the Whalers continued to struggle. The Whalers reached a low point in the season when six players and two assistant coaches were arrested in Buffalo, New York , after being involved in a bar room brawl. Pronger was one of the players arrested; he was 19 years of age at the time, two years below than the legal drinking age in the State of New York. Around this same time, Paul Holmgren checked himself into rehab for alcohol addiction after being arrested with
14104-432: The Whalers, since the players acquired did not meet the team's expectations, leaving the Whalers depleted of talent and costing them substantial goodwill in Hartford. The links below show all of the trades and transactions Ed Johnston made as the general manager of the Whalers. The Whalers went to the playoffs for the final time in 1992 behind Jimmy Roberts ' coaching, despite winning only 26 games. In those days, however,
14276-489: The all-time WHA leading scorer, Andre Lacroix , along with the franchise's first starting goaltender, Al Smith . The Whalers also acquired another NHL legend, Bobby Hull , near the NHL trade deadline in 1980. They finished the season with 73 points and a playoff berth and had the best record of the four former WHA franchises that entered the NHL in 1979–80. The Whalers remained the most recent first year expansion franchise to make
14448-415: The app determines that a particular impact has the potential to cause brain injury, it will alert the coach who can in turn seek medical attention for the individual. Defensive ice hockey tactics vary from more active to more conservative styles of play. One distinction is between man-to-man oriented defensive systems, and zonal oriented defensive systems, though a lot of teams use a combination between
14620-477: The blue and centre ice red line away. The NHL has taken steps to speed up the game of hockey and create a game of finesse, by reducing the number of illegal hits, fights, and "clutching and grabbing" that occurred in the past. Rules are now more strictly enforced, resulting in more penalties, which provides more protection to the players and facilitates more goals being scored. The governing body for United States' amateur hockey has implemented many new rules to reduce
14792-693: The division finals to seven games, losing the final game 2–1 in overtime to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens . The Canadiens disposed of both the Rangers and Calgary Flames in five games in the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals, respectively. The following season, 1986–87, the Whalers won their lone division championship, led by centers Ron Francis and Ray Ferraro , emerging winger Kevin Dineen, defenseman Ulf Samuelsson , superstar goaltender Mike Liut and scorer Sylvain Turgeon . The 93 points earned that season were
14964-527: The event of a tie. With a goal, the winning team would be awarded two points and the losing team none (just as if they had lost in regulation). The total elapsed time from when the puck first drops, is about 2 hours and 20 minutes for a 60-minute game. From the 1999–2000 until the 2003–04 seasons, the National Hockey League decided ties by playing a single five-minute sudden-death overtime period with each team having four skaters per side (plus
15136-412: The existing base. In early 1997, Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland stated that he did not want to spend Connecticut taxpayer dollars to fund a new arena in Hartford. Despite this, negotiations between the Whalers and Rowland to build a new $ 147.5 million arena seemed to be going well. Talks fell apart when Karmanos wanted an additional $ 45 million to cover losses during the three years the new arena
15308-472: The final ABA All-Star Game in 1976. The game was held in Denver, and the owners of the ABA teams wanted to ensure that the event would be entertaining for the sellout crowd of 15,021 people. The ABA and NBA had begun to discuss a possible merger, and the ABA owners wanted to establish the viability and success of their league. The Dunk Contest operated as a means of unique halftime entertainment that displayed
15480-411: The final score recorded will award the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time. In the NHL if a game is decided in overtime or by a shootout the winning team is awarded two points in the standings and the losing team is awarded one point. Ties no longer occur in the NHL. Overtime in the NHL playoffs differs from the regular season. In the playoffs there are no shootouts. If
15652-466: The finals again in 1978 , with a veteran team spearheaded by the Howes—50-year-old Gordie led the team in scoring—future NHL stars Gordie Roberts and Mike Rogers , All-Star defenseman Ron Plumb , and forwards John McKenzie , Dave Keon and Mike Antonovich , and possessed the league's best defense. The next season was not so fine, however, but while age finally caught up with Gordie Howe,
