What price nostalgia?

by Arenacale on Sep 20, 2010 9:04 AM EDT

This isn't really Bruins related, but it's New England hockey, so I'm going to indulge here.

I decided this weekend to show some vintage love and wore my Adams Division t-shirt with a Whalers hat as I wandered aimlessly around the Southie street fair. On my way there, I saw someone sporting a bright green Ron Francis jersey getting into a car. It was good vibes all around, and it seems to have worked: this afternoon, Howard Baldwin will announce that he has taken control of the Hartford Wolf Pack, and that by mid-season they will become the Connecticut...

Whale.

See what they did there? It was long assumed that Baldwin's influence would rechristen the team with the old Whalers name, but reserving the Hartford moniker for a theoretical future NHL franchise. But some were chafing at the idea that even the nickname would be shared by an AHL club. So, in comes Hartford's pet name for their boys in green. And thus I am torn.

First, any nod whatsoever to the old Whalers that Baldwin can have the Wolf Pack give is a good thing. It's been clear that the #1 strike against the AHL gaining traction in Hartford has been the Pack's marketing strategy of all but ignoring the city's history with the NHL. Giving fans a chance to bust out the old colors is a big positive, and giving some slight bit of hope (Dum spiro spero etc.) of the majors will surely boost sales. But the hope is still just that - hope. So reserving the full "Hartford Whalers" name seems like a girl preserving her virginity for David Tennant. Sure, stranger things have happened, but in the meantime, dear...

Now, it's no secret that I fully support the NHL returning to Hartford. I think there is room for a second New England-based team away from Boston, and the Whalers colors and logo are too iconic to not use. As someone who mourns for the old team now as a dearly missed former rival, I have no problem with the AHL team being Whalers - they can still use that name if they graduate to the big leagues, and no one outside of Hartford will bat an eye. But, all things being equal, this is about the Whalers fans themselves. If they prefer the Whale for this go round, then so be it. Just as long as they get out there and support them, so before too long us Bostonians have the good ol' Whalers to whip up on regularly again.

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I say, screw the Rangers.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 20, 2010 10:03 AM EDT reply actions

It's all but official now...

Here is the presser announcement, featuring the creepiest mascot in some time…

by Arenacale on Sep 20, 2010 3:27 PM EDT reply actions

Oh my god.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 20, 2010 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions

i guess im confused as to why the new whale(rs) mascot is a cartoonish version of the geico gecko

by BlueNGoldBomber on Sep 20, 2010 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I’d like to see the Whale back myself, but there’s no way it’s happening. Overexpansion diluted the NHL tremendously; the talent level still hasn’t fully recovered (though it’s getting close). Expansion is probably off the table for at least a decade, and even then, I think there will be other cities in line ahead of Hartford.

And I’m not sure I see an existing team moving. For one, the NHL seems determined to make things work in Phoenix (despite, you know, a mountain of evidence to the contrary), and their other southern markets. For another, repeatedly moving franchises creates an air of instability, which the NHL just doesn’t want.

by Phunwin on Sep 21, 2010 6:38 AM EDT reply actions

yeah, itll be a decade or two until the league strongly considers bringing the whalers back to hartford

by BlueNGoldBomber on Sep 21, 2010 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions

Expansion “diluting talent” is such a paper tiger of an argument. You’re really telling me that there aren’t 22 guys out there that DON’T want an NHL job and couldn’t do well enough? Sure the team will suck to start, but that’s true of every expansion team. The talent pool will expand to meet demand.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 21, 2010 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions

There are other cities in line ahead of Hartford, and that’s why this name change is significant. Winnipeg and Quebec get top billing for future markets because both the Moose and the Remparts draw insanely well. The Wolf Pack’s attendance has been lacking in comparison. There is some thought that getting a better connection with the old Whalers will help boost numbers and make the market look more reasonable. It’s a fair thought, and the idea that the AHL team is seen as being more a temporary arrangement rather than a permanent replacement should help matters as well.

by Arenacale on Sep 21, 2010 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions

I think it is more of a gimmick to boost ticket sales and merchandise because everyone gets nostalgic for the Whalers. NHL hockey is not coming back to Hartford. Although, I would like to see it so the B’s-Whale rivalry can be renewed.

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Sep 25, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s exactly why I refused to be involved in SB Nation’s mock expansion draft.

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Sep 25, 2010 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Because a mock expansion draft means that an actual expansion happens?

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 25, 2010 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Expansion is the last thing that the NHL should be thinking about. Why waste the time and effort to even entertain that thought? Relocation or contraction? Maybe.

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by Stanley Cup of Chowder on Sep 25, 2010 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Because it’s a good experiment to determine which players have value in the minds of the fans of each team?

by Arenacale on Sep 25, 2010 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Also, exactly that.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 26, 2010 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Relocation or contraction make the league out to be unstable, though, and that’s not what the league wants right now.

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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Sep 26, 2010 1:07 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, entertain the thought, its a fun and entertaining thing to have a good time and a chuckle with, not a big enough deal to really warrant a boycot

by BlueNGoldBomber on Sep 27, 2010 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions