At recent screening of the documentary film “The Whalers,” the following question was asked: If the Carolina Hurricanes decided to keep the Whalers’ brand right down its green and iconic logo, how would it had impacted Whalers lore? It was such a profound question.
Would there be a Whalers Booster Club today if the Carolina Hurricanes had adopted Hartford’s team nickname and logo? (Booster Club member Mark Rankin believes no.) Would the Whalers logo still be among the top selling brands in the NHL? Would Hartford still hold onto the dream of getting an NHL team if the Carolina Whalers existed? I’m sure the State of Connecticut would not sell Whalers plates.
Karl B DeBlaker/AP
“Pucky The Whale”, the mascot of the Hartford Whalers interacts with kids following an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)
Although a different era, more than two dozen pro sports teams kept their nicknames from the town from where they moved. Carolina was one of the few teams that didn’t.
Yes, I know no whales in Raleigh, but there are no whales in Hartford and the team and fans got along fine. There are no lakes in LA, but the LA Lakers retained their name from the land of 10,000 lakes – Minnesota. (Minnesota sports fans don’t wake up every day rooting for the Lakers.) There are no trolleys in LA, but Los Angeles kept the Dodgers name and while there is great jazz in New Orleans from which they came is there any jazz in Utah?
If Carolina kept the Whalers’ name and logo would there even be a documentary about the team that wouldn’t die? Although the LA Dodgers haven’t bee n in Brooklyn in almost 70 years, we don’t say the Dodgers are the team that wouldn’t die. Because we see the Dodgers’ name and logo virtually every night on ESPN. Yes, retro Brooklyn Dodger hats sell but not to the degree Hartford Whalers hats sell.
Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant
Hartford Whalers
The Whalers logo is one of the most iconic brands in sports history. So I asked the two people most tied to the Whalers logo — Jan Cummings Good, whose husband, Peter, designed the Whalers logo, and the man who hired Peter Good, Howard Baldwin — would the Whalers’ aura still be so engrained today if the Hurricanes had adopted the Whalers’ name?
“If the Carolina Whalers existed Hartford would resent even more,” Jan said. “Because there is no Whalers team the Hartford Whalers logo remains a badge of honor to the people of Hartford.”
Perhaps Baldwin, the team’s founder, really had his finger on the brand’s pulse if Carolina took the Whalers brand.
“There would be less of an aura. It’s not just the name that made the Whalers brand great it was a community team,” he said. “Hartford and the Whalers, the two will always go together.”
The Carolina Hurricanes can have their one Whalers retro night complete with Whalers jerseys and “Brass Bonanza,” because in the final analysis Raleigh did Hartford a favor by not taking the name. As there is no NHL Whalers team, Hartford owns the Whalers brand right down to the logo, lore and jingle. It’s our identity; it’s our chip. Cummings Good declared it best: “It’s our badge of honor. And the world knows it.”
So, the next time you see a fan wearing a Whalers hat at a far-flung airport somewhere in Europe or Asia or dozens of other locales around the world, you can be proud knowing that fan is not thinking about Raleigh, North Carolina. That fan is only thinking Hartford.
Jay Sloves, who helped produce the Whalers 50 Years Celebration, is Founding Partner of the marketing firm Elkinson + Sloves Inc.
Originally Published: May 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT