New Hurricanes Owner Says Team May Wear Whalers Throwbacks

The Whalers could hit the ice again.

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The blue and green of the Hartford Whalers could hit the NHL again soon. 

New Hurricane owner Tom Dundon said in a radio interview on Tuesday afternoon that he’s open to the idea of his team wearing Whalers throwback jerseys. 

“I think that’s just an unbelievably good look and brand,” Dundon told WRAL’s Joe Ovies. “I love it. I think we should have a store that sells our merchandise online and that Whalers merchandise. I think we should explore playing games in that jersey and selling that gear. It’s part of the legacy and I think it’s—I just like cool stuff. If we don’t it will mean something went wrong. There’s a couple of things we have to do but we’re working on it.”

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The Whalers name and logo was abandoned when the team left Hartford in 1997 but the franchise still maintains the trademark. Ovies noted during the interview that Whalers merchandise is available from the NHL store but not through the Canes’ website or in the arena gear shop. 

Dundon acquired a majority stake in the team earlier this month and has quickly gotten to work on trying to boost the languishing franchise’s image. With the Canes filling a league-worst 69.3% of their seats at home games, Dundon announced that anyone with an upper-level ticket to Tuesday’s game will be allowed to sit in the lower bowl. If all the lower-level seats are filled, fans from the upper deck will be placed in the luxury suites.