Break out the “Brass Bonanza!”
The Carolina Hurricanes will once again wear their glorious Hartford Whalers throwbacks this Thursday night, when they take on the Buffalo Sabres. While the uniform is awesome, and the throwback is beloved across the hockey world, there is still a contingent of fans in the New England area who are still smarting from the Whalers departure from Hartford for Raleigh.
This will be the Hurricanes’ sixth “Whalers Night,” and will be the ninth time in total the team will wear Whalers uniforms (or, in two of those cases, “Reverse Retro” uniforms that are Whalers-inspired). While much of the attention has been focused on the uniforms — and rightly so — or the perceived slight to former Whalers fans, the ‘Canes have been very successful every time they don the special throwbacks.
One could say the Hurricanes are similar to the NFL’s Titans, in that both basically ignored their previous history in their former location, only relatively recently acknowledging that history by wearing the uniforms worn in their old home. The Titans finally acknowledged their Oilers’ past by adding Oilers throwbacks to their uniform stable in 2023, while the Hurricanes began to acknowledge their Whaler past back in 2018.
Here are the previous five “Whalers Night” games, opponents and scores:
For the first ever “Whalers Night,” the team’s opponent was former rival Boston (against whom they would wear Whalers throwbacks a total of three times). It was a successful debut for the uniforms, as they would take down the Bruins 5-3.
December 23, 2018
The Whale next made an appearance against the Los Angeles Kings, which resulted in another victory, a 2-0 shutout.
January 11, 2020
After not wearing the throwbacks during the 2020-21 season (they would wear “Reverse Retro” Whalers-esque uniforms that season), the team next wore them for Whalers Night against the New Jersey Devils. The uniforms would continue the team’s win streak while wearing them for Whalers Night, taking down the Devs 2-1.
January 29, 2022
The Canes would again wear the Whalers duds against the Bruins in 2023, this time battling Boston to a 3-3 tie in regulation. They’d suffer their first loss on Whalers Night in an overtime shootout, for a final score of 4-3.
March 23, 2023
For their 2024 Whalers Night, the Hurricanes mixed things up a bit, adding a white jersey throwback for the first time. Their opponent for that game was the New Jersey Devils. While the game ended in a scoreless tie during regulation, the Whal… er…Hurricanes would triumph in the extra period for a 1-0 win.
February 10, 2024
The final Hurricanes record when wearing the throwbacks on Whalers Night: 4-0-1.
But as mentioned, Carolina actually wore Whalers throwbacks (or in the case of Reverse Retro, Whalers-inspired throwbacks) three other times.
The first non-Whalers Night game (and the second time ever the team would wear throwbacks) was on the road in Boston (a rematch of their first meeting a few months earler). The teams would battle to a 3-3 regulation finish, but the Bruins extracted a small measure of revenge, winning 4-3 in OT.
March 5, 2019
The next two games featured the Hurricanes in their “Reverse Retro” uniforms, which for some bizarre reason featured gray sweaters and socks. The first, against the Chicago Blackhawks, resulted in a 5-3 win, and the second, against Detroit, ended in another regulation tie (the Canes would lose 5-4 in OT)
February 19, 2021
April 10, 2021
So far, the Hurricanes have amassed a 5-0-3 record when wearing Whalers throwbacks, and are 4-0-1 when wearing them specifically for Whalers Night games. Will the streak continue Thursday night against the Sabres? We’ll soon find out.
What’s your take on the Whalers throwbacks? Do you prefer the green or white sweater version?
And, do you consider the Hurricanes wearing Whalers throwbacks a cool move, showing the franchise’s former identity — or do you think it’s more of a dick move, further rubbing salt into the wounds of former Hartford fans? While the Hurricanes basically refused to acknowledge their former identity for many years, they’ve now done so for six full seasons — is it time to finally “bury the hatchet” or does it still sting?
While the team/franchise itself is obviously a private business owned by one (or more) people, I still firmly believe that the team IDENTITY should belong to the city or community. When a team moves, they should be forced to change their name and leave the old behind. Legally that’s not how it works (the franchise owns the trademarks etc.), but it is how it **should** work in my opinion. If Hartford ever can get another team, they should be the Whalers. To that end, I think the Hurricanes are wrong for wearing the Whalers uniforms and they should stop.
They absolutely won’t because they’re beautiful uniforms and busting them out once a year drives pretty healthy merch sales. But in my opinion they have no right to them.
yes to this
*chef’s kiss* well said.
That’s all very good … but realistically Hartford will NEVER get another NHL franchise. It’s a minor regional city that would be overreaching to get the equivalent of a AAA team some day. Given that, it’s preposterous to mothball one of the greatest logos of all time and never let it be seen again on the ice. So three cheers for the Hurricanes’ throwback nights, sez I!
