1994–95 Hartford Whalers season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2020 NHL 1994–95 1994 Hartford Whalers Northeast 5th Eastern 10th 19–24–5 12–10–2 7–14–3 127 141 Jim Rutherford Paul Holmgren Pat Verbeek (Oct.–Mar.) Vacant (Mar.–May) Glen Wesley Andrew Cassels Adam Burt (Mar.–May) Hartford Civic Center 11,835 (75.7%)https://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph.php?tmi=6045 Hartford Whalers Yearly Attendance Graph hockeydb.com Springfield Falcons (AHL) Richmond Renegades (ECHL) Geoff Sanderson (18) Andrew Cassels (30) Andrew Cassels (37) Brad McCrimmon (+7) Andrei Nikolishin (+7) Kelly Chase (141) Sean Burke (17) Sean Burke (2.68) The 1994–95 Hartford Whalers season was the 23rd season of the franchise, 16th season in the NHL. Despite trading away star forward Pat Verbeek to the New York Rangers on March 23, 1995, the Whalers played solid over the next 16 games from March 25 to April 24, with a record of 8-7-1. However, the Whalers could not keep pace with the New York Rangers who went on to take 8th place in the Eastern Conference. It was the third consecutive season that the Whalers missed the playoffs. On a positive note, the Whalers had the most overtime wins and the best overtime record in the NHL, going 4-0-5. Darren Turcotte led all NHL skaters in overtime goals scored with 2. Off-season The Whalers announced on May 19 that head coach Pierre McGuire would not return to the club. McGuire took over the head coaching duties early in the 1993–94, as Paul Holmgren focused on his role as general manager of the team. In 67 games, McGuire led the Whalers to a 23-37-7 record. On June 28, the Whalers selected Steve Martins in the 1994 NHL supplemental draft. Martins played the 1993–94 season with Harvard University, where he 25 goals and 60 points in 32 games. At the 1994 NHL entry draft held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28, the Whalers selected Jeff O'Neill from the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League with their first round, fifth overall selection. O'Neill scored 45 goals and 126 points in 66 games with the Storm during the 1993–94 season. The only other player that the Whalers selected in the draft that played in the NHL was Hnat Domenichelli, who Hartford selected in the fourth round. On June 28, the NHL announced that the Whalers ownership transferred to the Compuware group, led by Peter Karmanos Jr., Thomas Thewes and Jim Rutherford. The group owned the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League, originally named the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors, since they were awarded an OHL expansion franchise on December 11, 1989. Rutherford took over the general manager duties of the Whalers at this time, replacing Paul Holmgren, who returned to head coaching duties. Rutherford was a former NHL goaltender, amassing a 151-227-59 record with a 3.66 GAA in 457 games with the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in a career that spanned from 1970 to 1983. Following his playing career, Rutherford was the general manager of the Windsor Compuware Spitfires from 1985 to 1989. He then became the general manager of the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors/Detroit Junior Red Wings franchise from 1989 to 1994. The Whalers signed free agent Jimmy Carson on July 13. Carson split the 1993–94 season between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, as he scored 14 goals and 28 points in 59 games. Carson's best NHL season was in 1987–88 with the Kings, when he scored 55 goals and 107 points in 80 games. On August 9, 1988, Carson was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in a blockbuster trade in which Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles. On August 18, the Whalers signed restricted free agent Steven Rice from the Edmonton Oilers. In 63 games, Rice scored 17 goals and 32 points during the 1993–94 season. As compensation for signing Rice, Hartford sent Bryan Marchment to the Oilers on August 30. The Whalers acquired Glen Wesley from the Boston Bruins in a trade on August 26, sending their first round draft picks in the 1995 NHL entry draft, 1996 NHL entry draft and 1997 NHL entry draft to the