<P> Owner Peter Karmanos pledged to keep the Whalers in the city of Hartford for four years when he purchased the team in 1994 . However, two years later, frustrated with lackluster attendance and little corporate support, he announced that if the Whalers were unable to sell at least 11,000 season tickets for the 1996--97 season, he would likely move the team . Furthermore, ownership only made season tickets available in full - season (41 - game) packages, eliminating the popular six -, 9 -, 10 - and 20 - game mini-plans in a strategy largely designed to spur purchases from corporations and wealthier individuals . Sales were underwhelming at the beginning of the campaign, and at the end of the 1995--96 season, it was still unknown whether the Whalers would stay in Connecticut past 1998 or move elsewhere . However, thanks to an aggressive civic campaign and the efforts of many fans, the Whalers announced that they would stay in Connecticut through at least 1997 . The "Save the Whale" campaign netted season ticket sales totaling 8,563 in less than a 45 - day span, despite the Whalers raising ticket prices by an average of 20 percent, eliminating partial ticket plans and increasing the deposit amount for season tickets by 750 percent . This represented an expansion of over 3,500 tickets from the existing base . </P> <P> In early 1997, Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland stated that he did not want to spend Connecticut taxpayer dollars to fund a new arena in Hartford . Despite this, negotiations between the Whalers and Rowland to build a new $147.5 million arena seemed to be going well . Talks fell apart when Karmanos wanted an additional $45 million to cover losses during the three years the new arena was to be built . The Whalers ultimately announced that they would be leaving Hartford after the 1996--97 season . This marks one of the few times that a team announced it would leave its current city without having already announced an agreement with a new one . Karmanos had discussed relocating the Whalers to Norfolk, Virginia (which would have been the first major sports team for that market) as the Hampton Roads Rhinos, but the failure of a season - ticket drive in Norfolk, coupled with a lack of an adequate arena, led to those plans being canceled . Karmanos stated that Rowland had no intention making a serious offer to keep the Whalers in Connecticut since Rowland harbored hopes to bring a National Football League (NFL) franchise to the State . Rowland went on to negotiate a tentative deal that would bring the New England Patriots to Connecticut, but those talks also fell apart after the State and Patriots ownership failed to reach an agreement on a new stadium . </P> <P> On April 13, 1997, the Whalers played their last game in Hartford, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2--1 . Team captain Kevin Dineen, who had returned to Hartford midway through the 1995--96 season after a brief stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, scored the final goal in Whalers history . On May 6, 1997, Karmanos announced the team would move to Raleigh, North Carolina, to become the Carolina Hurricanes, playing its first two seasons in North Carolina at the Greensboro Coliseum while awaiting arena construction in Raleigh, a year earlier than planned . </P> <P> The following summer in 1997, the Binghamton Rangers, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New York Rangers, relocated to the Hartford market to take the place of the Whalers, renaming themselves the Hartford Wolf Pack . Former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin acquired the team in 2010 and announced that the Wolf Pack were changing their name to the Connecticut Whale in the middle of the 2010--11 season adopting the Whalers' old green - blue - white palette; The team changed back to the Wolfpack after Baldwin sold the team following the 2010--2011 season . </P>

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