1993–94 Hartford Whalers season

The 1993–94 Hartford Whalers season was the 22nd season of the franchise, 15th season in the NHL. The Whalers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. It was the first season that all four former WHA teams (Edmonton, Hartford, Quebec, Winnipeg) missed the playoffs since joining the NHL in 1979.

1993–94 Hartford Whalers
Division6th Northeast
Conference13th Eastern
1993–94 record27–48–9
Home record14–22–6
Road record13–26–3
Goals for227
Goals against288
Team information
General managerPaul Holmgren
CoachPaul Holmgren (4–11–2)
Pierre McGuire (23–37–7)
CaptainPat Verbeek
Alternate captainsBrad McCrimmon
Andrew Cassels
ArenaHartford Civic Center
Average attendance10,407 (66.7%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Springfield Indians (AHL)
Raleigh IceCaps (ECHL)
Team leaders
GoalsGeoff Sanderson (41)
AssistsAndrew Cassels (42)
PointsPat Verbeek (75)
Penalty minutesMarc Potvin (246)
Plus/minusAlexander Godynyuk (+8)
WinsSean Burke (17)
Goals against averageSean Burke (2.99)

Off-season

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On June 1, the Whalers acquired Brad McCrimmon from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. McCrimmon scored 1 goal and 15 points in 60 games during the 1992–93 season. In his NHL career that began in 1979, McCrimmon had played in 1029 games, scoring 76 goals and 381 points. He was a member of the Calgary Flames during the 1988–89 season in which they won the Stanley Cup. During the 1985–86 season with the Philadelphia Flyers, McCrimmon scored 13 goals and 56 points in 80 games while having a plus-minus rating of +86. In 1987–88, his first season with the Flames, McCrimmon finished fourth in James Norris Memorial Trophy voting.

The Whalers acquired Sergei Makarov on June 20 in a trade with the Calgary Flames. Makarov scored 18 goals and 57 points in 71 games during the 1992–93 season. Makarov's stay with the Whalers would be short because six days later, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks (along with the Whalers' first-, second- and third-round draft picks in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft) in exchange for the Sharks' first-round draft pick, which was the second overall pick, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

On June 24, the Whalers lost Terry Yake and Randy Ladouceur to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Yake scored 22 goals and 53 points with the Whalers during the 1992–93 season, while Ladouceur scored 2 goals and 6 points in 62 games.

At the 1993 NHL Entry Draft held at Le Colisee in Quebec City on June 26, the Whalers held the second overall draft pick. With the pick, the Whalers selected Chris Pronger from the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. Pronger scored 15 goals and 77 points in 61 games, then scored 15 goals and 40 points in 21 playoff games for the Petes. Other players that the Whalers selected that played in the NHL include Marek Malik, Nolan Pratt, Manny Legace and Igor Chibirev.

At the 1993 NHL Supplemental Draft, the Whalers selected Kent Fearns from Colorado College. In 33 games during the 1992–93 season, Fearns scored 7 goals and 22 points for the Tigers.

On September 1, the Whalers announced that Brian Burke resigned from his position of general manager and president of the team as he joined the NHL front office as executive vice-president and director of hockey operations. Current head coach Paul Holmgren was promoted to take over the position.

On October 4, Hartford signed free agent Brian Propp. Propp appeared in 17 games with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1992–93 season, scoring three goals and six points. In 951 career games, Propp scored 413 goals and 975 points since beginning his career in the 1979–80 season with the Philadelphia Flyers. During his career, Propp had scored 40+ goals in a season four times, including a career-high 44 goals in the 1981–82 season.

Regular season

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The Whalers were put into the new Northeast Division after the Adams Division was discontinued.

Final standings

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Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 84 44 27 13 299 285 101
2 4 Boston Bruins 84 42 29 13 289 252 97
3 5 Montreal Canadiens 84 41 29 14 283 248 96
4 6 Buffalo Sabres 84 43 32 9 282 218 95
5 11 Quebec Nordiques 84 34 42 8 277 292 76
6 13 Hartford Whalers 84 27 48 9 227 288 63
7 14 Ottawa Senators 84 14 61 9 201 397 37

[2]

