Carolina Hurricanes to honor past with Hartford Whalers back suit

Since the Hartford Whalers packed their bags, moved to Raleigh, NC, and became the Carolina Hurricanes, hockey fans in Connecticut dream of the day the Whalers could return to the ice.

Now, it's finally coming, sort of.

The Hurricanes, who share ownership of the Whalers with the NHL, announced Thursday that they would wear Green Whalers' return uniforms for two games against the Bruins in the 2018-19 season, home on Dec. 23 and the road. March 5th. (Boston has agreed to carry home-ice in the second game.) The games will mark the first ice appearances of a Whalers uniform for more than two decades.

Hurricane owner Tom Dundon hinted in January that the team could go with the Whalers returns this season, so this announcement is not a complete surprise. The whalers' goods continue to retail well, largely thanks to the team's former logo – a whale-tail "W" with a hidden, almost subliminal "H" – created in 1979 by the designer Peter Good. remains immensely popular among sports fans.

But what do Whalers fans think in the heart of Connecticut? Will they be happy to see the Whalers' uniforms go back on the ice, or will it just be more salt in the wound?

"Personally, I think it's exciting to see the biggest logo in the history of sport on the ice," said Dave Schneider, who often wears Whalers jerseys on stage while playing in a group. of Connecticut called Zambonis. "But I'm probably in the minority, for old fans, those who can not let go – and there are a lot of them here – it will be hard to watch, it will be bittersweet to them Or maybe all bitter, no candy. "

Of course, John O 'Leary, 40, teacher and Whalers enthusiast, who lives just outside of Hartford and says he's still bleeding, had nothing good to say about returns . "People will be delighted," he said. "It's a complete money grab. The Hurricanes have been disconnected from the Whalers for years and now their team is struggling, participation is down.

The whalers have gone through several iterations of their uniforms during their stay in Hartford. The Hurricanes will revive the original version from 1985 to 1991. The only touch to Canes is that the team's warning flag pattern was added to the inside collar of the jersey to match the design of other Carolina jerseys.

And now that hurricanes are bringing back the whalers, their next step is obvious: bring back cooperatives.

Paul Lukas loves the Whalers logo as much as everyone else. If you liked this section, you will probably like his Uni Watch blog, and you can follow him Twitter and Facebook and sign up for its mailing list so that you always know when a new column has been published. Want to know more about his Uni Watch affiliate program, check out his Uni Watch merchandise or just ask him a question? Contact him here.