The Hurricanes will wear the Hartford Whalers jerseys for two games against the Bruins this seasonhurricanes
The Hurricanes will wear Hartford Whalers throwback uniforms this season, triggering "instant blowback from defenders of the defunct NHL franchise," according to Chris Brodeur of the HARTFORD COURANT. The Hurricanes' tweet announcing the uniforms will be worn for a game against the Bruins on Dec. 23 was "accompanied by a whale emoji and a 35-second video set to the Whalers' beloved on-ice anthem" of "Brass Bonanza." The Bruins-Hurricanes game has been "dubbed 'Whalers Night,'" and the Hurricanes will wear the uniforms "again in a visit to Boston" March 5 (HARTFORD COURANT, 9/28). In Raleigh, Chip Alexander noted when Hurricanes Owner Tom Dundon bought majority interest in the team from former Owner Peter Karmanos in January, he "quickly mentioned the idea of wearing Whalers jerseys during an NHL game while approving the sale of Whalers merchandise at PNC Arena" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 9/28).
NOT THEIRS TO WEAR: TSN's Ray Ferraro, who played seven years with the Whalers, said Karmanos "wanted nothing to do with the Whalers" when he moved the franchise to Raleigh. Ferraro said, "I like that the jerseys will be back, but do the people in Carolina feel a connection to the old Whalers? No" ("OverDrive," CHUM-AM, 9/27). Pittsburgh-based WTAE-ABC's Andrew Stockey tweeted, "If you know the story of how they left Hartford you would understand. Lots of Whaler fans not thrilled to see this franchise use the Whalers logo or look." Sportswriter Jesse Spector tweeted, "As much as I love these uniforms, this is not okay. The Whalers belong to Hartford, and when the team moved and changed its name, it should have given up the ability to capitalize on that" (TWITTER.com, 9/27).
