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AHL Franchise News

So the Anaheim's AHL team will be changing coasts, going from Norfolk to San Diego:

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/08/report-norfolk-admirals-moving-to-san-diego/
 
CarltonTheBear said:
So the Anaheim's AHL team will be changing coasts, going from Norfolk to San Diego:

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/08/report-norfolk-admirals-moving-to-san-diego/
Click to expand...

The Sharks are moving their AHL affiliate cross-country as well. Worcester is moving to San Jose and the Sharks will share their building with their farm team, creating a unique situation. Expect a name change as they both can't be named the "San Jose Sharks".
 
It's been speculated for a few years, but today it became official. 5 AHL teams are on the move west for 2015-16.

Norfolk Admirals (ANH) > San Diego Gulls
Adirondack Flames (CGY) > Stockton Heat
Oklahoma City Barons (EDM)> Bakersfield Condors
Manchester Monarchs (LA) > Ontario Reign
Worcester Sharks (SJ) > San Jose

The 1st 4 cities all have history in the IHL (San Diego) or the ECHL. Stockton, Bakersfield, and Ontario all have current ECHL teams. It is speculated (not in this link) that the ECHL franchises will move into the displaced markets.

http://theahl.com/ahl-approves-formation-of-pacific-division-p196033
 
The rumours have been swirling for the last week and today the hammer dropped. The Hamilton Bulldogs are now under the ownership of the Montreal Canadiens. The franchise is on the move as they will become the St. Johns IceCaps for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The current incarnation of the IceCaps, which is owned by the Winnipeg Jets is moving back to Winnipeg effective next year. I suspect that they will go back to the Manitoba Moose name and colours, but I haven't seen anything official on that front.

This was all set about as the current Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer has executed a purchase and relocation of the Belleville Bulls. They will play out of Copps next season under the Bulldogs name.

http://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-board-of-governors-approve-transfer-of-ownership-and-relocation-to-hamilton/166024

http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-franchise-transactions-p196769
 
seahawk said:
The rumours have been swirling for the last week and today the hammer dropped. The Hamilton Bulldogs are now under the ownership of the Montreal Canadiens. The franchise is on the move as they will become the St. Johns IceCaps for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The current incarnation of the IceCaps, which is owned by the Winnipeg Jets is moving back to Winnipeg effective next year. I suspect that they will go back to the Manitoba Moose name and colours, but I haven't seen anything official on that front.

This was all set about as the current Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer has executed a purchase and relocation of the Belleville Bulls. They will play out of Copps next season under the Bulldogs name.

http://ontariohockeyleague.com/article/ohl-board-of-governors-approve-transfer-of-ownership-and-relocation-to-hamilton/166024

http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-franchise-transactions-p196769
Click to expand...

Overall I like all of these moves.  If Quebec City fails to acquire an NHL franchise despite their new arena I wonder if Montreal works out a move to put their AHL team in Quebec city down the road.
 
There's been talk of a new rink in Laval that is to be managed by the Habs. That is the expected destination. The Jets are still hoping to relocate to Thunder Bay, but last I heard a shovel hasn't gone in the ground there.
 
seahawk said:
There's been talk of a new rink in Laval that is to be managed by the Habs. That is the expected destination. The Jets are still hoping to relocate to Thunder Bay, but last I heard a shovel hasn't gone in the ground there.
Click to expand...

Yeah the expectation is that Laval will be ready for 16-17 and the Habs will go there so their AHL team is close by, like a lot of teams are doing. St. John's will just be a placeholder for them. Not sure what happens to hockey there after though.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
seahawk said:
There's been talk of a new rink in Laval that is to be managed by the Habs. That is the expected destination. The Jets are still hoping to relocate to Thunder Bay, but last I heard a shovel hasn't gone in the ground there.
Click to expand...

