1991–92 Hartford Whalers season

1991–92 Hartford Whalers
Division	4th Adams
Conference	10th Wales
1991–92 record	26–41–13
Home record	13–17–10
Road record	13–24–3
Goals for	247
Goals against	283
Team information
General manager	Eddie Johnston
Coach	Jim Roberts
Captain	Randy Ladouceur
Alternate captains	John Cullen Pat Verbeek
Arena	Hartford Civic Center
Average attendance	10,896 (69.7%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Indians (AHL) Louisville IceHawks (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	John Cullen (26)
Assists	John Cullen (51)
Points	John Cullen (77)
Penalty minutes	Pat Verbeek (243)
Plus/minus	Mikael Andersson (+18)
Wins	Kay Whitmore (14)
Goals against average	Peter Sidorkiewicz (3.34)
← 1990–91 1992–93 →

The 1991–92 Hartford Whalers season saw the Whalers finish in fourth place in the Adams Division with a record of 26 wins, 41 losses, and 13 ties for 65 points. They lost the Adams Division semi-finals in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens, with Russ Courtnall scoring in overtime of Game 7 at the Montreal Forum to end Hartford's season. This was the last time that the Whalers made the playoffs before moving to North Carolina.

Off-season[]

On May 29, the Whalers announced that head coach Rick Ley was relieved of his duties as head coach of the team. In two seasons, Ley led Hartford to a 69-71-20 record, earning two playoff berths.

On the following day, May 30, the Whalers lost Dave Babych to the Minnesota North Stars at the 1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts. Babych appeared in only eight games with Hartford during the 1990-91 season, earning six assists. In 349 career games with the Whalers, Babych scored 44 goals and earned 240 points since joining the team in the 1985-86 season.

The Whalers announced the hiring of Jimmy Roberts as the new head coach of the club on June 7. Roberts was the head coach of the Springfield Indians from 1988-1991, leading the club to two Calder Cup championships in 1989-90 and 1990-91. Roberts had previous NHL head coaching experience with the Buffalo Sabres during the 1982-83 season, as he led the club to a 21-16-8 record in 45 games. As a player, Roberts played in 1006 career games with the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues in a career that spanned from 1963-1978. Roberts won five Stanley Cups as a player.

On June 21, the Whalers selected goaltender from the University of Alaska Anchorage in the 1991 NHL Supplemental Draft.

The next day, the Whalers participated at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft held at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. With the ninth overall selection in the first round, the club selected Patrick Poulin from the Saint-Hyacinthe Laser of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In 56 games during the 1990-91 season, Poulin scored 32 goals and 70 points. In the third round, with the 59th overall selection, the Whalers selected Michael Nylander from Huddinge IK. In 33 games, Nylander scored 14 goals and 34 points. The only other player from the draft that would eventually play in the NHL was Jim Storm, who the Whalers selected in the fourth round.

On August 26, the Whalers acquired Paul Fenton from the Calgary Flames in exchange for future considerations. The future considerations would be a sixth round draft pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Fenton scored 10 goals and 27 points in 61 games as he split the 1990-91 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.

The Whalers signed free agent Mario Gosselin on September 4. Gosselin played with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the IHL, posting a 24-15-4 record with a 3.86 GAA during the 1990-91 season. In 218 career NHL games, Gosselin earned a record of 86-94-13 with a 3.69 GAA while playing with the Quebec Nordiques and Los Angeles Kings from 1983-90.

The very next day, on September 5, the club announced the signing of Barry Pederson. Pederson spent the 1990-91 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring six goals and 14 points in 46 games. In 1982-83, Pederson scored a career high 46 goals while with the Boston Bruins. The next season with the Bruins in 1983-84, Pederson scored a career high 116 points. In 1986, the Bruins traded him to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Cam Neely and the Canucks first round selection at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, in which Boston selected Glen Wesley.