15824-534: The first in a series of destructive trades by sending franchise goaltender Mike Liut to the Washington Capitals in exchange for center Yvon Corriveau . Liut was having a career year during the 1989–90 season and this trade left the Whalers with sophomore goaltender Peter Sidorkiewicz as their starter, with rookie Kay Whitmore as the backup. The Whalers went on to face the Boston Bruins in
15996-403: The first round of the playoffs. In Game 4, the Whalers were in front of their home crowd with a two games to one series lead and a 5–2 lead in the game entering the third period. Bruins starting goaltender Reggie Lemelin was struggling throughout the series and was replaced by backup Andy Moog in the third period. At the same time, Peter Sidorkiewicz began struggling in goal for the Whalers, and
16168-457: The four teams absorbed by the NBA were allowed to choose players from this draft. One of the more significant long-term contributions of the ABA to professional basketball was to tap into markets in the southeast that had been collegiate basketball hotbeds (including North Carolina , Virginia , and Kentucky). The NBA was focused on the urban areas of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast. At
16340-401: The franchise's history, both in the WHA and NHL. The trade was savagely condemned by Whalers fans, few of whom believed The Hockey News assessment that the Whalers had actually come out on the better end of the trade. Parker would only play four games in Hartford before suffering a concussion and a knee injury within two weeks of each other, effectively ending his NHL career. The Francis trade
16512-402: The free agent market and signed Jimmy Carson and Steven Rice . On draft day, the Whalers selected the highly rated Jeff O'Neill in the first round. Rutherford also acquired defenseman Glen Wesley from the Boston Bruins in exchange for three first-round draft picks ( Kyle McLaren , Johnathan Aitken and Sergei Samsonov ). Despite these acquisitions, the Whalers struggled at the beginning of
16684-511: The front of the foot or ankle, is a common ice hockey injury. Compared to athletes who play other sports, ice hockey players are at higher risk of overuse injuries and injuries caused by early sports specialization by teenagers. According to the Hughston Health Alert, prior to the widespread use of helmets and face cages, "Lacerations to the head, scalp, and face are the most frequent types of injury [in hockey]." One of
16856-427: The game , too many players on the ice , boarding , illegal equipment, charging (leaping into an opponent or body-checking him after taking more than two strides), holding, holding the stick (grabbing an opponent's stick), interference, hooking , slashing , kneeing, unsportsmanlike conduct (arguing a penalty call with referee, extremely vulgar or inappropriate verbal comments), "butt-ending" (striking an opponent with
17028-411: The game when the puck or players either bounce into or collide with them. Play can be stopped if the goal is knocked out of position. Play often proceeds for minutes without interruption. After a stoppage, play is restarted with a faceoff . Two players face each other and an official drops the puck to the ice, where the two players attempt to gain control of the puck. Markings (circles) on the ice indicate
17200-406: The game. There are typically two linesmen who are mainly responsible for calling "offside" and " icing " violations, breaking up fights, and conducting faceoffs, and one or two referees , who call goals and all other penalties. Linesmen can report to the referee(s) that a penalty should be assessed against an offending player in some situations. The restrictions on this practice vary depending on
17372-401: The goalie). In the event of a tie, each team would still receive one point in the standings but in the event of a victory the winning team would be awarded two points in the standings and the losing team one point. The idea was to discourage teams from playing for a tie, since previously some teams might have preferred a tie and 1 point to risking a loss and zero points. The exception to this rule
17544-402: The goaltender carries a stick consisting of a long, relatively wide, and slightly curved flat blade, attached to a shaft. The curve itself has a big impact on its performance. A deep curve allows for lifting the puck easier while a shallow curve allows for easier backhand shots. The flex of the stick also impacts the performance. Typically, a less flexible stick is meant for a stronger player since
17716-404: The governing rules. On-ice officials are assisted by off-ice officials who act as goal judges, time keepers, and official scorers. The most widespread system is the "three-man system", which uses one referee and two linesmen. A less commonly used system is the two referee and one linesman system. This system is close to the regular three-man system except for a few procedure changes. Beginning with
17888-465: The head and most types of forceful stick-on-body contact are illegal. A delayed penalty call occurs when an offence is committed by the team that does not have possession of the puck. In this circumstance the team with possession of the puck is allowed to complete the play; that is, play continues until a goal is scored, a player on the opposing team gains control of the puck, or the team in possession commits an infraction or penalty of their own. Because
18060-568: The heads, as well as checks to unsuspecting players. Studies show that ice hockey causes 44.3% of all sports-related traumatic brain injuries among Canadian children. Some teams in the Swiss National League are testing out systems that combine helmet-integrated sensors and analysis software to reveal a player's ongoing brain injury risk during a game. These sensors provide players and coaches with real-time data on head impact strength, frequency, and severity. Furthermore, if
18232-632: The heady sense of being courted by a rival league with money to burn — and also the depression that set in the next year when he began refereeing in the ABA, with less prominent players performing in inadequate arenas, in front of very small crowds. Nevertheless, the emergence of the ABA boosted the salaries of referees just as it did the salaries of players. However ABA Teams like Nets, Colonels, Pacers, Spurs, Nuggets and Stars, especially in latest seasons, registered higher attendance on average than most of NBA teams at that time (excluding Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, SuperSonics and Bucks). The freewheeling style of
18404-566: The ice at a time, barring any penalties, including a goaltender . It is a full contact game and one of the more physically demanding team sports. The modern sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal , where the first indoor game was played on March 3, 1875. Some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey leagues began in
18576-458: The ice per side, one of them being the goaltender. The objective of the game is to score goals by shooting a hard vulcanized rubber disc, the puck , into the opponent's goal net at the opposite end of the rink. The players use their sticks to pass or shoot the puck. With certain restrictions, players may redirect the puck with any part of their body. Players may not hold the puck in their hand and are prohibited from using their hands to pass
18748-472: The ice. Loafing , also known as cherry-picking , is when a player, usually a forward, skates behind an attacking team, instead of playing defence, in an attempt to create an easy scoring chance. American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association ( ABA ) was a men's professional basketball major league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1976, resulting in four ABA teams joining
18920-417: The illegal actions of another player stop a clear scoring opportunity, most commonly when the player is on a breakaway . A penalty shot allows the obstructed player to pick up the puck on the centre red-line and attempt to score on the goalie with no other players on the ice, to compensate for the earlier missed scoring opportunity. A penalty shot is also awarded for a defender other than the goaltender covering
19092-422: The knob of the stick), "spearing" (jabbing an opponent with the blade of the stick), or cross-checking . As of the 2005–2006 season, a minor penalty is also assessed for diving , where a player embellishes or simulates an offence. More egregious fouls may be penalized by a four-minute double-minor penalty, particularly those that injure the victimized player. These penalties end either when the time runs out or when
19264-465: The last seven and missed the playoffs by four points. Before the beginning of the 1995–96 season , the Whalers management became frustrated with the slow development of highly rated prospect Chris Pronger. As a result, Pronger was sent to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Brendan Shanahan . Shanahan was not happy with the trade even before playing a single game in Hartford. However, he was immediately made
19436-477: The late 1970s while their Hartford arena was being rebuilt after heavy snow followed by heavy rain caused the roof, which suffered from several engineering and construction shortcomings, to collapse. Though they never again won the WHA championship, the New England Whalers were a successful team, never missing the playoffs in league history, and finishing first in their division three times. They had
19608-482: The leading causes of head injury is body checking from behind. Due to the danger of delivering a check from behind, many leagues – including the NHL – have made this a major and game misconduct penalty. Another type of check that accounts for many of the player-to-player contact concussions is a check to the head resulting in a misconduct penalty (called "head contact"). In recent years, the NHL has implemented new rules which penalize and suspend players for illegal checks to
19780-492: The league they work for. Amateur hockey leagues use guidelines established by national organizing bodies as a basis for choosing their officiating staffs. In North America, the national organizing bodies Hockey Canada and USA Hockey approve officials according to their experience level as well as their ability to pass rules knowledge and skating ability tests. Hockey Canada has officiating levels I through VI. USA Hockey has officiating levels 1 through 4. Since men's ice hockey