Agreed, and I’ve never liked the recent tendency to amalgamate records of franchises that have changed cities, nicknames, and entire identities; I always do a double-take when I read things like “the Minnesota Twins won their first World Series in 1924”; it feels like not that long ago everyone accepted that a new city meant a new team with new records and of course a new fanbase. My own father said the Brooklyn Dodgers were dead to him when they left the city and I’m sure there are kids in Oakland thinking the same thing even with the team staying in the same state.
Agree totally.
Absolutely!!!
As a Nutmegger who gave up watching hockey for like, 20 years when the Whalers left, I endorse this. I actually want one of these jerseys so badly, but refuse to get one because I don’t want to give the Hurricanes my money.
I have some 47 Brand Whalers stuff which I suppose does still contribute a bit to the Canes bottom line since they own the trademarks, but, less so. In my mind anyway.
Every time they wear these it’s a slap in the face to Connecticut. I know that an NHL team isn’t coming back. But I wish the owners of the Canes would at least sell or lease the trademarks to Hartford’s AHL team so at least some incarnation of the Whalers could come back. And no, the “Connecticut Whale,” experiment of the early 2010s wasn’t good enough, which is why it didn’t last.
It’s a throwback jersey that they have worn 9 times. Calm down. They’re the Carolina Hurricanes. If Hartford got a team I’m sure they’d be named the Whalers, but I’m sure the city will never get an NHL team, because of the market they occupy.
Amen! Bring back the Whalers, and get rid of Gary Buttman while your at it.
Green and blue is such an underrated color combination. It’s rarely seen (and rarely executed properly), but when it’s done right it looks so unique. Love this look!
On a side note—I’ve always imagined the idea a pro sports team called the Seadragons that are primarily green and blue (kind of a lochness monster vibe). The colors would be similar to this throwback. I wish it could be a reality!
Couldn’t agree more about the colour palette – it’s one of the reasons I’m fond of the Cascadia region. And on that note, the Mavericks are seriously due for a refresh. It would be great to see them return to green/blue.
The Auckland Tuatara baseball team (now already defunct) were basically that colour scheme and were due to be called the Seadragons so close to launch that the first jersey I bought had Seadragons on the tag.
That’s some cool lore that I’ve never heard about! I’ll look it up!
Born in Hartford and went to many Whalers games at the mall that is the HCC, agreed they shouldve been forced to leave name, colors, logo behind like the Browns. Its not like Hartford will ever get another NHL team, but the Canes should not be allowed to profit from it.
Maybe I’m a jilted Minnesotan who still misses the North Stars, but this promotion always seemed wildly disrespectful to me. Who is this promotion for? It’s a middle finger to all the old Whaler fans back in New England. And how much do the fans in the Triad actually care about the team’s history in Hartford?
The Canes play in the Triangle, not the Triad. :-)
I am in the camp that team history stays with the franchise, so the nod back to the roots is a welcome act of merchandise exploitations. I have my reasons, but respect the other’s views.
Aside from this, the Whaler’s logo and design is an absolute classic and it should be seen on the ice as often as possible. I am glad they have their heritage night and I can go either way with the green or whites.
It’s funny how nostalgic I am about those uniforms, particularly since the team was mostly sub-par. I love that Carolina brings it back for the fans, even if one might argue the look belongs in Hartford (although, as pointed out, we’d then never get to see it).
The white sweater version is absolutely spectacular.
As a CT Native, they look awesome, and it’s a total dick move.
Slight concern about the formatting of the article, in that the descriptions of the games are above their respective dates and photos, making for a weird read.
Yeah, sorry — that’s the opposite of how I usually do descriptions/write ups. But somehow I started that style with the first photo, so I just continued doing it throughout.
Apologies if there was any confusion.
I totally understand and agree with the bitterness of Hartford fans about this. But I would say it is not exactly apples to apples with the Titans’ holding the Oilers IP hostage, given Houston got a new team, and were denied the right to use the Oilers name, and to this day aren’t even really allowed to use that old color scheme of the Oilers.
Now if Hartford gets an expansion team and Carolina tells them no dice on resurrecting the Whalers (as I am assuming they would), it would be an apt comparison.
If/when teams change names moving to a new locale, the best option would be for the relocated to team give up trademark control should the old market get a new franchise and choose to resurrect the team, but to share history, such that continued line of the relocated franchise can still claim old players, moments, records, and championships, but the city that those things happened in have access to celebrate in some manner. Essentially the trophies move with the team, but the vintage clips probably are only going to be played in pre game hype videos in the original city. Like nobody in Indianapolis probably cares much about Johnny Unitas or Super Bowl V, but Ravens fans of a certain age most definitely do.