On September 8, the Whalers traded Sylvain Cote to the Washington Capitals for future considerations. In 382 career games with Hartford, Cote scored 31 goals and 92 points since he broke into the NHL during the 1983-84 season. To complete the trade, the Capitals sent their second round draft pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.

The Whalers remained busy in September, as on September 17, the club acquired Andrew Cassels from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for the Whalers second round selection in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Cassels, the Canadiens first round draft pick with the 17th overall selection in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, scored six goals and 25 points in 51 games with Montreal during the 1990-91 season.

On October 2, the Whalers acquired Dan Keczmer from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for recently signed free agent Paul Fenton. Keczmer appeared in nine games with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1990-91, earning an assist. In 60 games with the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL, Keczmer scored four goals and 24 points.

The next day, on October 3, the Whalers traded Todd Krygier to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Krygier scored 13 goals and 30 points in 72 games with the Whalers in the 1990-91 season. On the same day, Hartford acquired Lee Norwood from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the Whalers fifth round draft pick in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Norwood split the 1990-91 season between the Detroit Red Wings and the Devils, as in 49 games, he scored six goals and 15 points.

NHL draft[]

Hartford's draft picks at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft held at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	9	Patrick Poulin	Canada	Saint-Hyacinthe Laser (QMJHL)
2	31	Martin Hamrlik	Czechoslovakia	AC ZPS Zlín (Czechoslovakia)
3	53		United States	Hamden High School (USHS-CT)
3	59	Michael Nylander	Sweden	Huddinge IK (Sweden)
4	75	Jim Storm	United States	Michigan Technological University (WCHA)
6	119	Mike Harding	Canada	Northern Michigan University (WCHA)
7	141	Brian Mueller	United States	South Kent School (USHS-CT)
8	163	Steven Yule	Canada	Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
9	185	Chris Belanger	Canada	Western Michigan University (CCHA)
10	207	Jason Currie	Canada	Clarkson University (ECAC)
11	229	Mike Santonelli	United States	Matignon High School (USHS-MA)
12	251	Rob Peters	United States	Ohio State University (CCHA)
S	15	Shaun Gravistin	Canada	University of Alaska Anchorage (WCHA)

Regular season[]

Final standings[]

Adams Division^[2]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	80	41	28	11	267	207	93
2	Boston Bruins	80	36	32	12	270	275	84
3	Buffalo Sabres	80	31	37	12	289	299	74
4	Hartford Whalers	80	26	41	13	247	283	65
5	Quebec Nordiques	80	20	48	12	255	318	52

Schedule and results[]

