More than a quarter century after the Whalers last played in Hartford, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is “working” to try and bring them back.
The Whalers played in the NHL from 1979 until the team moved to Carolina (becoming the Hurricanes) following the 1997 season. But with the Coyotes’ future in Phoenix potentially in question — voters in Tempe recently rejected a referendum on the plan that would’ve approved building a new arena for the team — Lamont sees an opening.
In an interview on WTNH’s “This Week in Connecticut,” Lamont gave an update on his thoughts and plans for a potential Whaler return following a report in May that he was going to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
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“I’ve talked to Gary Bettman,” Lamont confirmed. “Right now the Coyotes don’t have a place to play on a permanent basis, so they’re looking around trying to find options. Connecticut is definitely on the radar screen.”
Other reports about potential landing spots should the Coyotes move have listed Salt Lake City, Houston, Kansas City, and Atlanta. One of the drawbacks that Hartford would potentially face in comparison with some of the other possible destinations is its limited audience. With multiple NHL teams in the New York area as well as the Bruins relatively close by, would Hartford provide enough of a market?
“It’s a hockey center here. We love hockey. We have the national champions here,” Lamont said, referencing the 2023 national champion Quinnipiac men’s hockey team. “And the fact that the Rangers and the Bruins are nearby is a good thing, because it means we have a lot of hockey interest.”
Still, Lamont realizes that Connecticut would have to clear multiple hurdles to position itself for an NHL team again.
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“We’re going to have to step up,” he said. “We’re going to have to show that we can sell the luxury suites. We’re going to have to show that we’ve got a buyer group if they want to make a change. We’ve got to show that we’re ready to upgrade the XL Center to make sure it’s NHL ready. I think we can do all of those things.”
The XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center (where the Whalers played for two decades), recently received up to $80 million in funding for renovations as part of a state budget deal.
Lamont knows that any possibility of luring an NHL team would require additional investment.
“It’s enough for us to get started,” he said of the recent budget funding. “It’s enough for us to do all the lower luxury suites, and we’ll get that done over the next few years. NHL’s going to cost a lot more to bring it up to standard. We get the Whalers back, we’ll do it.”
He stopped short of calling for a new arena, saying that a “totally retrofitted XL Center” would suffice.
As for the potential ownership group, Lamont was coy about identifying specific people or groups, speaking only in general terms.
“I know them personally. They’ve expressed real interest,” he said. “Now there’s a lot of negotiations out there. I’ve got a development group that says, ‘Boy, if the Whalers were back into Hartford, I’d be very interested in doing more economic development and housing in that greater area.’ These are folks who have done it before, so that means a lot.”
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When asked if the potential ownership group has the money to buy the team and move them to Hartford, Lamont replied, “That is correct.”
As for the name — if the team would keep Coyotes or switch back to Whalers in the hypothetical relocation scenario — Lamont said he has an admitted bias.
“I mean come on, it’s one of the hottest selling jerseys 30 years later,” he said of Hartford’s classic logo design. “Coyotes are great, but I love the Whalers.”
In the short term, the Coyotes will remain in Arizona. The team announced in May that it would remain in its current home (Mullett Arena) for the 2023-2024 season. Beyond that, the picture is less clear.
It could be a long road before Connecticut has any chance of getting another NHL team, but Lamont insisted his interest is legitimate.
“I’m going to make this a priority,” he claimed. “It’s a climb. We’ve got to keep climbing, but we’ve got a chance to get there.”
Hayden Bird can be reached at hayden.bird@globe.com.