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Long Live the Whale, Whalers Jerseys Are Back

Unfortunately, the Whalers are not

By Jason Hendry

| Thursday, Oct 22, 2009 | Updated 9:15 AM EST

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Long Live the Whale, Whalers Jerseys Are Back

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Hartford Whalers fans have something to cheer about, even if there's no team any longer. The jerseys are back.

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They could take the Hartford Whalers franchise out of Hartford, but they couldn’t take it from the hearts of the fans.

The Whalers have returned. Not to the ice, but to the racks of your favorite sports store.

That’s right Whale diehards, no more seeking out jersey’s on auction sights or seedy back-allies dealings for black market paraphernalia.

Reebok, with the blessing of the NHL, has started to produce 1979 Hartford Whalers replica jerseys.

Since 1997, you have not been able to buy any officially licensed merchandise. That's when the team became the Carolina Hurricanes and moved from Connecticut, but the state of Connecticut owned the name and logo, according to Yahoo's sports blog, Puckdaddy.

This summer though, the trademark expired, opening the door for merchandisers.

The Web site IceJerseys.com now sells the jersey and it should start showing up in stores between next month and March.

So, dust off your copy of “Brass Bonanza” and fire up you “Lets Go Whalers!” chant. You can once again show your Hartford pride the way it’s supposed to be: in the green, white and blue of the beloved Whale.