Carolina Hurricanes don’t really care about the Hartford Whalers

Despite announcing they will wear Hartford Whalers jerseys twice during the 2018-19 season, the Carolina Hurricanes don’t actually care about the Whalers.

For years, the Hartford Whalers have been arguably the most popular now-defunct NHL team ever. You’ll see people wearing their logo from time to time, even in cities nowhere near Hartford, Conn.

In 1997, the Whalers relocated and became the team fans know today as the Carolina Hurricanes.

Because the NHL likes money, they decided to let the Hurricanes wear Whalers jerseys twice during the 2018-19 season. The Canes will wear these alternate jerseys during a Dec. 23 home game and again on March 5 in Boston.

Though new majority owner Thomas Dundon claims he really cares deeply about the Whalers’ history, that’s not the complete truth. He likely only cares about it because he’s smart enough to know he can make money off it.

From a business standpoint, bringing back the Whalers jerseys is a brilliant move. They’re going to sell like hotcakes. No list of the best NHL sweaters of all-time is complete without one with the iconic W and hidden H in the empty space being on it.

And anyone who hates on “Brass Bonanza”, the Whalers goal song, should feel shame.

However, imagine how the Whalers must feel. Their history was basically ripped from their collective body the moment the Hurricanes moved to Carolina. The Canes immediately unretired all of the retired numbers from the Whalers.

Imagine your team being a dead corpse for so long, only to see it revived so the person who killed it can make some more money.

Rick Ley (2), Gordie Howe (9), and John McKenzie (19) each had their numbers honored in Hartford. Each number sans Howe’s (which, though unofficially retired, still doesn’t have a banner in Carolina) has been put back into circulation.

In an ironic twist, former Whalers defenseman Glen Wesley wore No. 2 with the Hurricanes. Carolina later retired that number in Wesley’s honor.

For years, the Hurricanes made an effort to distance themselves from their Whalers heritage. Longtime owner Peter Karmanos wanted nothing to do with Hartford from the moment he bought the team in 1994.

And once he moved the team to Carolina, he stomped the legacy of the Whalers into the ground.

Now, Dundon deserves a chance. After all, the Hurricanes never had Whalers throwbacks under Karmanos. But this decision to have a throwback that you know will sell well deserves an eyebrow raise or two.

Also, it’s worth noting Hurricanes (and Whalers) legend Ron Francis was unceremoniously removed from his position as general manager and later fired.

If Dundon truly cares about the Whalers, he’ll stop talking about how much he cares about them and show it. Re-retiring Nos. 9 and 19 for Howe and McKenzie should be the bare minimum. Adding Ley to Wesley’s banner for No. 2 should be done as well.

But that’s just the bare minimum. If Dundon truly cares about the Whalers, he’ll fight for a preseason game in Hartford. Give the city a chance to send the Whalers off correctly one more time.

Even if it’s for merely one game, it would give the passionate Whalers fans one last chance to celebrate the team they loved so dearly.

If the Hurricanes just want to make some money off the same team they gutted and ripped out, they should at least have the decency to admit that’s the case. It’s better than stealing a city’s team and taking a victory lap 20 years later.