19952-562: The locations for the faceoff and guide the positioning of players. Three major rules of play in ice hockey limit the movement of the puck: offside , icing , and the puck going out of play. Under IIHF rules, each team may carry a maximum of 20 players and two goaltenders on their roster. NHL rules restrict the total number of players per game to 18, plus two goaltenders. In the NHL, the players are usually divided into four lines of three forwards, and into three pairs of defencemen. On occasion, teams may elect to substitute an extra defenceman for
20124-402: The merger, with each getting a buyout: the Colonels received a one-time buyout that owner John Y. Brown, Jr. used to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves , while the Spirits owners negotiated a cut of the other ABA teams' television revenues in perpetuity. This deal netted the ownership group of the Spirits over $ 300M over nearly four decades due to a large increase in television revenues. In 2014,
20296-435: The misconduct (a two-and-ten or five-and-ten ). In this case, the team designates another player to serve the minor or major; both players go to the penalty box, but only the designee may not be replaced, and he is released upon the expiration of the two or five minutes, at which point the ten-minute misconduct begins. In addition, game misconducts are assessed for deliberate intent to inflict severe injury on an opponent (at
20468-551: The most they would earn as an NHL team in Hartford; however, they were quickly eliminated in the first round by the Nordiques. The Whalers started the series strongly, winning the first two games at home, but, beginning in Game 3, the Nordiques were able to successfully take the Whalers off their game by playing a tough, chippy style of hockey. As a result, both teams broke NHL records in penalty minutes for an individual playoff game and
20640-514: The new Peter Good-designed logo in front. The design underwent a few cosmetic changes, such as wearing Cooperalls in the 1982–83 season, switching from angular to straight sleeve stripes and back during the early 1990s, and removing the Pucky logo in 1985. For the Whalers' final years in Hartford, the team switched their primary colors to dark blue and added silver accents to the logo and striping. The numbers received extra contrasting trim. In 2018,
20812-417: The number of stick-on-body occurrences, as well as other detrimental and illegal facets of the game ("zero tolerance"). In men's hockey, but not in women's, a player may use his hip or shoulder to hit another player if the player has the puck or is the last to have touched it. This use of the hip and shoulder is called body checking . Not all physical contact is legal—in particular, hits from behind, hits to
20984-442: The officials' discretion), or for a major penalty for a stick infraction or repeated major penalties. The offending player is ejected from the game and must immediately leave the playing surface (he does not sit in the penalty box); meanwhile, if an additional minor or major penalty is assessed, a designated player must serve out of that segment of the penalty in the box (similar to the above-mentioned "two-and-ten"). In some rare cases,
21156-549: The older league: the New York Nets , Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers , and San Antonio Spurs . As part of the merger agreement, the four teams were not permitted to participate in the 1976 NBA draft . The merger was particularly hard on the Nets; the New York Knicks were firmly established in their arena, Madison Square Garden , and would not permit the Nets to share dates there. For drawing audience away from
21328-540: The other team scores during the power play. In the case of a goal scored during the first two minutes of a double-minor, the penalty clock is set down to two minutes upon a score, effectively expiring the first minor penalty. Five-minute major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, or when a minor penalty results in visible injury (such as bleeding), as well as for fighting. Major penalties are always served in full; they do not terminate on
21500-413: The other, the opposing team gets a power play for the remainder of the time); this applies regardless of current pending penalties. In the NHL, a team always has at least three skaters on the ice. Thus, ten-minute misconduct penalties are served in full by the penalized player, but his team may immediately substitute another player on the ice unless a minor or major penalty is assessed in conjunction with
21672-405: The penalty is still assessed to the offending player, but not served. In 2012, this rule was changed by the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for college level hockey . In college games, the penalty is still enforced even if the team in possession scores. A typical game of hockey is governed by two to four officials on the ice, charged with enforcing the rules of
