Whalers Have Alcohol Trouble

The Hartford Whalers have been grappling with losing seasons for years. Lately, they’ve been haunted by a more serious problem with alcohol.

For the third time in three weeks, the NHL franchise was hit with an alcohol-related arrest. First there was a late night drinking episode in Buffalo, quickly followed by two drunken-driving arrests.

Can anything else happen to tarnish the Whalers before they end their miserable season?

“I guess bad things happen in threes, so we’re done for this year,” said defenseman Adam Burt.

On the ice, the Whalers were done three weeks ago, when they were eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight year and seventh time in 15 seasons. Their off-rink problems began about the same time, when six players and an assistant coach were arrested following an early morning barroom brawl in Buffalo.

Things got even worse a week later with the drunken-driving arrest of General Manager Paul Holmgren, his second in two years. He is being treated at the Betty Ford Center and will face the charge when he is released.

Then, last Friday night, defenseman Bryan Marchment was arrested for drunken driving on his way home from a charity event to raise money for a cancer fund.

“I think the final episode sent a message to the guys that it can be you. It’s not just happening out there. It can happen to the players as well. It probably was a good wake up call. I think everyone’s kind of learned a lesson from that,” Burt said.

“I know that (Marchment) is a very responsible guy and it was just an unfortunate incident, and it goes on all the time. It’s just that not everyone gets caught like that.”

The incidents with the Whalers recall the death of Philadelphia Flyers goalie Pelle Lindbergh, killed in what was deemed an alcohol-related accident in 1985, driving home from after a game.

But athletes from other sports have also died in similar accidents, including two NFL players -- Stacey Toran and Fred Washington and NASCAR driver Robbie Moroso. In addition, Lenny Dykstra and Darren Daulton of the Philadelphia Phillies were badly injured in an alcohol-related accident, and Jeff Alm of the NFL’s Houston Oilers shot himself after a close friend was killed when his car drove off a freeway overpass last fall.

Richard Gordon, owner of the Whalers, makes it clear that his team doesn’t seem to be learning from past mistakes.

“Obviously his arrest raises a big question,” Gordon said. “Why would he do it? Sports figures are role models, and they have a responsibility, whether they like it or not, to themselves, their team and the community.

“And they all have children too. Don’t you think they would want to set a good example for their children? How interested would they be in having someone drive through their neighborhood drunk and hit one of their kids? These are standards set for everybody, whether you’re in professional sports, or business, or whatever you do. These are just acceptable standards.”

Gordon tried to make when he tried to suspend the players involved in the first incident in Buffalo. The action was overruled by the NHL, which later decided not to punish the players.

Gordon said he believes excessive drinking is a societal problem.

“You know it’s not a question of just the Hartford Whalers. There are drunks in society all over the place -- excessive drinking every day. The question is what can we do to correct it collectively, not just come down on people and say ‘Okay, you’re bad.”’

The NHL does not have an alcohol policy, but it has been part of negotiations with the Players Association.

“Our concerns about this far pre-date any of these incidents with the Hartford Whalers,” NHL spokesman Arthur Pincus said. “It’s a general feeling that it’s something the professional sports league needs to have in place.”

Gordon, meanwhile, said he will be trying to find out as much as he can about the problems. The Reid Treatment Center in Avon, which has worked with the team in the past, has offered to help.

“I’m going to learn a lot and talk to a lot of different people, and offer services to our players. But again, it’s if they want it. “We’re trying as a franchise to help the individuals who are concerned.”