Bruins. Wesley scored 14 goals and 58 points in 81 games during the 1993–94 season. He was drafted third overall by Boston in the 1987 NHL entry draft, and had accumulated 77 goals and 307 points in 537 games since beginning his career in the 1987–88 season. Following the 1994–95 NHL lockout, which postponed the start of the season until January 1995, the Whalers participated in the waiver draft on January 18. Hartford selected Brian Glynn from the Vancouver Canucks and Kelly Chase from the St. Louis Blues. Glynn split the 1993–94 season with the Ottawa Senators and Canucks, scoring two goals and 15 points in 64 games. In 17 playoff games with Vancouver, Glynn had three assists. Chase played in 68 games with the Blues during 1993–94, scoring two goals and seven points, along with 278 penalty minutes. Regular season The Whalers tied the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs for the lowest shooting percentage during the regular season, with just 127 goals on 1,428 shots (8.9%).1994-95 NHL Summary https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1995.html Hockey-Reference.com September 4, 2023 Final standings HAR HAR Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 5px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 5px solid; 1994–95 regular season1994-95 Hartford Whalers Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/HAR/1995_games.html Hockey-Reference.com September 4, 2023 y background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 2px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 2px solid; January: 1–2–2 (home: 1–1–2; road: 0–1–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap |- |1||January 21, 1995||1–1 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1994–95) ||0–0–1 || 15,635 || 1994020009 T |- |2||January 22, 1995||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||0–0–2 || 12,054 || 1994020017 T |- |3||January 25, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||1–0–2 || 8,567 || 1994020031 W |- |4||January 26, 1995||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||1–1–2 || 16,557 || 1994020041 L |- |5||January 28, 1995||1–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||1–2–2 || 9,419 || 1994020050 L |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 2px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 2px solid; February: 6–7–1 (home: 3–2–0; road: 3–5–1) Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap |- |6||February 1, 1995||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||2–2–2 || 9,663 || 1994020075 W |- |7||February 4, 1995||4–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||2–3–2 || 14,448 || 1994020091 L |- |8||February 5, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||2–4–2 || 13,207 || 1994020103 L |- |9||February 8, 1995||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||2–5–2 || 8,032 || 1994020118 L |- |10||February 10, 1995||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||2–6–2 || 16,639 || 1994020130 L |- |11||February 11, 1995||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||2–7–2 || 14,311 || 1994020139 L |- |12||February 13, 1995||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||2–7–3 || 16,370 || 1994020148 T |- |13||February 15, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||3–7–3 || 11,445 || 1994020156 W |- |14||February 16, 1995||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||3–8–3 || 13,179 || 1994020164 L |- |15||February 18, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||4–8–3 || 12,888 || 1994020175 W |- |16||February 22, 1995||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||5–8–3 || 14,021 || 1994020197 W |- |17||February 24, 1995||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1994–95) ||6–8–3 || 18,200 || 1994020212 W |- |18||February 25, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||6–9–3 || 13,117 || 1994020216 L |- |19||February 28, 1995||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||7–9–3 || 9,174 || 1994020234 W |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 2px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 2px solid; March: 6–6–2 (home: 5–4–0; road: 1–2–2) Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap |- |20||March 