21844-499: The play is restarted at a faceoff. Some infractions result in a penalty on a player or team. In the simplest case, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and their team must play with one less player on the ice for a designated time. Minor penalties last for two minutes, major penalties last for five minutes, and a double minor penalty is two consecutive penalties of two minutes duration. A single minor penalty may be extended by two minutes for causing visible injury to
22016-411: The player is looking for the right balanced flex that allows the stick to flex easily while still having a strong "whip-back" which sends the puck flying at high speeds. It is quite distinct from sticks in other sports games and most suited to hitting and controlling the flat puck. Its unique shape contributed to the early development of the game. The goaltender carries a stick of a different design, with
22188-461: The players serve five minutes without their team incurring a loss of player (both teams still have a full complement of players on the ice). This differs with two players from opposing sides getting minor penalties, at the same time or at any intersecting moment, resulting from more common infractions. In this case, both teams will have only four skating players (not counting the goaltender) until one or both penalties expire (if one penalty expires before
22360-408: The playoffs in their inaugural season, along with the 1979–80 Edmonton Oilers , until the 2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights accomplished the feat. In the first round of the playoffs, the Whalers were swept by the Montreal Canadiens three games to none. Following this season, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Andre Lacroix all announced their retirements from professional hockey. Following the 1979–80 season,
22532-646: The playoffs, they faced the near-certainty of having to get past the Boston Bruins or Montreal Canadiens to make it to the Conference Finals. The team developed a heated rivalry with the Bruins because they were based only 100 miles northeast of Hartford and the fact they used to play in the same arena. Home games against the Bruins usually attracted the Whalers' largest crowds, as many Bruins fans followed their team to Hartford. The Whalers had an all-time head-to-head record of 37–69–12 against Boston. The Whalers were hampered by numerous off-ice factors. Hartford
22704-415: The popular six-, 9-, 10- and 20-game mini-plans in a strategy largely designed to spur purchases from corporations and wealthier 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 past 1998 or move elsewhere. However, thanks to an aggressive civic campaign and the efforts of many fans,
22876-439: The puck carrier and the other two forwards cover the oppositions' wingers, with the two defencemen staying at the blueline. The 1–4 is the most defensive forecheck system, referred to as the neutral zone trap, where one forward applies pressure to the puck carrier around the oppositions' blueline and the other four players stand basically in a line by their blueline in hopes the opposition will skate into one of them. Another strategy
23048-406: The puck carrier in the neutral zone preventing him from entering the offensive zone. Body checking is using one's shoulder or hip to strike an opponent who has the puck or who is the last to have touched it (the last person to have touched the puck is still legally "in possession" of it, although a penalty is generally called if he is checked more than two seconds after his last touch). Body checking
23220-405: The puck in the goal crease, a goaltender intentionally displacing his own goal posts during a breakaway to avoid a goal, a defender intentionally displacing his own goal posts when there is less than two minutes to play in regulation time or at any point during overtime, or a player or coach intentionally throwing a stick or other object at the puck or the puck carrier and the throwing action disrupts
23392-443: The puck to their teammates unless they are in the defensive zone. Players can knock a puck out of the air with their hands to themselves. Players are prohibited from kicking the puck into the opponent's goal, though unintentional redirections off the skate are permitted. Players may not intentionally bat the puck into the net with their hands. Hockey is an off-side game, meaning that forward passes are allowed, unlike in rugby. Before
23564-409: The puck. A deflection is a shot that redirects a shot or a pass towards the goal from another player, by allowing the puck to strike the stick and carom towards the goal. A one-timer is a shot struck directly off a pass, without receiving the pass and shooting in two separate actions. Headmanning the puck , also known as breaking out , is the tactic of rapidly passing to the player farthest down
