1996–97 Hartford Whalers season

1996–97 Hartford Whalers
Division 5th Northeast
1996–97 record 32–39–11
Home record 23–15–3
Road record 9–24–8
Goals for 226
Goals against 256
Team information
General Manager Jim Rutherford
Coach Paul Maurice
Captain Brendan Shanahan (Oct)
Kevin Dineen (Oct–Apr)
Team leaders
Goals Geoff Sanderson (36)
Assists Andrew Cassels (44)
Points Geoff Sanderson (67)
Penalties in minutes Stu Grimson (218)
Plus/minus Sami Kapanen (+6)
Wins Sean Burke (22)
Goals against average Sean Burke (2.69)
<1995–96

1997–98 >

The 1996–97 Hartford Whalers season was the 25th season of the franchise and the 18th and final season in Hartford. The Whalers would move to Greensboro, North Carolina, the next season to become the Carolina Hurricanes.

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

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.

Final standings

Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Buffalo Sabres 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
2 6 Pittsburgh Penguins 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
3 7 Ottawa Senators 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
4 8 Montreal Canadiens 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
5 10 Hartford Whalers 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
6 13 Boston Bruins 82 26 47 9 234 300 61
Eastern Conference[1]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 New Jersey Devils ATL 82 45 23 14 231 182 104
2 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 40 30 12 237 208 92
3 Philadelphia Flyers ATL 82 45 24 13 274 217 103
4 Florida Panthers ATL 82 35 28 19 221 201 89
5 New York Rangers ATL 82 38 34 10 258 231 86
6 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 82 38 36 8 285 280 84
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 31 36 15 226 234 77
8 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 31 36 15 249 276 77
9 Washington Capitals ATL 82 33 40 9 214 231 75
10 Hartford Whalers NE 82 32 39 11 226 256 75
11 Tampa Bay Lightning ATL 82 32 40 10 217 247 74
12 New York Islanders ATL 82 29 41 12 240 250 70
13 Boston Bruins NE 82 26 47 9 234 300 61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WOctober 5, 19961–0 Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 1–0–0
2WOctober 8, 19967–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 2–0–0
3LOctober 12, 19960–6 @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 2–1–0
4WOctober 17, 19963–1 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 3–1–0
5WOctober 19, 19966–2 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 4–1–0
6WOctober 24, 19964–1 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 5–1–0
7LOctober 26, 19963–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 5–2–0
8TOctober 30, 19962–2 OT New York Islanders (1996–97) 5–2–1
9TOctober 31, 19964–4 OT @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 5–2–2
10LNovember 2, 19962–3 Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 5–3–2
11LNovember 4, 19961–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 5–4–2
12WNovember 6, 19965–1 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 6–4–2
13LNovember 8, 19961–4 Detroit Red Wings (1996–97) 6–5–2
14WNovember 9, 19964–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 7–5–2
15WNovember 12, 19964–3 @ San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 8–5–2
16WNovember 14, 19962–1 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97) 9–5–2
17TNovember 16, 19964–4 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 9–5–3
18WNovember 20, 19963–1 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 10–5–3
19LNovember 22, 19961–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 10–6–3
20TNovember 23, 19963–3 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 10–6–4
21LNovember 27, 19962–6 Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 10–7–4
22TNovember 29, 19961–1 OT @ Florida Panthers (1996–97) 10–7–5
23WNovember 30, 19966–3 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 11–7–5
24TDecember 3, 19964–4 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 11–7–6
25WDecember 5, 19964–2 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 12–7–6
26WDecember 7, 19966–4 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 13–7–6
27WDecember 11, 19965–2 Florida Panthers (1996–97) 14–7–6
28LDecember 12, 19962–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 14–8–6
29LDecember 14, 19960–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 14–9–6
30LDecember 16, 19962–5 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 14–10–6
31WDecember 17, 19965–3 St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 15–10–6
32LDecember 20, 19961–4 Dallas Stars (1996–97) 15–11–6
33WDecember 21, 19966–5 OT Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 16–11–6
34LDecember 26, 19961–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 16–12–6
35WDecember 28, 19963–2 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 17–12–6
36LDecember 29, 19963–4 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 17–13–6
37LJanuary 1, 19972–3 OT @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 17–14–6
38LJanuary 2, 19974–5 OT Boston Bruins (1996–97) 17–15–6
39TJanuary 4, 19971–1 OT Washington Capitals (1996–97) 17–15–7
40LJanuary 6, 19974–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 17–16–7
41LJanuary 9, 19972–3 @ Calgary Flames (1996–97) 17–17–7
42LJanuary 10, 19973–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1996–97) 17–18–7
43LJanuary 12, 19971–2 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 17–19–7
44LJanuary 15, 19970–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 17–20–7
45WJanuary 20, 19973–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 18–20–7
46WJanuary 22, 19972–1 OT Florida Panthers (1996–97) 19–20–7
47LJanuary 24, 19972–5 New York Islanders (1996–97) 19–21–7
48WJanuary 25, 19975–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 20–21–7
49LJanuary 30, 19973–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1996–97) 20–22–7
50LJanuary 31, 19973–6 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97) 20–23–7
51LFebruary 5, 19972–5 @ New York Rangers (1996–97) 20–24–7
52WFebruary 6, 19975–3 @ Boston Bruins (1996–97) 21–24–7
53LFebruary 8, 19972–3 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 21–25–7
54LFebruary 12, 19972–3 New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 21–26–7
55LFebruary 13, 19970–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 21–27–7
56WFebruary 15, 19972–1 Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 22–27–7
57LFebruary 16, 19972–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 22–28–7
58TFebruary 19, 19972–2 OT @ Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 22–28–8
59WFebruary 21, 19977–2 New York Rangers (1996–97) 23–28–8
60WFebruary 22, 19972–0 Washington Capitals (1996–97) 24–28–8
61TFebruary 26, 19972–2 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1996–97) 24–28–9
62LFebruary 28, 19972–3 San Jose Sharks (1996–97) 24–29–9
63LMarch 2, 19972–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1996–97) 24–30–9
64WMarch 5, 19972–0 Calgary Flames (1996–97) 25–30–9
65WMarch 7, 19972–0 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 26–30–9
66TMarch 8, 19971–1 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–97) 26–30–10
67WMarch 12, 19976–3 Boston Bruins (1996–97) 27–30–10
68LMarch 13, 19970–6 @ New Jersey Devils (1996–97) 27–31–10
69LMarch 15, 19972–4 Edmonton Oilers (1996–97) 27–32–10
70LMarch 16, 19973–5 @ Washington Capitals (1996–97) 27–33–10
71LMarch 20, 19971–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1996–97) 27–34–10
72LMarch 21, 19970–2 @ Dallas Stars (1996–97) 27–35–10
73LMarch 25, 19970–4 Colorado Avalanche (1996–97) 27–36–10
74WMarch 27, 19975–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 28–36–10
75WMarch 29, 19972–1 New York Rangers (1996–97) 29–36–10
76LApril 2, 19971–4 Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 29–37–10
77TApril 3, 19975–5 OT @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1996–97) 29–37–11
78WApril 5, 19974–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1996–97) 30–37–11
79WApril 7, 19974–2 Buffalo Sabres (1996–97) 31–37–11
80LApril 9, 19974–5 @ Ottawa Senators (1996–97) 31–38–11
81LApril 11, 19974–6 @ New York Islanders (1996–97) 31–39–11
82WApril 13, 19972–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1996–97) 32–39–11

