Also in this article: Whale free agents, Whale related roster additions and subtractions.

 Ever since the Hartford Whalers moved south and became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997, hockey fans in Connecticut dreamed of the NHL one day returning to Hartford. The 2010 return of former Whalers owner, Howard Baldwin, to business operations of Hartford Hockey seemed to bring that dream closer to reality. But those dreams faded last week.

June 26, 2012, the Rangers and Madison Square Garden assumed control of the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, from Whalers Sports and Entertainment (WSE). Whalers Sports and Entertainment is a corporation headed by Howard Baldwin, former owner of the World Hockey Association, and later the National Hockey League’s Whalers. Baldwin was responsible for moving the team to Hartford CT in 1974 and directing the Whalers inclusion in the NHL in 1979 as well as selling the team in 1997.

In 2010 Baldwin and Whalers Sports and Entertainment acquired the rights from the Rangers and MSG to manage the business and marketing of the Hartford team in attempt to re-build the Hartford hockey market in hopes of one day having the NHL return to Hartford. Baldwin’s first step to re-build the market was to re-brand and re-name the Hartford Wolfpack the Connecticut Whale and change the uniforms from red, white, and blue to the Whalers green, blue, and white.

Baldwin and the Whale’s second step to re-build the market was to host an outdoor hockey fest, the Whale Bowl or Whalers Hockey Fest. This event was a 10-day outdoor hockey fest on a rink at Rentschler Field, home of the UCONN Huskies football team. The fest featured amateur hockey of all skill levels and an AHL game between the Whale and the Providence Bruins, as well as a Whalers-Bruins alumni game. This event as well as several other steps including getting the Whale a better radio network to broadcast all games and a TV deal to have a few games last season televised.

But why would the Rangers and MSG suddenly take back the Connecticut Whale from Baldwin when all he was trying to do was re-build the Hartford Hockey market? Well the answer is simple. Baldwin’s dreams of the NHL returning to Hartford were bigger than his wallet.

The day the contract was terminated between Baldwin and MSG to allow WSE to control the Whale’s business operations, Whalers Sports and Entertainment was more than 1.5 million in debt to many companies including AHL premiere equipment supplier Reebok, Rentschler Field in East Hartford CT, site of the Whale Bowl and owed a significant portion of his annual affiliation fee to the Rangers.

According to multiple reports, WSE had only paid 10% of this season’s AHL affiliation fee to the Blueshirts and had not paid equipment supplier Reebok at all. As the AHL’s premier equipment supplier, Reebok contacted the Rangers, MSG and the AHL offices for help collecting their bill from WSE and this was the final straw for the Rangers and MSG.

But the default did not surprise some people in the AHL. The contract between WSE and the Rangers to take over day-to-day operations of the then Hartford Wolfpack was called “suicide” by an AHL official back in August 2010. The contact’s first clause allowed the Rangers and MSG to take back control of the Hartford team if WSE was in debt. Which is what happened last week since WSE was more than 1.5 million dollars in debt to multiple companies and organizatons. The Rangers acted and took back control of the minor-league franchise and removed all Whalers Sports/CT Whale employees and staff from the Whale’s website (ctwhale.com) as well as changed the team’s contact email from info@ctwhale.com to CTWhale@msg.com.

Rangers Assistant GM and Whale GM Jim Schoenfeld, offered no comment on these developments, but Howard Baldwin did release a statement confirming that the Rangers had indeed taken back control of their Connecticut affiliate.

The 2012-2013 season is the Whale’s last season under contract with AEG to play their games at Hartford’s XL Center. This contract was part of the financial problem for the Whale and Whalers Sports & Entertainment. The rent for the building and staff per game is $25,000, the highest in the AHL and three times the league average. Also, the Whale does not earn any revenue from concessions or merchandise sold during the games when most other AHL teams get a percentage of concessions and merchandise.

The Rangers have already said the Whale will play the 2012-13 Season in Hartford, but after the XL Center lease expires, anything could happen. It’s quite possible the AHL could leave Hartford. However, not one, but two reliable sources within the Rangers’ management staff have said the Rangers plan to sign a 2-3 year contract extension with AEG to keep the Whale in Hartford.

Whale Player Arrivals and Departures.

Not much happened to the Whale’s roster on the second day of free agency but on the first day of the 2012 free agent open market, 26 year-old goaltender Chad Johnson left the organization to sign with the Phoenix Coyotes. Johnson was an unrestricted free agent who was not offered a new contract by the Rangers due to his lack of consistent play. Johnson had been with the organization since signing a three-year NHL entry-level contract back in 2009.

The Whale also lost 21-year old, 2012 AHL All Star left-wing, Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, who signed a three-year entry-level-contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. J.A.M. was the 2012 Whale fan favorite and tied for the team lead in scoring at 64 points with veteran center Kris Newbury, who signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Rangers yesterday.

The Whale also gained 26 year-old, tough guy, left-wing Michael Haley, who has seen NHL time with the New York Islanders. Earlier in the off-season the Whale lost 24-year-old, Pavel “Tenk” Valentenko, who signed a two-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the KHL and forward Andreas Thuresson agreed to a two-year deal with Brynas IF of the Swedish Elite League.

The Whale’s 2012 free agents are as follows:

Whale players under contract with the Rangers for next season:

LW Ryan Bourque, D Tim Erixon, LW Tommy Grant, LW Marek Hrivik, D Dylan McIlrath, C J.T. Miller, D Jyri Niemi, D Blake Parlett, D Wade Redden, RW Christian Thomas, and C Andrew Yogan.

Restricted Free Agents:

D Lee Baldwin, RW Francois Bouchard, D Sam Klassen, G Cam Talbot, and C Casey Wellman.

Unrestricted Free Agents:

D Brendan Bell, RW Andre Deveaux, RW Randy McNaught, D Jared Nightengale, C Jordan Owens, LW Jeff Prough, RW Scott Tanski, and C Kelsey Tessier.

I will be writing more articles on the Whale’s off-season moves, whether it’s hockey operations or front office business related news this off-season and will be writing a weekly Whale report once the 2012-13 Regular Season begins. In the mean time follow me on twitter for the latest Whale updates!