Connecticut governor reportedly wants the Whalers back

It’s a long shot, but apparently Connecticut governor Dan Malloy is trying to bring the NHL back to Hartford for the first time since the Whalers left for Carolina in 1997.

From the New York Post:

“Governor Malloy has formed a group to bring an NHL team to Hartford,” a source with direct knowledge of the situation said. Recently, Malloy approached at least one potential buyer, a second source said, and told the suitor the plan is to build a new arena as part of a bigger development that would be in the state, but not necessarily Hartford.

Malloy, in telling local TV last summer that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman had told him it was “unlikely” a team would be relocated to his state, said it would take an investment of roughly $450 million to bring a new arena to life.

A Malloy spokesman told The Post “persons have reached out to him with non-specific proposals” but that was it.

One of those persons may be former Whalers owner Howard Baldwin, who in November of 2011 unveiled a plan to return the NHL to Hartford by 2017.

Again, it’s a long shot. First a new arena would need to be built. Then the NHL would have to re-locate a franchise or grant the city an expansion team. At this point, Quebec City, Southern Ontario, and Seattle are more likely relocation/expansion markets than Hartford.

But hey, it was a long shot the Jets would return to Winnipeg, so let’s cue the music…

Update (3:23 p.m. ET):

Malloy says he has not put a committee together. Contradicts NY Post report.

—
Jeff Cohen (@jeffcohenwnpr) January 07, 2013