23736-491: The remaining half of the season of Mike Fidler 's NHL career. For the 1981–82 season , the NHL realigned its divisions and the Whalers were resituated in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference. The Whalers bottomed out in the 1982–83 season with a record of 19–54–7 (45 points), ranked 20th out of 21 teams in the NHL standings. On May 2, 1983, the Whalers hired Emile Francis as their new general manager to rebuild
23908-418: The right side" (of the puck). Another popular concept in ice hockey defensive tactics is that of playing a 200-foot game . An important defensive tactic is checking—attempting to take the puck from an opponent or to remove the opponent from play. Stick checking , sweep checking , and poke checking are legal uses of the stick to obtain possession of the puck. The neutral zone trap is designed to isolate
24080-423: The season began to take an executive position with the NHL. In addition, Burke had some disagreements with Whalers owner Richard Gordon. After Burke left, Holmgren took over as both the head coach and general manager. The Whalers started off the season poorly. Holmgren felt he was unable to handle the job of general manager and head coach, so he made Pierre McGuire the new head coach. The coaching change did not help
24252-434: The season, starting off with a record of 2–7–2. In mid-February, the Whalers began improving, led by their top line of Sanderson, Cassels and Verbeek, along with franchise goaltender Sean Burke. For the next 30 games, the Whalers put up a record of 16–11–3 and it appeared as if the Whalers were on their way to their first playoff berth since 1992. Unfortunately, the Whalers played poorly down the stretch, winning only one game in
24424-408: The series came in the second period of Game 5 — the Whalers had a 3–1 lead midway through the second period, where the Canadiens began rushing the crease and getting in the face of Whalers goaltender Frank Pietrangelo to distract him. The strategy worked, as the Canadiens scored four unanswered goals in the final five minutes of the second period. These goals were not called back, since this was before
24596-544: The skater's feet from contact with other skaters, sticks, pucks, the boards, and the ice itself. Rigidity also improves the overall manoeuvrability of the skate. Blade length, thickness (width), and curvature (rocker/radius) (front to back) and radius of hollow (across the blade width) are quite different from speed or figure skates. Hockey players usually adjust these parameters based on their skill level, position, and body type. The blade width of most skates are about 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. Each player other than
24768-466: The slack was picked up by Andre Lacroix , the WHA's all-time leading scorer, acquired from the Aeros. As the Whalers were one of the most stable WHA teams, the club was one of the four franchises admitted to the NHL when the rival leagues merged in 1979. Unlike the other former WHA teams, the Whalers were not stripped of most of their players. The Howes, Rogers, Ley, Keon, Smith, Roberts and Lacroix are
24940-549: The song during shows in Connecticut, most notably The Zambonis . The song was played when the Carolina Hurricanes scored a goal on an event called heritage night where the Hurricanes dressed in Whalers attire. The Florida Everblades , a former affiliate of the Hurricanes in the ECHL , play the song after every home game at Hertz Arena . The song has now been adopted by the city's soccer team, Hartford Athletic , and by
25112-413: The sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey . Two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a vulcanized rubber hockey puck into the other team's net. Each goal is worth one point. The team with the highest score after an hour of playing time is declared the winner; ties are broken in overtime or a shootout . In a formal game, each team has six skaters on
25284-659: The stars of the New York Knicks championship teams, moved from his job as vice president and GM of the ABA's New York Nets in 1975 to become the last commissioner of the ABA and facilitate the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. One of the primary contributions of the ABA to modern NBA was the introduction of the Spencer Haywood Hardship Rule , which would later become the framework for the current NBA draft eligibility system that allows players to declare for
25456-499: The style and excitement that the ABA players brought to the game. The dunk contest was held at halftime of the All-Star game and the contestants were Artis Gilmore , George Gervin , David Thompson , Larry Kenon , and Julius Erving . The winner of the contest received $ 1,000 and a stereo system. Julius Erving went on to win the competition by completing the now famous free throw line dunk. The Slam Dunk Contest would make its way to
25628-547: The summer of 1992, following Johnston's departure, Shaw and Whitmore were traded away, Kastelic left via free agency and Sidorkiewicz was lost to the Ottawa Senators in the expansion draft. In the summer of 1992, the Whalers hired Brian Burke to replace Eddie Johnston as general manager to rebuild the Whalers. Burke had worked for the Vancouver Canucks , helping them build the team that eventually went to