1, 1995||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Rangers (1994–95) ||7–10–3 || 15,011 || 1994020242 L |- |21||March 4, 1995||3–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||8–10–3 || 9,151 || 1994020258 W |- |22||March 5, 1995||2–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||8–11–3 || 15,635 || 1994020265 L |- |23||March 7, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders (1994–95) ||8–12–3 || 10,371 || 1994020280 L |- |24||March 9, 1995||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||9–12–3 || 8,886 || 1994020289 W |- |25||March 12, 1995||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||9–13–3 || 9,741 || 1994020306 L |- |26||March 14, 1995||6–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1994–95) ||10–13–3 || 8,137 || 1994020316 W |- |27||March 16, 1995||2–2 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||10–13–4 || 16,032 || 1994020330 T |- |28||March 20, 1995||0–5 || style="text-align:left;"| Washington Capitals (1994–95) ||10–14–4 || 8,219 || 1994020352 L |- |29||March 22, 1995||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||11–14–4 || 10,149 || 1994020362 W |- |30||March 25, 1995||5–1 || style="text-align:left;"| New York Islanders (1994–95) ||12–14–4 || 13,337 || 1994020378 W |- |31||March 26, 1995||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1994–95) ||13–14–4 || 11,739 || 1994020388 W |- |32||March 29, 1995||4–4 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) ||13–14–5 || 13,507 || 1994020405 T |- |33||March 31, 1995||0–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||13–15–5 || 17,961 || 1994020415 L |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 2px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 2px solid; April: 6–8–0 (home: 3–3–0; road: 3–5–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap |- |34||April 4, 1995||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||13–16–5 || 13,751 || 1994020437 L |- |35||April 5, 1995||8–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||14–16–5 || 15,091 || 1994020442 W |- |36||April 8, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||15–16–5 || 13,409 || 1994020460 W |- |37||April 9, 1995||0–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) ||15–17–5 || 10,725 || 1994020467 L |- |38||April 12, 1995||4–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Ottawa Senators (1994–95) ||16–17–5 || 10,509 || 1994020483 W |- |39||April 14, 1995||4–3 OT|| style="text-align:left;"| Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||17–17–5 || 15,635 || 1994020494 W |- |40||April 16, 1995||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) ||17–18–5 || 13,613 || 1994020510 L |- |41||April 18, 1995||2–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) ||18–18–5 || 15,123 || 1994020523 W |- |42||April 20, 1995||2–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Rangers (1994–95) ||18–19–5 || 18,200 || 1994020536 L |- |43||April 21, 1995||3–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Washington Capitals (1994–95) ||18–20–5 || 15,721 || 1994020541 L |- |44||April 23, 1995||2–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) ||18–21–5 || 14,813 || 1994020554 L |- |45||April 24, 1995||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) ||19–21–5 || 16,794 || 1994020561 W |- |46||April 26, 1995||0–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) ||19–22–5 || 14,448 || 1994020571 L |- |47||April 28, 1995||3–4 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) ||19–23–5 || 15,515 || 1994020584 L |- y background:#fff; border-top:#00205B 2px solid; border-bottom:#046A38 2px solid; May: 0–1–0 (home: 0–0–0; road: 0–1–0) Game Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap |- |48||May 3, 1995||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Quebec Nordiques (1994–95) ||19–24–5 || 15,399 || 1994020618 L |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black W #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black L #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black T Player statistics Scoring Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only. = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Whalers only. No. Jersey number Player Pos