By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Buffalo Sabres	2
Carolina Hurricanes	5
Final

It’s been nearly three decades since the Hartford Whalers moved to North Carolina to become the Hurricanes. That’s longer than the 25 years that the Whalers existed, first as a successful World Hockey Association team and then 18 years as a less-than-stellar small-market NHL franchise with just one playoff series victory.

On Thursday, the Whalers will skate again. The Hurricanes are hosting their sixth Whalers Night, complete with the iconic logo on their chests and their old mascot, Pucky the Whale, in attendance, plus Whalers video graphics and iconic theme song “Brass Bonanza” blasting from the speakers.

“We changed the goal songs,” said Hurricanes President Doug Warf. “We changed the in-game entertainment to match what it was in Hartford. I think a lot of that is a hat tip or homage to what the Whalers’ traditions were.”

The Hurricanes will be honoring the 1990s-era Whalers during Thursday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres at Lenovo Center.

The Hurricanes include annual team photos from each of Hartford’s NHL seasons on a wall on the press level. They transition into the annual Hurricanes photos. Franchise stalwarts such as Ron Francis, Glen Wesley and Jeff O’Neill played for both the Whalers and Hurricanes and numerous off-ice personnel made the move from Hartford to Carolina.

“We learned a lot of lessons from a lot of those guys,” Warf said. “It was fun that we got to keep the franchise records and we got to keep things in the hallway, like the old Whalers photos becuase that history helped shape the start of our franchise.”

The Hurricanes played two seasons in Greensboro while their Raleigh home was built. Carolina keeps franchise records that include their Whalers days along with Carolina-only franchise records.

There were some fans, especially in the years after the franchise move, that didn’t want the Canes to have anything to do with the Whalers, sore that who Connecticut’s only major sports franchise was headed South and to a region with limited hockey roots.

“I was here in the early years,” Warf said. “I heard some of the comments, but I think time heals some of those wounds.”

There is also the business impact. In the days leading up to Whalers Night nearly one-quarter of the team’s store at Lenovo Center was stocked with Whalers’ gear, including plenty of merchandise with the whale tail logo.

In 2015, Sports Illustrated named it the No. 3 NHL logo of all time. ESPN.com wrote about why the logo endures years after the name went away. Throughout the season, spots of green can be seen throughout Hurricanes crowds, fans faithful to the team’s old identity.

“It is an iconic logo,” Warf said. “The sports marketer in me envies the beauty of the logo, and the colors match so well. Not only it is a great logo, I think the color scheme is fantastic. It is truly, I think, one of the iconic sports logos of all time.”

Carolina hosted its first Whalers Night in 2018, beating Boston 5-3 in Hartford’s late-1980s era jerseys. The Hurricanes have held Whalers Night in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The franchise has also worn Whalers jerseys on three other games since 2018. Carolina is 5-0-3 in Whalers gear.

Source: wralsportsfan.com