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 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

) 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 Whalers ...

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 (N ...

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 t ...

, 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 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 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. The Ontario Hockey League 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, Detroit Whalers and then

following a relocation to nearby Plymouth. In 2015, Karmanos sold the Whalers to the owners of Flint's Perani Arena and Event Center, and the franchise was renamed Flint Firebirds. 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 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 Southe ...

, 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 capita ...

. The Hurricanes reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002, but lost to fellow

businessman Mike Ilitch’s Detroit Red Wings 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. 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). The ...

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. His ...

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 Ontario Hockey League, and was inducted to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame 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, 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 treatme ...

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 a r ...

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