The relocation experiment, pt. 5— five all-stars, trade rumors, and the first win over the Canes

Halfway into the season and the Bruins are catching us. The race for the top spot in the Atlantic Division is separated by just six points. I’m sitting here imagining how thrilling it would be to see a race for first place between the Whalers and their historical rival in the first season back. A big 8–2 win against the Rangers confirms we’re not slumping yet. But on January 5th, Carolina awaits. Our first regular-season test against the former Whalers.

We demolish the Hurricanes, 5–1. Former Wolf Packer Brady Skjei is the only one to get on the board for Carolina, while Barkov, Duclair, and Huberdeau all have outstanding games. It’s as if the guys just knew how much this one meant to Hartford after all of the bad feelings associated with the departure. What a rivalry Canes-Whalers would be.

A 50-win season is not out of the question.

We follow up the Canes win with an atrocious five-game losing streak, only getting our 30th win of the season on January 21st. The Bruins close to within one point of us before we notch a pair of wins late in the month. Around the league, things are bizarre. Travis Konecny is still the fourth leading scorer in the league, Taylor Hall is threatening a 100-point season. The Canucks are still in second place.

At the all-star break, we’re 31–18–2. Bob’s fallen off the leaderboards for save percentage thanks to a rough January, but he still makes the all-star game. In fact, no less than five Whalers make it — Barkov, who ends up the captain of Team Blue, Huberdeau, Yandle, and Ekblad. Aaron Ekblad is having a monster year — 39 points and +26 through 51 games. At 24, he’s going to be with us for a long time, and there’s a lot of great hockey to be played.

We close out January with yet another loss in Dallas. It’s time to make a move, shake the team up a little and see if we can get some better results. With Bobrovsky fading midseason and Driedger proving not to be a suitable backup, I want to see if I can move him for a little more offense and perhaps an option at left D, where Forsling is on the second pair. I offer the Capitals Driedger and a sixth-rounder for Conor Sheary, who might prove a more suitable option than Hinostroza down the stretch. The Caps turn me down, and instead, I’m chasing after Sam Bennett. In this version of reality, Bennett’s been sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets and is having quite a year. Jarmo Kekkalainen tells me no, and I decide to give up. We’re back to winning anyways.

57 games into the season, Huberdeau hits 80 points. Unfortunately, his linemate Brett Connolly goes down with a torn back muscle — out indefinitely. Owen Tippett joins the first line, giving him an even better chance of contending for the Calder. A five-game winning streak ensues, and it’s good to see that losing Connolly hasn’t killed us. On February 28th, Jonathan Huberdeau has 92 points. The trade deadline comes and goes without any moves. We’re 42–22–3 and there’s not much reason to mess with success.

The situation on attendance. We’re not spectacular, but we’re better than a lot of teams whose existence is taken for granted.

Bob is once again named Goalie of the Month for February. He’s bounced back, with his save percentage hovering around .921. March awaits, and with it, the final stretch to the playoffs. Some notes:

• Much as it is IRL, this team gels very nicely. Anthony Duclair clearly has a home in this organization — during the sim, he’s been a great producer with 19 goals and 34 points. It’s possible he pushes 25 goals for the season. Tyson Jost is fitting in well at 25 points and +10.
• Cup winners are built up the middle and after Barkov, this team could be doing better at the position. After a strong start, Acciari fell off (21 points through 67 games, many of which came during the early-season tear) and Wennberg is at -6 for the season. If there’s one area I look to improve in the offseason, it’s the center position.
• Our home average attendance passed another team in the months of January and February — the Anaheim Ducks. We’re now ahead of Arizona, Ottawa, New York, Winnipeg, Anaheim, and Carolina, and we’re tied with the New Jersey Devils in terms of percent capacity use. Yet again, it’s clear that the Whalers’ attendance wouldn’t be any worse than teams league observers almost never talk about moving (like, for example, the Ducks and Canes).
• We’re one win away from tying the historical record for the Whalers (43 wins in ‘86-’87) and I assume we’ll do it. If we lose fifteen games to end the season, it’s time to fire the GM.