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 5, 1991	2–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	0–1–0
2	T	October 8, 1991	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	0–1–1
3	W	October 12, 1991	5–2	New York Rangers (1991–92)	1–1–1
4	W	October 14, 1991	4–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	2–1–1
5	W	October 16, 1991	3–2	@ Winnipeg Jets (1991–92)	3–1–1
6	W	October 19, 1991	4–1	Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	4���1–1
7	W	October 23, 1991	3–0	San Jose Sharks (1991–92)	5–1–1
8	L	October 26, 1991	2–4	Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92)	5–2–1
9	L	October 27, 1991	1–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	5–3–1
10	T	October 30, 1991	4–4 OT	Los Angeles Kings (1991–92)	5–3–2
11	L	November 1, 1991	5–8	@ Detroit Red Wings (1991–92)	5–4–2
12	W	November 2, 1991	6–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92)	6–4–2
13	L	November 6, 1991	2–3	Calgary Flames (1991–92)	6–5–2
14	W	November 9, 1991	4–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1991–92)	7–5–2
15	L	November 10, 1991	0–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92)	7–6–2
16	W	November 12, 1991	5–4	Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	8–6–2
17	T	November 14, 1991	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	8–6–3
18	L	November 16, 1991	4–5 OT	Boston Bruins (1991–92)	8–7–3
19	W	November 17, 1991	3–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1991–92)	9–7–3
20	L	November 22, 1991	2–8	@ New Jersey Devils (1991–92)	9–8–3
21	L	November 23, 1991	2–3	Washington Capitals (1991–92)	9–9–3
22	L	November 25, 1991	2–5	@ Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	9–10–3
23	W	November 27, 1991	7–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92)	10–10–3
24	W	November 30, 1991	3–2	Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	11–10–3
25	L	December 1, 1991	4–5	@ Boston Bruins (1991–92)	11–11–3
26	L	December 4, 1991	0–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1991–92)	11–12–3
27	T	December 7, 1991	6–6 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	11–12–4
28	W	December 13, 1991	8–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	12–12–4
29	L	December 14, 1991	2–6	New York Rangers (1991–92)	12–13–4
30	L	December 17, 1991	2–4	New York Islanders (1991–92)	12–14–4
31	L	December 19, 1991	1–4	New Jersey Devils (1991–92)	12–15–4
32	L	December 21, 1991	2–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	12–16–4
33	W	December 23, 1991	4–3	Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	13–16–4
34	L	December 26, 1991	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (1991–92)	13–17–4
35	L	December 28, 1991	1–4	@ Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	13–18–4
36	W	December 29, 1991	6–4	New York Islanders (1991–92)	14–18–4
37	W	January 2, 1992	4–1	Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	15–18–4
38	T	January 4, 1992	2–2 OT	Washington Capitals (1991–92)	15–18–5
39	L	January 9, 1992	1–2	@ New York Islanders (1991–92)	15–19–5
40	L	January 11, 1992	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	15–20–5
41	L	January 15, 1992	3–4	Boston Bruins (1991–92)	15–21–5
42	L	January 16, 1992	3–4 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1991–92)	15–22–5
43	T	January 21, 1992	3–3 OT	Winnipeg Jets (1991–92)	15–22–6
44	T	January 25, 1992	4–4 OT	Boston Bruins (1991–92)	15–22–7
45	L	January 26, 1992	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	15–23–7
46	L	January 28, 1992	3–4	Minnesota North Stars (1991–92)	15–24–7
47	L	January 31, 1992	1–4	@ Edmonton Oilers (1991–92)	15–25–7
48	T	February 1, 1992	4–4 OT	@ Vancouver Canucks (1991–92)	15–25–8
49	L	February 4, 1992	5–6	@ San Jose Sharks (1991–92)	15–26–8
50	T	February 6, 1992	5–5 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1991–92)	15–26–9
51	T	February 9, 1992	4–4 OT	Minnesota North Stars (1991–92)	15–26–10
52	W	February 11, 1992	5–1	Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	16–26–10
53	L	February 13, 1992	1–3	Edmonton Oilers (1991–92)	16–27–10
54	L	February 15, 1992	1–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1991–92)	16–28–10
55	L	February 16, 1992	4–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	16–29–10
56	T	February 19, 1992	2–2 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1991–92)	16–29–11
57	W	February 22, 1992	4–0	Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	17–29–11
58	L	February 23, 1992	0–4	Detroit Red Wings (1991–92)	17–30–11
59	L	February 25, 1992	2–5	St. Louis Blues (1991–92)	17–31–11
60	W	February 27, 1992	8–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92)	18–31–11
61	W	February 29, 1992	5–4 OT	@ Minnesota North Stars (1991–92)	19–31–11
62	L	March 1, 1992	4–9	@ New York Rangers (1991–92)	19–32–11
63	W	March 3, 1992	4–0	Boston Bruins (1991–92)	20–32–11
64	L	March 5, 1992	4–10	Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	20–33–11
65	L	March 7, 1992	1–5	Vancouver Canucks (1991–92)	20–34–11
66	L	March 9, 1992	0–2	@ Quebec Nordiques (1991–92)	20–35–11
67	W	March 11, 1992	4–0	Los Angeles Kings (1991–92)	21–35–11
68	W	March 13, 1992	1–0	@ Winnipeg Jets (1991–92)	22–35–11
69	L	March 14, 1992	1–3	@ Edmonton Oilers (1991–92)	22–36–11
70	W	March 16, 1992	4–3	@ Calgary Flames (1991–92)	23–36–11
71	L	March 18, 1992	2–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1991–92)	23–37–11
72	L	March 21, 1992	4–5	San Jose Sharks (1991–92)	23–38–11
73	T	March 22, 1992	2–2 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–92)	23–38–12
74	W	March 24, 1992	8–2	@ Washington Capitals (1991–92)	24–38–12
75	L	March 26, 1992	2–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1991–92)	24–39–12
76	L	March 28, 1992	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1991–92)	24–40–12
77	T	March 29, 1992	2–2 OT	@ Buffalo Sabres (1991–92)	24–40–13
78	W	April 12, 1992	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92)	25–40–13
79	L	April 13, 1992	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1991–92)	25–41–13
80	W	April 15, 1992	4–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1991–92)	26–41–13