Position Regular season GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts Points +/- Plus/minus PIM Penalties in minutes 21 Andrew Cassels C 46 7 30 37 −3 18 89 Darren Turcotte C 47 17 18 35 1 22 8 Geoff Sanderson LW 46 18 14 32 −10 24 12 Steven Rice RW 40 11 10 21 2 61 28 Paul Ranheim LW 47 6 14 20 −3 10 4 Frantisek Kucera František Kučera D 48 3 17 20 3 30 33 Jimmy Carson C 38 9 10 19 5 29 18 Robert Kron LW 37 10 8 18 −3 10 11 Andrei Nikolishin C 39 8 10 18 7 10 6 Adam Burt D 46 7 11 18 0 65 16 Pat Verbeek RW 29 7 11 18 0 53 20 Glen Wesley D 48 2 14 16 −6 50 44 Chris Pronger D 43 5 9 14 −12 54 26 Jocelyn Lemieux RW 41 6 5 11 −7 32 13 Ted Drury C 34 3 6 9 −3 21 22 Mark Janssens C 46 2 5 7 −8 93 7Glynn wore number 3 in his first two games. Brian Glynn D 43 1 6 7 −2 32 14 Kevin Smyth LW 16 1 5 6 −3 13 32 Igor Chibirev C 8 3 1 4 1 0 27 Kelly Chase RW 28 0 4 4 1 141 24 Jim Storm ice hockey LW 6 0 3 3 2 0 36 Glen Featherstone D 13 1 1 2 −7 32 17 Scott Daniels ice hockey LW 12 0 2 2 1 55 1 Sean Burke G 42 0 1 1 8 23 Marek Malik Marek Malík D 1 0 1 1 1 0 10 Brad McCrimmon D 33 0 1 1 7 42 5 Alexander Godynyuk D 14 0 0 0 1 8 39 Robert Petrovicky Róbert Petrovický C 2 0 0 0 0 0 35 Jeff Reese G 11 0 0 0 0 52 Jim Sandlak RW 13 0 0 0 −10 0 Goaltending No. Jersey number Player Regular season GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties SA Shots against GA Goals against GAA Goals against average SV% Save percentage SO Shutouts TOI Time on ice 1 Sean Burke 42 17 19 4 1233 108 2.68 .912 0 2418 35 Jeff Reese 11 2 5 1 234 26 3.27 .889 0 477 Awards and records Awards TypeAward/honorRecipientRef Team Booster Club MVP Award Sean BurkeWhalers Team Awards http://www.whalershockey.com/awards.asp www.whalershockey.com September 11, 2023 Favorite Whaler Award Jocelyn Lemieux Frank Keys Memorial Award Adam Burt Mark Kravitz Award Sean Burke Most Valuable Defenseman Frantisek Kucera Three Star Award of Excellence Sean Burke Top Gun Award Andrew Cassels True Grit Award Andrei Nikolishin Milestones MilestonePlayerDateRef First game Andrei Nikolishin January 21, 19951994-95 NHL Debuts https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1995_debut.html Hockey-Reference.com October 5, 2024 Marek Malik January 22, 1995 Transactions The Whalers were involved in the following transactions during the 1994–95 season. Trades August 26, 1994To Boston Bruins1st round pick in 1995 - Kyle McLaren 1st round pick in 1996 - Johnathan Aitken 1st round pick in 1997 - Sergei SamsonovTo Hartford WhalersGlen Wesley August 30, 1994To Edmonton OilersBryan Marchment (Compensation for Restricted Free Agent)To Hartford WhalersSteven Rice (Restricted Free Agent) March 23, 1995To New York RangersPat VerbeekTo Hartford WhalersGlen Featherstone Michael Stewart 1st round pick in 1995 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere 4th round pick in 1996 - Steve Wasylko Waivers January 18, 1995From Vancouver CanucksBrian Glynn January 18, 1995From St. Louis BluesKelly Chase Free agents Player Former team Jeff Chychrun Edmonton Oilers Jimmy Carson Vancouver Canucks Steven Rice Edmonton Oilers Bob Wren Los Angeles Kings Player New team Marc Potvin Boston Bruins Frank Pietrangelo New York Islanders Draft picks Hartford's draft picks at the 1994 NHL entry draft.http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html 1994 NHL Entry Draft hockeydb.com Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League) 1 5 Jeff O'NeillCenter Guelph Storm (OHL)483Hnat DomenichelliLeft wingKamloops Blazers (WHL)5109Ryan RisidoreDefenseGuelph Storm (OHL)8187Tom BuckleyCenterSt. Joseph's High School (USHS-NY)9213Ashlin HalfnightDefenseHarvard University (ECAC)9230Matt BallRight wingDetroit Junior Red Wings (OHL)10239Brian ReganGoaltenderWestminster School (USHS-CT)11265Steve NimigonLeft wingNiagara Falls Thunder (OHL)S 5 Steve Martins Center Harvard University (ECAC) See also 1994–95 NHL season Notes References Hartford Whalers 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000461995.html www.hockeydb.com September 4, 2023 1994-95 Hartford Whalers Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/HAR/1995.html Hockey-Reference.com September 4, 2023 1994-95 Category:1994–95 NHL season by team Hart Hart