[2]

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Sanderson, GeoffGeoff Sanderson LW 82 36 31 67 29-91214
Cassels, AndrewAndrew Cassels C 81 22 44 66 46-16802
Primeau, KeithKeith Primeau C 75 26 25 51 161-3632
Dineen, KevinKevin Dineen RW 78 19 29 48 141-6805
Emerson, NelsonNelson Emerson RW 66 9 29 38 34-21212
Rice, StevenSteven Rice RW 78 21 14 35 59-11502
Wesley, GlenGlen Wesley D 68 6 26 32 400310
O'Neill, JeffJeff O'Neill RW 72 14 16 30 40-24212
Kapanen, SamiSami Kapanen RW 45 13 12 25 26302
Kron, RobertRobert Kron LW 68 10 12 22 10-18204
Ranheim, PaulPaul Ranheim LW 67 10 11 21 18-13031
Leschyshyn, CurtisCurtis Leschyshyn D 64 4 13 17 30-19111
Chiasson, SteveSteve Chiasson D 18 3 11 14 7-10300
Burt, AdamAdam Burt D 71 2 11 13 79-13000
Manderville, KentKent Manderville C 44 6 5 11 183001
Diduck, GeraldGerald Diduck D 56 1 10 11 40-9001
Coffey, PaulPaul Coffey D 20 3 5 8 180101
Haller, KevinKevin Haller D 35 2 6 8 48-11000
Featherstone, GlenGlen Featherstone D 41 2 5 7 870000
Nikolishin, AndreiAndrei Nikolishin C 12 2 5 7 2-2000
Godynyuk, AlexanderAlexander Godynyuk D 55 1 6 7 41-10001
King, DerekDerek King LW 12 3 3 6 20100
Janssens, MarkMark Janssens C 54 2 4 6 90-10000
Malik, MarekMarek Malik D 47 1 5 6 505001
Grimson, StuStu Grimson LW 75 2 2 4 218-7000
Brown, KevinKevin Brown RW 11 0 4 4 6-6000
Domenichelli, HnatHnat Domenichelli LW 13 2 1 3 7-4100
Chase, KellyKelly Chase RW 28 1 2 3 1222000
Murray, ChrisChris Murray RW 8 1 1 2 101000
Burke, SeanSean Burke G 51 0 2 2 140000
Daniels, JeffJeff Daniels LW 10 0 2 2 02000
Pratt, NolanNolan Pratt D 9 0 2 2 60000
Glynn, BrianBrian Glynn D 1 1 0 1 22000
Shanahan, BrendanBrendan Shanahan LW 2 1 0 1 01010
Martins, SteveSteve Martins C 2 0 1 1 00000
Muzzatti, JasonJason Muzzatti G 31 0 1 1 180000
Brown, JeffJeff Brown D 1 0 0 0 00000
Giguere, Jean-SebastienJean-Sebastien Giguere G 8 0 0 0 00000
McBain, JasonJason McBain D 6 0 0 0 0-4000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Burke, SeanSean Burke 2985 51 22 22 6 134 2.69 415601426.914
Muzzatti, JasonJason Muzzatti 1591 31 9 13 5 91 3.43 0815724.888
Giguere, Jean-SebastienJean-Sebastien Giguere 394 8 1 4 0 24 3.65 0201177.881
Team: 4970 82 32 39 11 249 3.01 425762327.903

[3]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots Against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save Percentage;

Transactions

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1996–97 season.

Trades

Free agents acquired/lost

Player Former team
Player New team

Draft picks

Hartford's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)

Roster

1996-97 Hartford Whalers
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centers

Departure from Hartford

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 G. 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 G. 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.[4] [5] [6]

References

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