1993–94 Hartford Whalers season

1993–94 Hartford Whalers
Division	6th Northeast
Conference	13th Eastern
1993–94 record	27–48–9
Home record	14–22–6
Road record	13–26–3
Goals for	227
Goals against	288
Team information
General manager	Paul Holmgren
Coach	Paul Holmgren (Oct.–Nov.) Pierre McGuire (Nov.–Apr.)
Captain	Pat Verbeek
Alternate captains	Brad McCrimmon Andrew Cassels
Arena	Hartford Civic Center
Average attendance	10,407 (66.7%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Indians (AHL) Raleigh IceCaps (ECHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Geoff Sanderson (41)
Assists	Andrew Cassels (42)
Points	Pat Verbeek (75)
Penalty minutes	Marc Potvin (246)
Plus/minus	Alexander Godynyuk (+8)
Wins	Sean Burke (17)
Goals against average	Sean Burke (2.99)

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.

Off-season

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 named acting general manager.

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

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

After starting the season 4–11–2, Holmgren was named general manager and assistant coach Pierre Maguire was named head coach on November 16.

Final standings

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

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

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

1993–94 regular season
October: 3–8–1 (home: 1–3–1; road: 2–5–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 1 L October 6, 1993 3–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 0–1–0 16,430 Recap 2 L October 9, 1993 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 0–2–0 15,635 Recap 3 W October 10, 1993 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 1–2–0 16,254 Recap 4 W October 13, 1993 4–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 2–2–0 8,042 Recap 5 W October 14, 1993 6–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 3–2–0 16,721 Recap 6 L October 16, 1993 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 3–3–0 16,624 Recap 7 L October 19, 1993 2–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 3–4–0 15,644 Recap 8 L October 20, 1993 2–5 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 3–5–0 7,315 Recap 9 T October 23, 1993 3–3 OT Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 3–5–1 11,872 Recap 10 L October 27, 1993 1–5 @ Dallas Stars (1993–94) 3–6–1 14,132 Recap 11 L October 28, 1993 1–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 3–7–1 16,584 Recap 12 L October 30, 1993 1–4 New York Rangers (1993–94) 3–8–1 13,183 Recap
November: 4–7–1 (home: 2–4–1; road: 2–3–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 13 L November 1, 1993 2–4 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 3–9–1 7,258 Recap 14 L November 3, 1993 3–6 Calgary Flames (1993–94) 3–10–1 7,350 Recap 15 L November 6, 1993 3–5 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 3–11–1 9,648 Recap 16 W November 10, 1993 4–3 OT Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 4–11–1 7,232 Recap 17 T November 13, 1993 4–4 OT Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 4–11–2 12,119 Recap 18 L November 17, 1993 2–4 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 4–12–2 12,609 Recap 19 L November 18, 1993 3–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 4–13–2 17,106 Recap 20 L November 20, 1993 2–3 San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 4–14–2 11,203 Recap 21 W November 23, 1993 2–1 OT @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 5–14–2 12,015 Recap 22 L November 24, 1993 1–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 5–15–2 19,374 Recap 23 W November 27, 1993 4–0 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 6–15–2 10,837 Recap 24 W November 29, 1993 4–2 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 7–15–2 10,075 Recap
December: 6–6–1 (home: 4–4–0; road: 2–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 25 W December 1, 1993 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 8–15–2 7,917 Recap 26 L December 4, 1993 6–7 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 8–16–2 12,643 Recap 27 W December 7, 1993 6–1 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 9–16–2 8,871 Recap 28 L December 8, 1993 1–4 Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 9–17–2 7,207 Recap 29 L December 11, 1993 0–3 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 9–18–2 9,636 Recap 30 T December 12, 1993 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 9–18–3 13,334 Recap 31 L December 15, 1993 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 9–19–3 17,967 Recap 32 W December 18, 1993 4–1 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 10–19–3 9,747 Recap 33 W December 22, 1993 6–3 New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 11–19–3 8,548 Recap 34 W December 23, 1993 2–1 @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 12–19–3 10,357 Recap 35 W December 26, 1993 3–2 OT Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 13–19–3 10,825 Recap 36 L December 28, 1993 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 13–20–3 15,107 Recap 37 L December 29, 1993 3–5 Florida Panthers (1993–94) 13–21–3 9,749 Recap
