Hartford Whalers

This week on the Slim and None Podcast: while a lot of WHA franchises looked to make a big splash right off the bat, the Whalers took a different approach – a mixture of young NHL talent and top college players.

It’s getting close to dropping the puck for the WHA, but a series of franchise moves and ownership changes occurred first. Joining Howard Baldwin is the founder and first president of the league – Gary Davidson.

The WHA had franchises but needed to add players. This is the story of the first WHA draft and the building of the New England Whalers. Assistant coach and assistant GM Ron Ryan joins in the conversation.

Howard Baldwin discusses what it took to build what became the Hartford Whalers and some of the biggest personalities in the WHA in its early days.

The Whalers had gone from having people wonder whether they could pull it off to where are they going to play. Chaos ensued, of course.

It's November 1971, and Howard and the team have gotten the green light on their franchise. There are 10 months until the puck drops on opening night, and no shortage of tasks to complete.

After returning home from the WHA league meetings in New York City, Howard Baldwin and company had their marching orders. But, with only weeks until the next league meetings and so much to accomplish, the odds are stacked against them.

In the debut episode of the Slim and None podcast, former WHA and NHL team owner Howard Baldwin describes his journey through the sport we all love, his stint with the Marines and everything leading up to getting his name on the Stanley Cup.