| The
Hartford Whalers:
Now and Forever |
To  |
| The
Hartford Whalers:
Now and Forever |
To |
| The Whalers: The Last Game |
| The
Last Game!:
|
The
Last Game:
The Whalers last game. A sad reminder of the disadvantage small-market teams are at in this day and age. For all the reasons Connecticut hockey fans had to not support the Whalers (i.e. constant threats of moving to airport hangars or Nashville, season ticket counts on the radio telling you if you didn't support the Whalers you should give up hope for the Pats, players that didn't want to play in Hartford, and losing season after losing season)they did support them. Their popularity was on the rise, a 14% increase in attendance over the previous season despite the team once again missing the playoffs. The team also had a offer from the state of Connecticut for a new arena (almost identical to Raleigh's offer), everything was looking good. Then the announcement came. The team would be moving at the end of the season to Raleigh, North Carolina. The team would play their final game on April 13th, 1997 against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Below I have amassed a collection of pictures from the last game. If you have any you'd like to add, pleast contact me (ctpats1@snet.net) This picture appeared as an editorial by a Hartford
Courant cartoonist.
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