Peter Karmanos Jr. (born March 11, 1943) is an American businessman who was most recently the minority owner and alternate governor of the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

franchise until June 30, 2021. He served as their principal owner from 1994 (when the Hurricanes were the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...

) to 2018. He also owned the

Plymouth Whalers The Plymouth Whalers were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They played out of Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, USA, a suburb of Detroit until 2015 when they were relocated to Flint, Michigan. History The Wha ...

junior ice hockey club from its establishment in 1990 until 2015, and was the majority owner of the

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League ( ...

from 1998 to 2019.

Early life

Karmanos Jr. was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, the oldest of three children of a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

immigrant family who owned a small restaurant in Detroit. Karmanos attended Henry Ford High School and graduated from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

in 1973. Soon after leaving college he founded

software company A software company is a company whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry. Types There are a number of different types of soft ...

Compuware Compuware Corporation was an American software company based in Detroit, Michigan. The company offers products aimed at the information technology (IT) departments of large businesses, and its services also include testing, development, automation ...

with two partners,

Thomas Thewes Thomas Thewes (December 9, 1931 – September 28, 2008) was Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors (Emeritus) and co-founder of the Compuware Corporation along with Peter Karmanos and Allen Cutting. Thomas Thewes was a co-owner of three hockey ...

and Allen Cutting.Hurricanes' Karmanos a true hockey builder
NHL.com Karmanos served as Compuware's CEO until June 20, 2011, when he became executive chairman. Karmanos retired from Compuware on March 31, 2013, but maintained a consultant role within the company. Compuware terminated his post-retirement consulting agreement, effective October 1, 2013. He has since opened a new computer firm, Mad Dog Technology.

Ice hockey ventures

Karmanos co-founded the Detroit Compuware Hockey organization in the late 1970s with Thewes. The organization has included all levels of hockey from recreational to youth AAA and

junior A Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

. The

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

awarded an expansion franchise on December 11, 1989, to be known as the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors. The team later became the

Detroit Junior Red Wings The Detroit Junior Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons from 1992 to 1995. The Jr. Red Wings were based in Detroit, Michigan. History The Compuware Ambassadors were renamed the Detroit Junior Red ...

Detroit Whalers The Detroit Whalers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League for two seasons from 1995 to 1997. The Whalers were based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. History The creation of the Detroit Whalers resulted after a failed takeover bid ...

and then

following a relocation to nearby

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

. In 2015, Karmanos sold the Whalers to the owners of Flint's

Perani Arena and Event Center The Dort Financial Center (originally IMA Sports Arena and formerly Perani Arena and Event Center) is a sports, entertainment and convention venue located in Flint, Michigan, United States. It opened in 1969 and is the home of the Flint Firebird ...

, and the franchise was renamed

Flint Firebirds The Flint Firebirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. The team plays home games at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, and operates as a member of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team began play for the ...

. He also sold the Plymouth arena to

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...

. Karmanos, his Compuware partner Thewes, and former player

Jim Rutherford James Earl Rutherford (born February 17, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and front office executive. He is the president of hockey operations of the Vancouver Canucks. Prior to his position with the Canucks, Rutherf ...

purchased the

in 1994, for $47.5 million. At the time, they had committed to keeping the team in Hartford for at least four years. Connecticut's then-governor Lowell P. Weicker announced that Karmanos would be critical for the team to stay in Hartford. Weicker later became a member of the Compuware Board of Directors. Hartford sold less than 11,000 season tickets for the 1995–96 NHL season and Karmanos announced the team would leave Hartford if the Whalers were unable to sell 11,000 season tickets for the 1996–97 season. Even though they surpassed 11,000 season tickets, the team was moved to

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

, and renamed the

following the 1996–97 season. As a result, Karmanos is still reviled by many people in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. The Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup Finals in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

, but lost to fellow

businessman

Mike Ilitch Michael Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American entrepreneur, founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tig ...

’s

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in five games. The Hurricanes went on to win the Stanley Cup in 2006, with Karmanos eagerly donning his skates, hoisting the Cup, and skating around with it briefly after the game seven win. For his day with the Cup, he brought it to Compuware headquarters in Detroit and allowed employees to get their photo taken individually with the Cup. Karmanos' Gale Force Holdings has a subsidiary dedicated to the NHL, Hurricanes Holdings, LLC, which includes the Hurricanes and their stadium,

PNC Arena PNC Arena (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena and formerly the RBC Center) is an indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The arena seats 18,680 for ice hockey and 19,722 for basketball, including 61 suites, 13 loge boxes an ...

. The holdings also included the Hurricanes's former

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

affiliate

, along with stadium

Germain Arena Hertz Arena is a 7,181-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, which is located between Miromar Lakes, Florida and Bonita Springs, Florida. The arena opened in November 1998 and serves as the home of the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. H ...

until 2019 when they both were sold to Naples businessman David Hoffmann. ,. Karmanos received the

Lester Patrick Trophy The Lester Patrick Trophy has been presented by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey since 1966 to honor a recipient's contribution to ice hockey in the United States. It is considered a non-NHL trophy because it may be awarded to players, c ...

for outstanding service to hockey after the 1997–98 season, the Bill Long Award in 2010 for services to the

, and was inducted to the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

in 2013. He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder Category in 2015. Karmanos also sponsors youth hockey programs in Michigan. On January 11, 2018, it was announced that he had sold controlling interest in the Hurricanes to

Thomas Dundon Thomas Dundon (born September 5, 1971) is an American businessman, specializing in financial services and entertainment. He is chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partners in Dallas, Texas, and is now sole owner and chief executive of ...

, while retaining a minority interest. On June 30, 2021, Karmanos sold his remaining shares in the Carolina Hurricanes to Thomas Dundon, making him the sole owner of the Carolina Hurricanes. He sold the Florida Everblades in August 2019.

Personal life

Karmanos donated money to the Michigan Cancer Foundation, which was renamed the

Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, headquartered in Detroit, is the largest cancer research and provider network in Michigan and has 16 treatment locations. It is one of 51 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer treatm ...

in 1995 in memory of his first wife, Barbara Ann Karmanos, who died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

in 1989. In addition to three children with Barbara, Karmanos has four others with current wife Danialle, and nine grandchildren.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karmanos, Peter Jr. 1943 births Living people American chief executives of professional sports organizations American people of Greek descent American philanthropists Businesspeople from Detroit Carolina Hurricanes owners Cass Technical High School alumni Hartford Whalers executives Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Lester Patrick Trophy recipients National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners Stanley Cup champions Wayne State University alumni People named in the Paradise Papers