The Hartford Whalers Are Going Going ... The Hartford Whalers are in a very tough situation at this time. When Peter Karmanos bought the team in May of 1994, he inherited the worst lease agreement at the smallest arena in the NHL. The Hartford Civic Center lease agreement creates profit for private companies; however, the lease causes the Whalers to lose money. The mall is owned and operated by Aetna; therefore it has nothing to do with the Whalers. The city of Hartford owns the coliseum, parking garage, and exhibition hall. The state of Connecticut pays a 1.6 million dollar annual leasing fee to take control of the coliseum, pa