January: 4–8–2 (home: 3–4–1; road: 1–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 38 W January 1, 1994 4–3 @ New York Islanders (1993–94) 14–21–3 9,746 Recap 39 W January 2, 1994 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 15–21–3 11,665 Recap 40 W January 5, 1994 4–0 Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 16–21–3 8,669 Recap 41 L January 6, 1994 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1993–94) 16–22–3 6,956 Recap 42 W January 8, 1994 6–0 New York Islanders (1993–94) 17–22–3 12,225 Recap 43 L January 12, 1994 4–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 17–23–3 16,005 Recap 44 L January 14, 1994 3–6 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 17–24–3 17,174 Recap 45 L January 15, 1994 2–8 @ San Jose Sharks (1993–94) 17–25–3 17,190 Recap 46 L January 17, 1994 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 17–26–3 13,890 Recap 47 T January 19, 1994 3–3 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1993–94) 17–26–4 8,418 Recap 48 L January 24, 1994 1–2 Boston Bruins (1993–94) 17–27–4 14,036 Recap 49 L January 26, 1994 0–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 17–28–4 8,911 Recap 50 T January 27, 1994 1–1 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1993–94) 17–28–5 10,137 Recap 51 L January 29, 1994 2–3 Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 17–29–5 11,743 Recap
February: 4–6–2 (home: 1–2–1; road: 3–4–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 52 W February 1, 1994 2–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 18–29–5 15,023 Recap 53 L February 2, 1994 2–9 @ Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 18–30–5 16,325 Recap 54 T February 4, 1994 2–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1993–94) 18–30–6 12,363 Recap 55 W February 6, 1994 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1993–94) 19–30–6 15,496 Recap 56 L February 11, 1994 1–4 @ Calgary Flames (1993–94) 19–31–6 18,545 Recap 57 W February 12, 1994 5–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1993–94) 20–31–6 11,395 Recap 58 L February 16, 1994 3–5 Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 20–32–6 8,107 Recap 59 L February 17, 1994 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 20–33–6 15,779 Recap 60 W February 19, 1994 4–2 New York Rangers (1993–94) 21–33–6 15,635 Recap 61 L February 24, 1994 0–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 21–34–6 11,621 Recap 62 T February 26, 1994 1–1 OT New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 21–34–7 12,343 Recap 63 L February 27, 1994 1–3 Washington Capitals (1993–94) 21–35–7 10,016 Recap
March: 4–10–1 (home: 2–3–1; road: 2–7–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 64 L March 2, 1994 1–4 Los Angeles Kings (1993–94) 21–36–7 10,807 Recap 65 W March 4, 1994 2–1 @ Florida Panthers (1993–94) 22–36–7 14,697 Recap 66 L March 5, 1994 2–4 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 22–37–7 21,178 Recap 67 W March 9, 1994 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 23–37–7 7,757 Recap 68 L March 10, 1994 0–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1993–94) 23–38–7 11,818 Recap 69 T March 12, 1994 2–2 OT Dallas Stars (1993–94) 23–38–8 11,402 Recap 70 L March 13, 1994 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1993–94) 23–39–8 11,862 Recap 71 L March 16, 1994 0–4 @ New York Rangers (1993–94) 23–40–8 18,200 Recap 72 L March 17, 1994 1–4 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 23–41–8 14,131 Recap 73 W March 19, 1994 5–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 24–41–8 17,380 Recap 74 L March 22, 1994 1–4 @ Washington Capitals (1993–94) 24–42–8 11,267 Recap 75 L March 25, 1994 3–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1993–94) 24–43–8 15,003 Recap 76 L March 26, 1994 2–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1993–94) 24–44–8 15,635 Recap 77 L March 29, 1994 2–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1993–94) 24–45–8 19,734 Recap 78 W March 30, 1994 3–2 OT Chicago Blackhawks (1993–94) 25–45–8 8,285 Recap
April: 2–3–1 (home: 1–2–1; road: 1–1–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap 79 L April 2, 1994 5–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1993–94) 25–46–8 13,655 Recap 80 T April 6, 1994 3–3 OT New York Islanders (1993–94) 25–46–9 9,052 Recap 81 L April 7, 1994 2–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1993–94) 25–47–9 15,324 Recap 82 W April 10, 1994 6–4 Tampa Bay Lightning (1993–94) 26–47–9 10,141 Recap 83 L April 11, 1994 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1993–94) 26–48–9 8,568 Recap 84 W April 14, 1994 3–2 @ Boston Bruins (1993–94) 27–48–9 14,054 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Regular season

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

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 1993–94 season.

Trades

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

November 3, 1993

From New York Islanders Bob McGill

Free agents

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

Hartford's draft picks at the 1993 NHL entry draft held at the Quebec Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.

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)

See also

• 1993–94 NHL season

References

• Whalers on Hockey Database