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First NHL season: 1979-80 Entered NHL following seven seasons in the World Hockey Association Last season: 1996-97 Moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, via Greensboro; became Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cups won: 0 Stanley Cup Finals appearances: 0 The Whalers' nickname is significant in two ways: 1. When the team began in the WHA in 1972, it was based in Boston and named the New England Whalers. Whaling is a major industry in Massachusetts seaport towns. 2. The name is a backhanded nod to the league the team started in (WHAlers). When the team was absorbed into the NHL in 1979, it was renamed the Hartford Whalers, having moved to the Hartford Civic Center years earlier. Retired Numbers* 2 Rick Ley 5 Ulf Samuelsson 9 Gordie Howe 11 Kevin Dineen 19 John McKenzie *Ron Francis' #10 is also retired, but it was retired after the Whalers moved to Carolina. |
