Yes, I know the Hartford Whalers don’t *really* exist anymore, (for those of you under a rock, they got transplanted to become the Carolina Hurricanes… please don’t get me started) but they had what I still believe is the best logo in the NHL. Just look at it.

Honestly, nobody anymore has quite as indicative a logo. Not only do you have the green “W” for Whalers and the blue whale tale, together they form a white H in the middle for “Hartford.” And let’s not even get started on how awesome it is that the people who named that team knew enough about the area to delve into HISTORY to name them.

But anyway, obviously I’m a freakshow for their logo. How about their uniforms, as this is really supposed to be a thinly veiled “Uniform Squee Moment?”

They remind me of the Canucks’ old third. I’m sold.
I think it’s the simplicity of the “old” logo on both teams that I like. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Orca logo that the Canucks are running now, but having a straight forward two color logo that’s easy to draw on a sign is something to be proud of as well. (I might also be a sucker for marine-animal themed teams. What?)
There’s also something about the really simple horizontally striped sweaters that just says “We’re here to play hockey.” There’s none of this pretentious diagonal seaming in the shoulders, (I’m looking at you, Flyers) and they’re not too matchy-matchy (Come on, Leafs, you’re like Smurfs). There’s also a lot to be said for using a good color combination on your team. The Whalers ran navy, green and silver/gray,(like the Canuck third), colors that translate well on TV and aren’t retina burning moving 50 MPH down the ice (FLYERS, goddamn you and your Day-Glo Orange)

Also, a moment of squee for “Pucky the Whale,” the mascot and second logo from the Whalers.

who appeared on the shoulders of the jerseys for a while.

Overall, in my book, the Hartford Whalers get a double thumbs up and a big toe for their league image. Not only do they have a brilliantly clever logo that even their youngest fans can draw on a sign, they managed to stay away from the grossly cluttered and overly bright sweaters that so many teams went to. I would have been interested to see how they translated to the Edge style, but I have no doubt it would have been tasteful and somewhat reserved. And they would have known where to put the A and the C without dropping it over a brightly colored seam or putting it on the wrong side and making costumers and hockey fans worldwide scream in pain.

But to wrap up, in wandering for Whalers uniforms, I found this goalie card:

Please tell me they called him Moby. My life will then be complete.