Note: No. = Division rank, CR = Conference rank, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Eastern Conference[3]
R GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p-New York Rangers * 84 52 24 8 299 231 112
2 x-Pittsburgh Penguins * 84 44 27 13 299 285 101
3 New Jersey Devils 84 47 25 12 306 220 106
4 Boston Bruins 84 42 29 13 289 252 97
5 Montreal Canadiens 84 41 29 14 283 248 96
6 Buffalo Sabres 84 43 32 9 282 218 95
7 Washington Capitals 84 39 35 10 277 263 88
8 New York Islanders 84 36 36 12 282 264 84
9 Florida Panthers 84 33 34 17 233 233 83
10 Philadelphia Flyers 84 35 39 10 294 314 80
11 Quebec Nordiques 84 34 42 8 277 292 76
12 Tampa Bay Lightning 84 30 43 11 224 251 71
13 Hartford Whalers 84 27 48 9 227 288 63
14 Ottawa Senators 84 14 61 9 201 397 37
Final standings

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and division); * – Division leader

Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1 L October 6, 1993 3–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 0–1–0 16,430
2 L October 9, 1993 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 0–2–0 15,635
3 W October 10, 1993 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 1–2–0 16,254
4 W October 13, 1993 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 2–2–0 8,042
5 W October 14, 1993 6–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 3–2–0 16,721
6 L October 16, 1993 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 3–3–0 16,624
7 L October 19, 1993 2–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 3–4–0 15,644
8 L October 20, 1993 2–5 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 3–5–0 7,315
9 T October 23, 1993 3–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 3–5–1 11,872
10 L October 27, 1993 1–5 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 3–6–1 14,132
11 L October 28, 1993 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 3–7–1 16,584
12 L October 30, 1993 1–4 New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–8–1 13,183
13 L November 1, 1993 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 3–9–1 7,258
14 L November 3, 1993 3–6 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 3–10–1 7,350
15 L November 6, 1993 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–11–1 9,648
16 W November 10, 1993 4–3 OT Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 4–11–1 7,232
17 T November 13, 1993 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 4–11–2 12,119
18 L November 17, 1993 2–4 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 4–12–2 12,609
19 L November 18, 1993 3–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 4–13–2 17,106
20 L November 20, 1993 2–3 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 4–14–2 11,203
21 W November 23, 1993 2–1 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 5–14–2 12,015
22 L November 24, 1993 1–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 5–15–2 19,374
23 W November 27, 1993 4–0 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 6–15–2 10,837
24 W November 29, 1993 4–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 7–15–2 10,075
25 W December 1, 1993 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 8–15–2 7,917
26 L December 4, 1993 6–7 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 8–16–2 12,643
27 W December 7, 1993 6–1 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 9–16–2 8,871
28 L December 8, 1993 1–4 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 9–17–2 7,207
29 L December 11, 1993 0–3 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 9–18–2 9,636
30 T December 12, 1993 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 9–18–3 13,334
31 L December 15, 1993 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 9–19–3 17,967
32 W December 18, 1993 4–1 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 10–19–3 9,747
33 W December 22, 1993 6–3 New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 11–19–3 8,548
34 W December 23, 1993 2–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 12–19–3 10,357
35 W December 26, 1993 3–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 13–19–3 10,825
36 L December 28, 1993 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 13–20–3 15,107
37 L December 29, 1993 3–5 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 13–21–3 9,749
38 W January 1, 1994 4–3 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 14–21–3 9,746
39 W January 2, 1994 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 15–21–3 11,665
40 W January 5, 1994 4–0 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 16–21–3 8,669
41 L January 6, 1994 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 16–22–3 6,956
42 W January 8, 1994 6–0 New York Islanders (1993–94) 17–22–3 12,225
43 L January 12, 1994 4–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 17–23–3 16,005
44 L January 14, 1994 3–6 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 17–24–3 17,174
45 L January 15, 1994 2–8 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 17–25–3 17,190
46 L January 17, 1994 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 17–26–3 13,890
47 T January 19, 1994 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 17–26–4 8,418
48 L January 24, 1994 1–2 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 17–27–4 14,036
49 L January 26, 1994 0–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 17–28–4 8,911
50 T January 27, 1994 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 17–28–5 10,137
51 L January 29, 1994 2–3 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 17–29–5 11,743
52 W February 1, 1994 2–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 18–29–5 15,023
53 L February 2, 1994 2–9 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 18–30–5 16,325
54 T February 4, 1994 2–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 18–30–6 12,363
55 W February 6, 1994 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 19–30–6 15,496
56 L February 11, 1994 1–4 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 19–31–6 18,545
57 W February 12, 1994 5–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 20–31–6 11,395
58 L February 16, 1994 3–5 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 20–32–6 8,107
59 L February 17, 1994 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 20–33–6 15,779
60 W February 19, 1994 4–2 New York Rangers (1993–94) 21–33–6 15,635
61 L February 24, 1994 0–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 21–34–6 11,621
62 T February 26, 1994 1–1 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 21–34–7 12,343
63 L February 27, 1994 1–3 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 21–35–7 10,016
64 L March 2, 1994 1–4 Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 21–36–7 10,807
65 W March 4, 1994 2–1 @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 22–36–7 14,697
66 L March 5, 1994 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 22–37–7 21,178
67 W March 9, 1994 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 23–37–7 7,757
68 L March 10, 1994 0–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 23–38–7 11,818
69 T March 12, 1994 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 23–38–8 11,402
70 L March 13, 1994 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 23–39–8 11,862
71 L March 16, 1994 0–4 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 23–40–8 18,200
72 L March 17, 1994 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 23–41–8 14,131
73 W March 19, 1994 5–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 24–41–8 17,380
74 L March 22, 1994 1–4 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 24–42–8 11,267
75 L March 25, 1994 3–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 24–43–8 15,003
76 L March 26, 1994 2–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 24–44–8 15,635
77 L March 29, 1994 2–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 24–45–8 19,734
78 W March 30, 1994 3–2 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 25–45–8 8,285
79 L April 2, 1994 5–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–46–8 13,655
80 T April 6, 1994 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1993–94) 25–46–9 9,052
81 L April 7, 1994 2–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 25–47–9 15,324
82 W April 10, 1994 6–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 26–47–9 10,141
83 L April 11, 1994 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 26–48–9 8,568
84 W April 14, 1994 3–2 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 27–48–9 14,054