^[3]

Player statistics[]

Regular season[]

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
John Cullen	C	77	26	51	77	141	-28	10	0	4
Pat Verbeek	RW	76	22	35	57	243	-16	10	0	3
Zarley Zalapski	D	79	20	37	57	120	-7	4	0	3
Murray Craven	LW	61	24	30	54	38	-4	8	4	1
Mikael Andersson	LW	74	18	29	47	14	18	1	3	1
Bobby Holik	C	76	21	24	45	44	4	1	0	2
Andrew Cassels	C	67	11	30	41	18	3	2	2	3
Rob Brown	RW	42	16	15	31	39	-14	13	0	2
Geoff Sanderson	LW	64	13	18	31	18	5	2	0	1
Brad Shaw	D	62	3	22	25	44	1	0	0	0
Adam Burt	D	66	9	15	24	93	-16	4	0	1
Marc Bergevin	D	75	7	17	24	64	-13	4	1	1
Mark Hunter	RW	63	10	13	23	159	-8	5	0	0
Yvon Corriveau	LW	38	12	8	20	36	5	3	0	0
Randy Cunneyworth	LW	39	7	10	17	71	-5	0	0	1
Steve Konroyd	D	33	2	10	12	32	-5	1	0	0
James Black	LW	30	4	6	10	10	-4	1	0	1
Randy Ladouceur	D	74	1	9	10	127	-1	0	0	0
Doug Houda	D	56	3	6	9	125	-2	1	0	1
Michel Picard	LW	25	3	5	8	6	-2	1	0	0
Jim McKenzie	LW	67	5	1	6	87	-6	0	0	0
Kevin Dineen	RW	16	4	2	6	23	-6	1	0	1
Mark Greig	RW	17	0	5	5	6	7	0	0	0
Barry Pederson	C	5	2	2	4	0	-2	1	0	0
Ed Kastelic	W	25	1	3	4	61	-4	0	0	0
John Stevens	D	21	0	4	4	19	-4	0	0	0
Paul Cyr	LW	17	0	3	3	19	-4	0	0	0
Joe Day	C	24	0	3	3	10	-2	0	0	0
Daniel Shank	RW	13	2	0	2	18	-4	0	0	0
Terry Yake	C	15	1	1	2	4	-2	0	0	0
Paul Gillis	C	12	0	2	2	48	0	0	0	0
Peter Sidorkiewicz	G	35	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Kay Whitmore	G	45	0	1	1	16	0	0	0	0
Jergus Baca	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Dan Keczmer	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Lee Norwood	D	6	0	0	0	16	0	0	0	0
Frank Pietrangelo	G	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Patrick Poulin	C	1	0	0	0	2	-1	0	0	0
Todd Richards	D	6	0	0	0	2	-2	0	0	0
Chris Tancill	C	10	0	0	0	2	-6	0	0	0
Mike Tomlak	C/LW	6	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Kay Whitmore	2567	45	14	21	6	155	3.62	3	1292	1137	.880
Peter Sidorkiewicz	1995	35	9	19	6	111	3.34	2	940	829	.882
Frank Pietrangelo	306	5	3	1	1	12	2.35	0	156	144	.923
Team:	4868	80	26	41	13	278	3.43	5	2388	2110	.884