People need to get over themselves, this is awesome and it’s completely fine.
Still waiting for the Hurricanes to wear these uniforms and host the Canucks. So that we can get the battle of blue and green, and whale-themed uniforms. That would be awesome. Not seen in the days when Whalers played.
I love the uniform but wish it actually was the Hartford Whalers still and we could see the uniform on the regular. Sometimes we don’t miss what we had until it’s gone.
I like that they keep the brand ‘alive’ with these.
Frankly, it’s far better than the hurricanes logo and uniforms
This is an abomination and a travesty. And yes, I’m a Connecticut resident.
I grew up a NY-based hockey fan in the mid-1990s. The Whalers probably were my third-favorite team based on the awesomeness of their uniform and their general terribleness (I rooted for a TON of underdogs back then).
Two decades later, I had moved three times and landed in North Carolina the year the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup and I’ve been a Canes fan since.
I understand Connecticut fans miss the old Whalers, but the franchise isn’t original to Hartford. (No one talks about the Boston-based New England Whalers?) And the franchise now has been in NC longer than its combined existence in Boston/Hartford, finding success here it never had in New England.
Time for Hartford to let it go, especially since so many people from NY, CT, and Massachusetts have moved to NC anyway in the past couple decades.
One of the best uniforms in NHL history. The Hurricanes are a disgraceful organization for continuing to wear this look that they really have no right to if this comes down to a right versus wrong thing.
I cringe every time I see someone here in NC walking around in Whalers gear.
The Whaler’s logo incorporating an H in the negative space makes this my favorite NHL logo, past or present. It’s the perfect combination of simple, creative, and memorable. Plus, those colors are beautiful together and are somehow unique across the major US sports leagues
If I paid millions of dollars for a hockey team, I would want the entire intellectual property of the organization I am purchasing. It is part of the value of sale. I am a neutral hockey fan and have no skin in the game. I love to see the Whalers uniforms on ice. Some of the best of all time.
I’m on board with all that. Keeping the identity in Hartford is akin to putting it in a coffin. But something I’ve *never* seen is a team with blue sweaters and green breezers, or vice-versa. Very underused colors in sports.
For the question of, “Do you prefer the green or white sweater version?, the answer is an easy one for me. White sweaters for home games and colored ones for road games. Just the way it should be in the NHL.
It’s better for it to live on through the Canes than to not be used at all, IMO. If there were a team in Hartford again, it’d be a different story and would hope it would be given back.
Kinda like the hornets living in NO until they gave the identity back to the bobcats. Idk.
This sucks. They’re not honoring Hartford. They’re rubbing it in their face.
At this point the Hurricanes have existed longer than the Whalers ever did. Most people don’t even remember the Hartford days let alone the Boston ones. So to me this is like if like teams threw back to pre-original six teams, just historical curiosities.
Here for the bellyaching and not disappointed :-)
As I’ve said above: the real choice is whether this magnificent uniform ever appears again on the ice, or not. Hartford is too minor a city ever to get a major-league franchise again of any sort, so don’t count on the Whalers’ uni getting worn by anyone other than the Hurricanes. Given those choices, for God’s sake let *someone* wear them!
That block number font that the Whalers used seems to have quietly vanished in top-level sports and in the ’80s it was everywhere. There are fewer block fonts in general, but that exact one seems to have become rare.
As wonderful as the green uniforms and the logo are, it is so obviously a money grab that I do not like this custom. Let it rest in history and try to improve the Hurricanes primary logo (the worst in NHL) and maybe change the team colors (we already have the Blackhawks, Devils and Senators in these colors).
I agree about the team colours, but I don’t see how their logo is worse than Florida’s, Tampa Bay’s, Winnipeg’s, Dallas’, and Utah’s (though they get a pass – for now).
Dick move. I’m sick of ‘franchises’ following their lineage all the way back to wherever they started (Oakland A’s are another example). It stops when you leave the city and it’s a dick move to wear their uniform. These are clubs or teams, not ‘franchises’. Every time I hear them called ‘franchise’ I think of McDonalds or Burger King.
Living in St. Louis, I don’t have a dog in this fight, but by God, that Whalers uniform (whether green or white sweater) is the best I’ve ever seen. Perhaps they can kick it up a notch by wearing the long pants the Whalers briefly wore way back when…I loved the St. Louis football Cardinals and would not be offended at all if Arizona came out of the tunnel just one time wearing the old white Grid Birds uniforms with the beautiful red and black piping…
The titans have never shied away from their Houston history. Warren Moon had his number retired by the titans in 2006, and they were called the Tennessee Oilers for two years.