Pucky Is Still Dead!

A Yahoo hockey blog has detailed the making of a documentary film titled, Bleeding Green. The movie was made by a Whalerite by the name of Kevin Massicotte. Reportedly this movie details the history of the Whalers and the continued passion of former Whaler fans to bring the NHL back to Hartford.

The writer of the blog admittedly takes a sympathetic view of the so-called plight of the Whaler fans. In other words, Whaler fans are victims. The word disenfranchised is used.

It is the same old crappy Whaler story. City had team. Evil man lied. Evil man took team away. We want our team back! Boo hoo hoo! Quite frankly, many of the strident Whalerites I have met, or read on their message board are not sympathetic characters.

Kübler-Ross tells us that Anger is the 2nd step in the process of grief. There are three more stages to go through. And these characters are retarded in their outlook. They have not moved on. In fact, they show no desire to move on. I have no sympathy for their anger, and loss because they do not want to move beyond the anger.

The Yahoo blog entry details their continued self-delusion. For example, Massicotte says, "I think it's a small town thing. In the old NHL, there were so many cities that you'd have to look on a map to find: Hartford is one, Winnipeg is another. For better or for worse, they decided to make a go of it in 'emerging markets,' . . .”

What? So many cities in the old NHL you’d have to look up on a map?

The OLD NHL consisted of six teams. And I am sure people could easily find those six North American cities. Although it would be a good idea to lose Detroit.

Oh, he didn't mean, that old. Okay, the Second Six were added for the 1967-68 season. And I am sure people could easily find Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Minneapolis, and Oakland (Seals).

Oh, he didn't mean that old either? At various times during the 1970's other teams were added to the league — Buffalo, Vancouver, Atlanta, Washington, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Denver all seem to be cities which can be easily found. (Heck, even the Democrats were able to find Denver for their political convention. How hard can that be?)

Oh, he means 1979 old? 1979 was the year when Edmonton, Quebec, Winnepeg, and Hartford were brought into the league. Personally, I really would not count 1979 old when compared to the history of the league. And, was it a coincidence or was it something to do with that season's expansion that has seen 75% of those teams move? I suspect that if Edmonton had not won the Cup and become a dynasty with Gretzky, Messier, and company that team would not have survived either.

It is not a coincidence that three of the 1979 expansion teams have moved to new cities. The reason these teams had to move is precisely because the realistic available hockey market was too small to support an NHL team. And the move to emerging markets was probably a good business move. Ironically, it was the hero in Edmonton, Wayne Gretzky, and his trade to Los Angeles that spurred the NHL forward to look at these "emerging markets."

It is my suspicion that the Hartford team was doomed from the beginning — being recent AVCO Cup winners, not withstanding. Positioned geographically between two Original Six NHL teams has its disadvantages from a hockey point-of-view. Quebec, though not positioned between two Original Six cities certainly had to compete with the long time loyalties of the fans of Montreal and Toronto. Thus, their realistically available hockey market was stunted too.

The Whale was in the NHL for 18 seasons. Certainly there were people who loved them. But they were never going to be an economic success. And more than likely they would have continued as a mediocre team record-wise. A team which celebrates winning the Adam Division regular season championship with a parade around the Civic Center is an admission that they were not a big time market.

Quebec moved at the end of the 1995 season. Winnepeag moved at the end of the 1996 season. And finally the Whalers moved at the end of the 1997 season. If the 1979 NHL expansion was considered a draft class — well, that class was a bust.

I conclude with no appeal to Whaler fans to give up their quixotic crusade to regain another NHL team. The words would be wasted. This Yahoo blog entry and the forthcoming Bleeding Green documentary are just more opportunities to reinvigorate their anger. But I do remind the intrepid puke green clad Captain Ahabs — Pucky Is Dead!