This is a list of seasons completed by the Hartford Whalers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) . This list documents the records and playoff results for all 25 seasons that the Whalers completed from their founding in 1972 (then known as the New England Whalers) in the WHA until the franchise relocated to Greensboro, North Carolina, and eventually Raleigh to become the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997.
Season-by-season record
WHA era Avco World Trophy championsDivision/reg. season championsLeague leader New England Whalers Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Season Team season GP W L T Pts GF GA Finish Playoffs 1972–73 1972–73 78 46 30 2 94 318 263 1st, Eastern Won quarterfinals, 4–1 (Nationals) Won semifinals, 4–1 (Crusaders) Won Avco Cup final, 4–1 (Jets) 1973–74 1973–74 78 43 31 4 90 291 260 1st, Eastern Lost quarterfinals, 3–4 (Cougars) 1974–75 1974–75 78 43 30 5 91 274 279 1st, Eastern Lost quarterfinals, 2–4 (Fighting Saints) 1975–76 1975–76 80 33 40 7 73 255 290 3rd, Eastern Won preliminary round, 3–0 (Crusaders)Won quarterfinals, 4–3 (Racers) Lost semifinals, 3–4 (Aeros) 1976–77 1976–77 81 35 40 6 76 275 290 4th, Eastern Lost quarterfinals, 1–4 (Nordiques) 1977–78 1977–78 80 44 31 5 93 335 269 2nd, WHA Won quarterfinals, 4–1 (Oilers) Won semifinals, 4–1 (Nordiques) Lost Avco Cup final, 0–4 (Jets) 1978–79 1978–79 80 37 34 9 83 298 287 4th, WHA Won quarterfinals, 2–1 (Stingers) Lost semifinals, 3–4 (Oilers) WHA totals 555 281 236 38 600 2,046 1,938 7 playoff appearances
NHL era +Key of colors and symbolsColor/symbolExplanationDivision champions
+Key of terms and abbreviationsTerm or abbreviationDefinitionFinishFinal position in division or league standingsGPNumber of games playedWNumber of winsLNumber of lossesTNumber of tiesPtsNumber of pointsGFGoals for (goals scored by the Whalers)GAGoals against (goals scored by the Whalers' opponents)—Does not apply SeasonTeam seasonConferenceDivisionRegular seasonPostseason Finish GP W L T Pts GF GA GP W L GF GA Result1979–801979–80WalesNorris4th8027341973303372303718Lost in preliminary round, 0–3 (Canadiens)1980–811980–81WalesNorris4th8021411860292372Did not qualify1981–821981–82WalesAdams5th8021411860264351Did not qualify1982–831982–83WalesAdams5th801954745261403Did not qualify1983–841983–84WalesAdams5th8028421066288320Did not qualify1984–851984–85WalesAdams5th803041969268318Did not qualify1985–861985–86WalesAdams4th80403648433230210642923Won in division semifinals, 3–0 (Nordiques)Lost in division finals, 3–4 (Canadiens)1986–871986–87WalesAdams 1st8043307932872706241927Lost in division semifinals, 2–4 (Nordiques)1987–881987–88WalesAdams4th8035387772492676242023Lost in division semifinals, 2–4 (Canadiens)1988–891988–89WalesAdams4th8037385792992904041118Lost in division semifinals, 0–4 (Canadiens)1989–901989–90WalesAdams4th8038339852752687342123Lost in division semifinals, 3–4 (Bruins)1990–911990–91WalesAdams4th80313811732382766241724Lost in division semifinals, 2–4 (Bruins)1991–921991–92WalesAdams4th80264113652472837341722Lost in division semifinals, 3–4 (Canadiens)1992–931992–93WalesAdams5th842652658284369Did not qualify1993–941993–94EasternNortheast6th842748963227288Did not qualify1994–951994–95EasternNortheast5th481924543127141Did not qualify1995–961995–96EasternNortheast4th823439977237259Did not qualify1996–971996–97EasternNortheast5th8232391175226256Did not qualifyRelocated to CarolinaTotals 1,420 534 709 177 1,245 4,704 5,345 49 18 31 141 178 8 playoff appearances
See also List of Carolina Hurricanes seasons
Notes
References
New England Whalers seasons 1972–79 WHA history at hockeydb.com Hartford Whalers seasons 1979–97 NHL history at hockeydb.com