Governor, Mayor Invite NHL Team to Consider Hartford

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Dannel Malloy and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin have sent a letter to executives of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, inviting them to consider Connecticut's capital city in the event of a likely relocation of the franchise.

The letter, on Malloy's letterhead and dated Feb. 3, said state and local officials would "like to offer Hartford's XL Center as an option for your interim use." The invitation also states Hartford could be "a long-term solution to your needs as well."

SI.com says the Barclays Center, home to the Islanders for the past two seasons, "is planning to discontinue its relationship" with the hockey club. The team has the third-worst average attendance of any NHL franchise this season.

Malloy and Bronin's letter cites the abundance of Fortune 500 companies in Connecticut, the proximity to the Islanders' existing minor league team in Bridgeport, and ongoing and planned improvements to the XL Center as benefits the city would offer.

If the Islanders opt to end its relationship with the Barclays Center, the team could leave following the 2017-18 season. If Barclays decides to pull the plug on the agreement, it would be effective following the 2018-19 campaign.

Hartford has been without NHL hockey for nearly 20 years, the Whalers having played their final game on April 13, 1997 before relocating to Greensboro, then Raleigh, as the Carolina Hurricanes.

Compuware founder Peter Karmanos bought the franchise in 1994 and pledged to keep the team in Hartford for four years. However, disappointing attendance (only twice in 18 NHL seasons did the team average 14,000 fans per game) coupled with a lack of corporate support prompted Karmanos to begin looking elsewhere.

In an attempt to increase the season ticket base for corporations and wealthier residents, the Whalers switched to a season ticket plan that included all 41 home games, discontinuing the popular mini-plans of 6, 10 and 20 games.

Late in the 1996-97 season, Karmanos announced the team would leave Hartford at the end of that campaign. At the time, no agreement had yet been reached with another city, indicating the owner's passionate desire to get out of Connecticut.

Many hockey experts have stated a big reason for the lack of support was the fact the Whalers were not a winning team. The two years that exceeded 14,000 average attendance were 1986-87, when the team won its only Adams Division title, and 1987-88. The Whalers finished with a winning record just three times in its NHL tenure.

Similar problems seem to be currently dogging the Islanders. The team has won just one playoff series since 1993, and currently sits sixth in the Metropolitan Division standings and fifth in the wild card hunt, which admits two qualifiers.

Islanders management is likely to receive similar offers from other cities currently without big league hockey, as was the case in 2011 when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg.

Here is the letter sent by the governor and mayor:

Patch file photo