Few hockey players have ever been distinguished by a particular sound. One
player however, skated so precisely - seemingly as if he possessed the legs of
a Clydesdale - that every time he took a stride, the noise of steel cutting
through ice resounded throughout the arena from his sheer power alone. There
are many who believe that Paul Coffey is the greatest offensive-defenseman to
ever play the game. A sizable chunk more would also consider him hockey';s
all-time greatest skater too. In his 21 seasons in the NHL he won four Stanley
Cups and retired from the game with a whole slew of records, many that still
stand to this day.

Retiring partway through the 2000-01 season, Coffey had suited up for nine
different NHL teams. Some of the cities where he stopped defined his career
more than others. Perhaps more than any other location, Coffey is primarily
considered an Edmonton Oiler. That club drafted him as the sixth overall
selection of 1980 NHL Draft, and he was integral in garnering their first three
 Stanley Cups. Coffey would also be well-remembered as a Pittsburgh Penguin,
guiding players like Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in capturing the team';s
first Cup in 1991. He would also be recalled with plenty of recognition for his
 more than three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings - two of those campaigns
saw him generate at least 60 assists after being well into his 30s.

One of Coffey';s briefest stops was with the Hartford Whalers. It was a
destination where few would surmise he would have ever ended up. In a
roundabout way though, his time with the team that bled green gave him one
final shot at another Stanley Cup. We take a look back at Coffey';s time spent
as a Whaler.How Coffey Got to Hartford

Though he was 34 years old at the time, the 1995-96 NHL season was still an
excellent one for Coffey. In fact, it would be his final season that still
showed how great a player he truly was. A premier defender for the Detroit Red
Wings at the time, Coffey scored 14 goals and added 60 assists to have 74
points in 76 games. He would finish fifth overall in voting for the Norris
Trophy as the league';s Best Defenseman. The season beforehand (1994-95) he had
 been better than a point-per-game player (58 point in 45 games) and had been
paramount in getting Detroit to the Stanley Cup Final where they lost in four
straight to the New Jersey Devils. All indications were that Coffey was still
an elite blueliner and would continue to be for at least a few more years.

Coffey was so strongly valued that he would become central in a blockbuster
trade that saw him leave the "Motor City" for the New England area. The Red
Wings sought to revamp their squad with a new recipe in order to make another
run at the Stanley Cup. The Hartford Whalers were willing to be dance partners
and could not afford to pass up a marquee defender - something they had not had
 since the days of Mark Howe.

A mere five days after the start of the 1996-97 season, the Red Wings sent
Coffey, physical 30-goal scorer Keith Primeau, and the team';s 1st-round draft
choice in the 1997 Draft to the Whalers in exchange for 50-goal scorer Brendan
Shanahan and defenseman Brian Glynn. Shanahan was quite open during the summer
of 1996 that he wanted out of Hartford. Detroit, wanted a rugged winger capable
 of scoring. During Shanahan';s lone, full season in Hartford (1995-96) he had
scored 44 goals and 34 assists for 78 points in 74 games. It was easy to see
why the Red Wings wanted him, and they would end up winning three Stanley Cups
with him on their roster.Coffey';s Performance as a WhalerPaul Coffey played 20
 games with the Hartford Whalers during the 1996-97 NHL season (Photo by Steve
Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images).

While the Whalers did not get the same return as Detroit did, on paper it
looked as if they would. Primeau would remain with the franchise for three full
 seasons, including after the team relocated and became the Carolina
Hurricanes. Once arriving in Hartford, Primeau finished third on the team in
points (51) and second in goals (26) in 75 games for the 1996-97 season. Lo and
 behold, it would be the final season of the Whalers existence.

That is perhaps the toughest part of this tale to swallow. Whalers fans may
have assumed that by obtaining a legendary player such as Coffey and a young
gun like Primeau, there would be a resurgence of the franchise that would have
avoided any sort of movement by the team. Sadly, this did not materialize.
While Primeau contributed quite positively and became a bit of a mainstay,
Coffey';s time in Whalers green was very fleeting, and it amounted to a mere 20
 games in total. For normal defenders his production during those games would
be considered decent or average. In Coffey';s case it was indicative of a
decline in his offensive capabilities.

We take a look now at his more memorable performances of his 20 games with the
Whalers. Keep in mind that the season prior he had 60 assists and 74 total
points. It puts things into perspective.

Oct. 12, 1996: Coffey';s first game with the Whalers was quite lackluster. The
 Florida Panthers whitewashed Hartford by a score of 6-0. Coffey accounted for
one of the 21 shots against the Panthers'; John Vanbiesbrouck, and finished the
 affair as a minus-2 - one of eight Whalers to post such a stat. To the
Panthers credit, they walloped both Hartford goalies, Sean Burke and Jason
Muzzatti.

Oct. 30, 1996: In his third game with the Whalers - a showdown with the New
York Islanders - Coffey recorded his first point with his new team. Hartford
opened the scoring in the first period as Coffey garnered the primary assist on
 an Andrew Cassels tally. A secondary assist went to Geoff Sanderson. The
Islanders would take the lead 2-1, but Hartford managed to tie it up 2-2 early
in the third period on a Kevin Dineen power play goal. The game would end as
2-2 deadlock.

