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The Greatest Hartford Whalers of All Time

All-time greats by position · era-adjusted

Updated 2026-07-09

The greatest Hartford Whalers of all time — the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who defined the franchise. Each is ranked by their finest era-adjusted season, weighted by how long they anchored the roster, so a dominant year from any era is measured fairly.

Top forwards

  1. Mike Rogers Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 45G 63A 108P · +29 · 80 GP
    63Peak
  2. Blaine Stoughton Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 57G 45A 102P · +10 · 80 GP
    54Peak
  3. Ron Francis Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 33G 71A 104P · +13 · 80 GP
    52Peak
  4. Brendan Shanahan Left Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1995 · 49G 38A 86P · +2 · 74 GP
    50Peak
  5. Pat Boutette Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 23G 54A 77P · +26 · 47 GP
    46Peak
  6. Paul Lawless Left Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1986 · 30G 44A 74P · +36 · 60 GP
    48Peak
  7. Kevin Dineen Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1988 · 47G 46A 92P · -6 · 79 GP
    43Peak
  8. Pat Verbeek Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 45G 46A 91P · +1 · 80 GP
    43Peak
  9. Carey Wilson Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1987 · 41G 46A 87P · -11 · 36 GP
    40Peak
  10. Geoff Sanderson Left Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1992 · 46G 43A 89P · -21 · 82 GP
    43Peak
  11. John Anderson Right Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1986 · 33G 47A 81P · +14 · 76 GP
    42Peak
  12. Pierre Larouche Center
    1 season sampled · peak 1981 · 46G 46A 91P · -33 · 45 GP
    39Peak

On defense

  1. Mark Howe Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 27G 62A 89P · +16 · 74 GP
    48Peak
  2. Jeff Brown Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1995 · 12G 53A 65P · +3 · 48 GP
    34Peak
  3. Dave Babych Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1985 · 13G 57A 70P · +3 · 62 GP
    29Peak
  4. Zarley Zalapski Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1992 · 14G 50A 64P · -34 · 83 GP
    28Peak
  5. Al Sims Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 11G 33A 44P · +11 · 76 GP
    24Peak
  6. James Patrick Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1993 · 14G 35A 49P · -21 · 47 GP
    25Peak
  7. Risto Siltanen Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1983 · 16G 42A 58P · -22 · 75 GP
    24Peak
  8. Brad Shaw Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 4G 41A 45P · +3 · 64 GP
    20Peak

In goal

  1. Mike Liut Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1989 · 15W · 2.64 GAA · .900 SV% · 3 SO
    67Peak
  2. Peter Sidorkiewicz Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1988 · 22W · 3.03 GAA · .890 SV% · 4 SO
    60Peak
  3. Sean Burke Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1996 · 22W · 2.69 GAA · .914 SV% · 4 SO
    58Peak
  4. Greg Millen Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1983 · 21W · 3.71 GAA · .878 SV% · 2 SO
    54Peak
How this ranks: a player’s best season with the Hartford Whalers is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then nudged up for how many standout seasons they gave the club — rewarding peak brilliance and franchise tenure together.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the greatest Hartford Whalers player of all time?
By All-Time Hockey's era-adjusted peak-season ranking, Mike Rogers leads the Hartford Whalers all-time greats; the top three overall are Mike Liut, Peter Sidorkiewicz, Sean Burke. Each player is scored on his finest season relative to the league around him.
Who is the best Hartford Whalers goaltender of all time?
Mike Liut ranks as the top Hartford Whalers goaltender by peak era-adjusted season, weighted by win volume so durable starters outrank one-year standouts.
How are the all-time Hartford Whalers rankings calculated?
Each player's best season with the Hartford Whalers is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then weighted by how many standout seasons he gave the club. Data spans the 1960s to today.

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