Playoffs[]

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Murray Craven	LW	7	3	3	6	6	0	1	0
Andrew Cassels	C	7	2	4	6	6	1	0	0
Yvon Corriveau	LW	7	3	2	5	18	2	0	1
Zarley Zalapski	D	7	2	3	5	6	0	0	0
Randy Cunneyworth	LW	7	3	0	3	9	1	1	1
John Cullen	C	7	2	1	3	12	1	0	1
Patrick Poulin	C	7	2	1	3	0	1	0	0
Todd Richards	D	5	0	3	3	4	0	0	0
Mikael Andersson	LW	7	0	2	2	6	0	0	0
Doug Houda	D	6	0	2	2	13	0	0	0
Pat Verbeek	RW	7	0	2	2	12	0	0	0
Geoff Sanderson	LW	7	1	0	1	2	0	0	0
Paul Gillis	C	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Bobby Holik	C	7	0	1	1	6	0	0	0
Steve Konroyd	D	7	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Randy Ladouceur	D	7	0	1	1	11	0	0	0
Brad Shaw	D	3	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
Marc Bergevin	D	5	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Adam Burt	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mark Hunter	RW	4	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
Frank Pietrangelo	G	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Daniel Shank	RW	5	0	0	0	22	0	0	0
Kay Whitmore	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Frank Pietrangelo	425	7	3	4	19	2.68	0	244	225	.922
Kay Whitmore	19	1	0	0	1	3.16	0	5	4	.800
Team:	444	7	3	4	20	2.70	0	249	229	.920

^[4]

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;

Transactions[]

The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1991–92 season.

Trades[]

June 22, 1991	To Winnipeg Jets Ray Neufeld	To Hartford Whalers Dave Babych
June 22, 1991	To Minnesota North Stars 5th round pick in 1991 - Mike Kennedy	To Hartford Whalers Future Considerations - on Nov. 21/91
August 26, 1991	To Calgary Flames 6th round pick in 1992 - Joel Bouchard	To Hartford Whalers Paul Fenton
September 8, 1991	To Washington Capitals Sylvain Cote	To Hartford Whalers 2nd round pick in 1992 - Andrei Nikolishin
September 17, 1991	To Montreal Canadiens 2nd round pick in 1992 - Valeri Bure	To Hartford Whalers Andrew Cassels
October 2, 1991	To San Jose Sharks Dean Evason	To Hartford Whalers Dan Keczmer
October 3, 1991	To New Jersey Devils 5th round pick in 1993 -	To Hartford Whalers Lee Norwood
October 3, 1991	To Washington Capitals Todd Krygier	To Hartford Whalers 4th round pick in 1993 -
October 18, 1991	To San Jose Sharks Paul Fenton	To Hartford Whalers Mike McHugh
November 13, 1991	To St. Louis Blues Lee Norwood	To Hartford Whalers 5th round pick in 1993 - Nolan Pratt
November 13, 1991	To Philadelphia Flyers Kevin Dineen	To Hartford Whalers Murray Craven 4th round pick in 1992 - Kevin Smyth
November 14, 1991	To Boston Bruins Barry Pederson	To Hartford Whalers Future Considerations
December 18, 1991	To Detroit Red Wings Chris Tancill	To Hartford Whalers Daniel Shank
January 24, 1992	To Chicago Blackhawks Rob Brown	To Hartford Whalers Steve Konroyd
January 27, 1992	To Chicago Blackhawks Paul Gillis	To Hartford Whalers Future Considerations
March 10, 1992	To Pittsburgh Penguins 3rd round pick in 1994 - Sven Butenschon 7th round pick in 1994 - Serge Aubin	To Hartford Whalers Frank Pietrangelo

Free agents[]

Player Former Team Shawn Evans Boston Bruins Mario Gosselin Los Angeles Kings Barry Pederson Pittsburgh Penguins

Player New Team Chris Lindberg Calgary Flames

References[]

• 1991-92 Hartford Whalers at Hockey Reference