Yeah the expectation is that Laval will be ready for 16-17 and the Habs will go there so their AHL team is close by, like a lot of teams are doing. St. John's will just be a placeholder for them. Not sure what happens to hockey there after though.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Bulldogs are a 2 year placeholder. More local rumours have Danny Williams trying to acquire one of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Albany Devils, though that was before this announcement. The Senators franchise in Binghamton has also been a potential target as they have the lowest attendance in the league. This gives them two more years to search for a more permanent franchise.
 
seahawk said:
There's been talk of a new rink in Laval that is to be managed by the Habs. That is the expected destination. The Jets are still hoping to relocate to Thunder Bay, but last I heard a shovel hasn't gone in the ground there.
Click to expand...

Funding for the arena and events centre has been disapproved by the government. The project is close to dead. The City is still pursuing it, but will have to look at alternative funding sources now. It's a very political situation too with many residents opposed due to increased taxes, arena location, etc.
 
Question, where is all the lottery money going? you would think Lotto Ontario could afford to build communities with what we spend on Lotto tickets.
 
The western shift continues. The Arizona Coyotes have ended their affiliation agreement with the Portland Pirates. The Pirates will be the affiliate of the Florida Panthers next year. The Panthers have been based in San Antonio the last few seasons so it's expected the Coyotes will go there, but nothing official yet. They had previously teamed up for 6 seasons.

http://theahl.com/pirates-announce-affiliation-with-florida-p196853
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/rampage/article/Rampage-NHL-s-Florida-Panthers-part-ways-6142663.php
 
The Arizona Coyotes have announced their new AHL affiliate. They have signed a multi-year deal with the Springfield Falcons. Mass Live reporting it is a 3 year deal. The two were previously affiliated from 1994-2004. This move left Columbus looking for a new dance partner, which they found within Ohio. They have announced an agreement with the Lake Erie Monsters, formerly the Colorado affiliate. The Avs have apparently signed an 5-year agreement with the San Antonio Rampage.

http://www.masslive.com/falcons/index.ssf/2015/04/falcons_announcement_live_pres.html
http://www.cleveland.com/monsters/index.ssf/2015/04/lake_erie_monsters_announce_af.html#incart_related_stories
http://theahl.com/three-ahl-clubs-announce-new-affiliations-p197468
 
The schedule format has not been decided, but the divisions are set. The Marlies find themselves in the North Division with the following:

Albany Devils (NJ)
Binghamton Senators (OTT)
Rochester Americans (BUF)
St. John's IceCaps (MTL)
Syracuse Crunch (TB)
Utica Comets (VAN)

http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-alignment-for-2015-16-p197883
 
Well, the Donald, (as in U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump), may consider, he being no stranger to hockey.  How about it -- given the challenge to run an AHL team, the Syracuse Crunch -- the business angle of it, that is.

Vance Lederman,  CFO of the Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning affiliate) initially offered the Donald a coaching job to be behind the Syracuse bench.  No response.
So now, instead of that, Lederman is offering Trump a chance to learn how to run the business side of an AHL franchise (the Crunch itself).

Hmm.  Looks like the Donald may be too busy for that too.

Here's the story:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=779613&navid=nhl:topheads

 
The Springfield Falcons have been sold and are on the move to Tuscon, AZ. The team has been purchased by the Arizona Coyotes. Additionally, the Portland Pirates have been sold and there is an application in with the AHL to relocate the team to Springfield.

http://theahl.com/bog-conditionally-approves-coyotes-purchase-p202491
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/04/mike-lowe-the-pirates-are-leaving-portland-but-fans-should-embrace-their-memories/
 
The franchise shifts are now confirmed. The AHL governors have approved the move of the Portland Pirates to Springfield (home of the AHL offices) for the 2016-17 season.

Also, nice article on the inaugural AHL season in San Diego.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nothing--minor-league--about-san-diego-gulls-return-220351896.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
 
The new Tuscon team will go by the Roadrunners name. 3rd team in the AHL to use that name after Toronto and Edmonton. The name has some history in Arizona as several Phoenix based teams used that name in the IHL and ECHL.

Meanwhile, the team that moved into Springfield to replace the one that moved to AZ will go by Thunderbirds. According to the press release, they choose the name based on some Air force connections.

http://theahl.com/tucson-welcomes-the-roadrunners-p202807
http://theahl.com/thunderbirds-flying-into-springfield-this-fall-p202794
 
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