Bleeding Green: A History of the Hartford Whalers

As someone who has done a book on the Whalers I have to say this is the definitive book on Hartford's late lamented team. Obviously written from the point of view of a journalist and a fan, it's full of interesting stories, insider information and interviews. There were a couple of minor typos, but not enough to be a problem. Interestingly, toward the end of their time in Hartford Mr. Price mentions a "change in uniforms" without going into detail. The switch from green to blue was not popular; the Whalers will be "forever green".

A nice read, truly enjoyed reading this and reliving the Whale. From the inside of organization I knew nothing of the org. chaos that ensued. One looks back and thinks..."what if there was a more professional org. would they have stayed?" Maybe. The only negative side of the book is that it ends so abruptly. Literally someone turns the light off and that is it. A good read for those interested in professional sports.

A must read for Whaler lovers.

Chris did a outstanding job!

Really enjoyed reading HOWE this franchise formed and the year by year assessment of the Hartford organization. However, the greatest aspect of this book is the depth in which Price covers some of the shady moves people in the hockey world did to unravel the Whalers.

So, I just got the book but have only flipped through it and the are 2 omissions that I think are at least a 1 star demotion.There are absolutely ZERO photos of any of the Whaler history and you'd think there would've been a statistical section of their history but that's missing as well.I'll update the review later after I've read the book to let other readers what is written about the Whalers history.

This book is a good read, however there are some aspects of the Whalers' history that I wish were discussed in depth. The All star game and the political components of their departure come to mind. As a die hard fan, I was hoping to read more about these parts of the team's history. I particularly enjoyed the background regarding the team's play in Springfield.

Even though the team has not been in existence for 25 years, the Hartford Whalers still bring back great memories for hockey fans. This may sound puzzling since the team only won one playoff series during their 18-year history in the National Hockey League (NHL). Their unique logo – a whale tail placed strategically above a “W” in green, blue and white – makes Whalers vintage hockey merchandise the best selling items for any seller in that market. The history of the team, including their time as the New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association (WHA) is the topic of this book by Christopher Price.Readers who are looking for a detailed expose on why the Whalers are so fondly remembered and why their merchandise sells so well won’t find it in this book. While Price does touch on that topic in the final chapter, the bulk of the book is a detailed history of the team both on and off the ice. This is the case for not only their NHL years, in which the Whalers became and still remain the only professional sports team base in Connecticut, but also their mostly successful years in the WHA.No matter which era is covered, Price does a very good job of informing the reader of their on-ice success (or lack thereof), the moves made by the front office and the business side of the team’s operations as well. All three of these areas are covered in excellent detail. This is especially true of the latter because those stories were the most colorful. Part of this was due to the financial instability of the WHA – the Whalers were considered to be the most stable of the franchises in this league, but even they had issues, mainly due to needing to share the Boston Garden with the NHL’s Bruins.There are many interesting aspects in the team’s history that seems to tug at the heart of Whalers fans. These include the trades of popular players like Ron Francis and Mike Luit, the team’s goal song “Brass Bonanza” and even how the community pulled together when the roof of the Hartford Civic Center collapsed and the team temporarily played its home games in Springfield, Massachusetts.Those are just a few of the many aspects of the very interesting history of a hockey team that may not have enjoyed much success in the NHL (it should be noted that the Whalers won the first WHA championship in 1973 and faced the Winnipeg Jets in the finals in 1978) but certainly has won a place in the hearts of many hockey fans, especially those in Connecticut. This book is a very good source of information for the Whalers and is recommended for anyone who still has attachments, for whatever reason, to the team.