25800-508: The summer of 1994, the Whalers were purchased, in a deal brokered by the Connecticut Development Authority, by Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos , along with partners Thomas Thewes and Jim Rutherford . Rutherford became the team's new general manager and Holmgren returned as the head coach. The new ownership wanted to turn the team into a winner for the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season , so Rutherford went out to
25972-576: The team in scoring and through the playoffs. Behind legendary ex- Boston University head coach Jack Kelley , the team defeated the Winnipeg Jets to win the inaugural WHA championship . The club played its first season 's home games at Boston Garden and Boston Arena . However, the Arena was too small and antiquated to sustain a WHA team while the Garden was owned by the rival NHL Bruins in which
26144-595: The team moved one hundred miles (160 km) southwest to Hartford in April 1974; five years later, the Whalers joined the NHL in the 1979 NHL–WHA merger and were renamed the "Hartford Whalers". After 25 years in New England , the franchise relocated to North Carolina in 1997 and became the Carolina Hurricanes . The Whalers franchise was created in November 1971 when the World Hockey Association (WHA) awarded
26316-407: The team on which the penalty was called cannot control the puck without stopping play, it is impossible for them to score a goal. In these cases, the team in possession of the puck can pull the goalie for an extra attacker without fear of being scored on. It is possible for the controlling team to mishandle the puck into their own net. If a delayed penalty is signalled and the team in possession scores,
26488-408: The team's new captain. The Whalers won their first four games of the season, but then struggled for the rest of the calendar year of 1995. As a result, Paul Maurice replaced Holmgren as head coach in November. On December 28, 1995, the Whalers received a morale boost when they reacquired one of their most popular players from the 1980s, Kevin Dineen. His skills and leadership had an immediate impact on
26660-461: The team, as the Whalers began playing significantly better in January. Despite the strong finish in the second half of the season, the Whalers were unable to recover from their poor start and they missed the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Before the beginning of the 1996–97 season , Brendan Shanahan ended his silence about his displeasure about playing in Hartford. He demanded a trade out of Hartford because he claimed he did not want to play in
26832-401: The team. About two months later, on July 7, Francis hired Jack Evans to be the Whalers' new head coach. By the end of the 1986–87 season , Francis had cut or traded away every player from the 1982–83 Whalers' roster save for Ron Francis , Paul MacDermid , and Paul Lawless . The team had a brief period of success in the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons. The Whalers began 1985–86 looking like
27004-459: The time when the NHL began strictly enforcing crease infractions on goals. The Whalers lost Game 5 by a score of 7–4. The Whalers came back to win Game 6 by a score of 2–1 just 24 seconds into overtime on a goal by Yvon Corriveau . The series went back to Montreal for game 7 and the Whalers lost a dramatic double overtime game by a score of 3–2, as Russ Courtnall scored on a turn-around shot against Pietrangelo. Corriveau had an excellent chance for
27176-463: The time, it showed no interest in placing a team south of Washington, D.C., other than the Atlanta metropolitan area where the NBA's Hawks franchise relocated from St. Louis in 1968. NBA great George Mikan was the first commissioner of the ABA, where he introduced both the 3-point line and the league's trademark red, white, and blue basketball. Mikan resigned in 1969. Dave DeBusschere , one of
27348-399: The time. When the merger occurred, ABA officials said their investment would more than double. The ABA distinguished itself from its older counterpart with a more wide-open, flashy style of offensive play, as well as differences in rules — a 30-second shot clock (as opposed to the NBA's 24-second clock, though the ABA did switch to the 24 second shot clock for the 1975–76 season) and use of
27520-614: The top four teams in each division made the playoffs, regardless of record. They faced the heavily-favored Montreal Canadiens in the Adams Division Semi-finals. The Whalers lost Game 1 by a score of 2–0 and Game 2 by a score of 5–2, creating the expectation that the Canadiens would sweep the Whalers out of the first round, as they did in the 1989 playoffs. However, the Whalers came back home to win Games 3 and 4 by scores of 5–2 and 3–1, respectively. The main turning point in
27692-542: The two shapes to create an "H". Good also helped design the team's new uniforms for the 1979–80 season in the team's new colors of green and blue. The Whalers were never as successful in the NHL as they had been in the WHA. They recorded only three winning seasons in their 18 years in the NHL, made the Stanley Cup playoffs eight times and won only one playoff series, earning the nickname "The Forever .500s" in mocking jest of their winning percentage. Whenever they did make