[4]

Playoffs

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  • The Whalers did not qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Pat Verbeek RW 84 37 38 75 177 -15 15 1 3
Geoff Sanderson LW 82 41 26 67 42 -13 15 1 6
Andrew Cassels C 79 16 42 58 37 -21 8 1 3
Robert Kron LW 77 24 26 50 8 0 2 1 3
Michael Nylander C 58 11 33 44 24 -2 4 0 1
Zarley Zalapski D 56 7 30 37 56 -6 0 0 0
Chris Pronger D 81 5 25 30 113 -3 2 0 0
Brian Propp LW 65 12 17 29 44 3 3 1 2
James Patrick D 47 8 20 28 32 -12 4 1 2
Adam Burt D 63 1 17 18 75 -4 0 0 0
Randy Cunneyworth LW 63 9 8 17 87 -2 0 1 1
Jim Storm LW 68 6 10 16 27 4 1 0 0
Igor Chibirev C 37 4 11 15 2 7 0 0 1
Darren Turcotte C 19 2 11 13 4 -11 0 0 0
Alexander Godynyuk D 43 3 9 12 40 8 0 0 1
Mark Janssens C 84 2 10 12 137 -13 0 0 0
Robert Petrovicky C 33 6 5 11 39 -1 1 0 0
Bryan Marchment D 42 3 7 10 124 -12 0 1 1
Mark Greig RW 31 4 5 9 31 -6 0 0 0
Jim Sandlak RW 27 6 2 8 32 6 2 0 1
Jocelyn Lemieux RW 16 6 1 7 19 -8 0 0 2
Ted Drury C 16 1 5 6 10 -10 0 0 0
Brad McCrimmon D 65 1 5 6 72 -7 0 0 0
Kevin Smyth LW 21 3 2 5 10 -1 0 0 0
Marc Potvin RW 51 2 3 5 246 -5 0 0 0
Frantisek Kucera D 16 1 3 4 14 -12 1 0 0
Patrick Poulin C 9 2 1 3 11 -8 1 0 0
Ted Crowley D 21 1 2 3 10 -1 1 0 0
Jim McKenzie LW 26 1 2 3 67 -6 0 0 0
Bob McGill D 30 0 3 3 41 -7 0 0 0
Paul Ranheim LW 15 0 3 3 2 -11 0 0 0
John Stevens D 9 0 3 3 4 4 0 0 0
Eric Weinrich D 8 1 1 2 2 -5 1 0 0
Todd Harkins C 28 1 0 1 49 -4 0 0 0
Dan Keczmer D 12 0 1 1 12 -6 0 0 0
Jeff Reese G 19 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sean Burke G 47 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0
Yvon Corriveau LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mario Gosselin G 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Doug Houda D 7 0 0 0 23 -4 0 0 0
Nick Kypreos LW 10 0 0 0 37 -8 0 0 0
Mike Lenarduzzi G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Allen Pedersen D 7 0 0 0 9 -1 0 0 0
Frank Pietrangelo G 19 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Mike Tomlak C/LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Sean Burke 2750 47 17 24 5 137 2.99 2 1458 1321 .906
Frank Pietrangelo 984 19 5 11 1 59 3.60 0 473 414 .875
Jeff Reese 1086 19 5 9 3 56 3.09 1 524 468 .893
Mario Gosselin 239 7 0 4 0 21 5.27 0 107 86 .804
Mike Lenarduzzi 21 1 0 0 0 1 2.86 0 12 11 .917
Team: 5080 84 27 48 9 274 3.24 3 2574 2300 .894