Oct. 31, 1996: The very next day on Halloween, Coffey scored his first goal as
 a Whaler. Going up against longtime hated rival the Boston Bruins, it was
Coffey who nearly assured a Hartford victory. With the teams tied 3-3 at the
start of the third period, Coffey scored an unassisted goal to put his team
ahead 4-3. Unfortunately, at the 17:06 mark, Rick Tocchet knotted the score at
4-4 and the game would end in a tie. Coffey finished the game with two shots on
 goal and as a plus-one. The Whalers put 37 shots on Bruins goalie Bill
Ranford.

Nov. 20, 1996: Coffey played what would be his finest game with the Whalers. At
 this point in the season, Hartford had a solid record of 10-5-3. Going up
against the Montreal Canadiens in Hartford, Coffey led his team to a 3-1
victory. To open the scoring, he and Sanderson set up Cassels for his fifth of
the season at 7:39 of the game. Then in the second period, Coffey scored the
game-winner on the power play from Dineen and Sanderson. Not surprisingly, #77
would be named the first star of the game.

Nov. 22, 1996: In a wild 7-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Whalers goalie
Jason Muzzatti gave up all seven goals. Hard to imagine however that the
Whalers actually out-shot the Penguins 38 to 37. Coffey tied with fellow
Whalers Primeau and Nelson Emerson, as each skater fired six shots on goal.
Penguins goalie Ken Wregget earned top honors that night as he turned aside all
 shots except for one in the third period from Sami Kapanen.The 1996-97 NHL
season was not only Paul Coffey';s only in Hartford, but the last season that
the Whalers played before relocating to North Carolina and becoming the
Carolina Hurricanes (wasted time r/wikipedia).

Dec. 11, 1996: As the Whalers defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2, Coffey would
score his final NHL points in a Hartford uniform. In the second period of the
game the Panthers went up 2-0. It was a different story come the third period
though, as Hartford shut the door and scored five straight goals themselves.
Coffey scored the fourth goal of the game, with assists to Mark Janssens and
Dineen. Then he set up the fifth and final tally of the night, earning the lone
 assist on a Steven Rice goal. Coffey finished with two shots on goal and as a
plus-two. Somewhat surprisingly though, it was Primeau, Gerald Diduck, and
Muzzatti who earned the star selections for the game.

Dec. 12, 1996: The following day, on the road in Philadelphia, Coffey would
play his final game with the Hartford Whalers. Losing 3-2 to the Flyers, the
game was relatively uneventful. Coffey picked up two separate holding
infractions in the second period. He finished the night with one shot on goal.
He is also likely did not realize that he just lost to the team he was soon to
be playing for.The Trade out of Hartford

Three days after the loss to the Flyers, Coffey was officially traded from
Hartford to Philadelphia. It is difficult to decide which team received the
better end of the deal. The Whalers gave up Coffey and a third round selection
in the 1997 NHL Draft. Meanwhile, the Flyers sent defenseman Kevin Haller, a
1997 first round pick and a seventh round pick to Hartford. The Whalers were
seemingly planning for the future, albeit an uncertain one. The Flyers, on the
other hand, were envisioning a Stanley Cup.

The move out of Hartford made the most sense for the Flyers. At the time
Philadelphia was laden with talent. The "Legion of Doom" line of Eric Lindros,
Mikael Renberg, and John LeClair was in full force. Players like Rod
Brind';Amour, Eric Desjardins, and Janne Niinimaa were playing at the top of
their games. Likewise, the Flyers had assembled an enviable blend of veterans
like Dale Hawerchuk, Joel Otto, Michel Petit, Kjell Samuelsson, and Ron Hextall
 onto the same roster. Squeezing all the remaining talent and skill out of
Coffey for the sake of a Stanley Cup made sense.

On this date 20 years ago, the Hartford Whalers played their final game and one
 of the great hockey logos ever faded into history. pic.twitter.com/2B2e2P5eUD

- ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2017

Unfortunately, though the Flyers made it to the 1997 Stanley Cup Final they
would be swept in four straight games by none other than Coffey';s former team
the Detroit Red Wings. After coming over from Hartford, he found a bit of a
scoring resurgence as he picked up six goals, 20 assists and 26 points in 37
games. Battling injuries late in the playoffs however, Coffey played in only
two of the Flyers four games in the Final. Had he been healthy and available,
it could have been a different outcome for the Flyers.

All of that being said, in what would be their final NHL season in Hartford,
Paul Coffey was briefly a Whaler. In 20 games with the team he scored three
goals and added five assists. One of those goals was a game-winner and a
power-play tally. Coffey also accumulated 18 penalty minutes and 39 shots on
goal. His time with the Whalers was ultimately fleeting but in a roundabout way
 it gave him one last shot at another Cup.

Furthermore, it shall forever be written in hockey history that Paul Coffey was
 a Hartford Whaler.

The post Paul Coffey & the Whalers: Brief but Memorable appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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