27864-399: The two. Defensive skills involve pass interception , shot blocking , and stick checking (in which an attempt to take away the puck or cut off the puck lane is initiated by the stick of the defensive player). Tactical points of emphasis in ice hockey defensive play are concepts like "managing gaps" (gap control), "boxing out"' (not letting the offensive team go on the inside), and "staying on
28036-498: The victimized player. This is usually when blood is drawn during high sticking. Players may be also assessed personal extended penalties or game expulsions for misconduct in addition to the penalty or penalties their team must serve. The team that has been given a penalty is said to be playing short-handed while the opposing team is on a power play . A two-minute minor penalty is often charged for lesser infractions such as tripping , elbowing , roughing , high-sticking , delay of
28208-424: The way for other players to enter the ABA before they had completed their collegiate careers such as George McGinnis and Julius Erving. Today, the "one-and-done" rule in the NBA can be traced back to the ABA's decision to allow players to leave college early and pursue a professional career before they had completed their collegiate careers. The ABA pioneered the advent of the now popular NBA slam dunk contest at
28380-575: Was made all the more painful when Francis and Samuelsson promptly helped lead the Penguins to two consecutive Stanley Cup titles. Coincidentally, Eddie Johnston, the Hartford general manager who had orchestrated the Francis trade, would follow him to Pittsburgh as the Penguins' head coach two years later. The trades that Johnston made, particularly the Ron Francis trade, proved to be disastrous for
28552-436: Was not until organizers began to officially remove body checking from female ice hockey beginning in the mid-1980s that it began to gain greater popularity, which by then had spread to Europe and a variety of other countries. The first IIHF Women's World Championship was held in 1990, and women's play was introduced into the Olympics in 1998 . Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in
28724-638: Was one of the only three instances in NHL history (the others being the NHL Quebec Nordiques retiring J. C. Tremblay 's number and the Ottawa Senators retiring Frank Finnigan 's number) that an NHL franchise retired the number of a player who had never played for it while the franchise was in the NHL. Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates , usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to
28896-453: Was played at home games when the Whalers entered the rink for warmups and also after they scored a goal. It was introduced in the mid-1970s on the B side of a souvenir record of team radio-broadcast highlights while they were still named the New England Whalers and playing in the WHA. However, in 1992, then-general manager Brian Burke cancelled the use of the song because he said "there were players who were embarrassed by it", and replaced it with
29068-432: Was the franchise's second-highest point total in the NHL while located in Hartford. The regular season was highlighted by captain Ron Francis putting up career highs in goals (32), assists (69) and points (101). Later in his career, Francis was only able to exceed 101 points once (in 1995–96) and never again exceeded 32 goals in a single season. At the trade deadline, the Whalers first year general manager Eddie Johnston made
29240-445: Was the smallest American market in the NHL and was located on the traditional dividing line between the home territories for Boston and New York area teams. This limited the team's marketability. Additionally, for most of the Whalers' tenure as an NHL team, the Hartford Civic Center was one of the smallest arenas in the league. At its maximum, it seated just 15,635 for hockey. The team averaged over 14,000 fans only twice in its 15 years at
29412-680: Was the youngest of the Big Four major leagues, having only played 21 seasons to that point, and was still fending off contemporary challenging leagues (it had been less than five years since the American Basketball League (ABL) shut down). According to one of the owners of the Indiana Pacers , its goal was to force a merger with the more established league. Potential investors were told that they could get an ABA team for half of what it cost to get an NBA expansion team at
29584-399: Was to be built. The Whalers ultimately announced that they would be leaving Hartford after the 1996–97 season. This marks one of the few times that a team announced it would leave its current city without having already announced an agreement with a new one. Karmanos had discussed relocating the Whalers to Norfolk, Virginia (which would have been the first major sports team for that market) as
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