[5]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA=Shots against; SV=Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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Records

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Milestones

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Transactions

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The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1993–94 season.

Trades

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June 1, 1993 To Detroit Red Wings
6th round pick in 1993
To Hartford Whalers
Brad McCrimmon
June 20, 1993 To Calgary Flames
4th round pick in 1993
To Hartford Whalers
Sergei Makarov
June 26, 1993 To San Jose Sharks
Sergei Makarov
1st round pick in 1993
2nd round pick in 1993
3rd round pick in 1993
To Hartford Whalers
1st round pick in 1993
November 2, 1993 To Chicago Blackhawks
Eric Weinrich
Patrick Poulin
To Hartford Whalers
Bryan Marchment
Steve Larmer
November 2, 1993 To New York Rangers
Steve Larmer
Nick Kypreos
Barry Richter
6th round pick in 1994
To Hartford Whalers
James Patrick
Darren Turcotte
November 3, 1993 To Los Angeles Kings
Doug Houda
To Hartford Whalers
Marc Potvin
November 19, 1993 To Calgary Flames
Dan Keczmer
Future Considerations
To Hartford Whalers
Jeff Reese
December 16, 1993 To Florida Panthers
Jim McKenzie
To Hartford Whalers
Alexander Godynyuk
January 24, 1994 To Calgary Flames
Scott Morrow
To Hartford Whalers
Todd Harkins
January 25, 1994 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Mark Greig
6th round pick in 1995
To Hartford Whalers
Ted Crowley
March 10, 1994 To Calgary Flames
Michael Nylander
James Patrick
Zarley Zalapski
To Hartford Whalers
Gary Suter
Paul Ranheim
Ted Drury
March 11, 1994 To Chicago Blackhawks
Randy Cunneyworth
Gary Suter
3rd round pick in 1995
To Hartford Whalers
Frantisek Kucera
Jocelyn Lemieux
March 18, 1994 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Ken Belanger
To Hartford Whalers
9th round pick in 1994

Waivers

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November 3, 1993 From New York Islanders
Bob McGill

Free agents

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Player Former Team
Rob Cowie Winnipeg Jets
Jeff Bloemberg Edmonton Oilers
Rick Bennett New York Rangers
Brian Propp Minnesota North Stars
Player New Team
Joe Day New York Islanders
Mike Maneluk Anaheim Mighty Ducks

Draft picks

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Hartford's picks at the 1993 NHL Entry Draft

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 2 Chris Pronger Defense   Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
3 72 Marek Malik Defense   Czech Republic TJ Vitkovice Jr. (Czech Republic)
4 84 Trevor Roenick Right wing   United States Boston Junior Bruins (NEJHL)
5 115 Nolan Pratt Defense   Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8 188 Manny Legace Goaltender   Canada Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
9 214 Dmitri Gorenko Forward   Russia CSKA Moscow (Russia)
10 240 Wes Swinson Defense   Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
11 266 Igor Chibirev Center   Ukraine Fort Wayne Komets (IHL)
S 6 Kent Fearns Defense   Canada Colorado College (WCHA)

Farm teams

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American Hockey League

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ECHL

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hartford Whalers Yearly Attendance Graph". hockeydb.com.
  2. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. ^ "NHL Hockey Standings". NHL.com. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "1993–94 Hartford Whalers Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  5. ^ "1993-94 Hartford Whalers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
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