 The Whalers opened December the same way they closed November, as Hartford lost by a score of 8–5, this time to the Calgary Flames, on December 4.Two days later, Hartford acquired center Doug Jarvis from the Washington Capitals for left winger Jörgen Pettersson.Jarvis, who began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1975–76 season, had never missed a game in his career, as he had played in 825 games in a row at the time of the trade.