Manny Fernandez
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to the staff and management of ECW Press for supporting this project.
I also want to recognize the kindness of Dr. Brian Price, who graciously allowed me access to his hockey library, and Ken Whitmell, who was always willing to listen to a story and provide other support. Several friends also need to be recognized for their support as editors, including Jeffrey Griffith, John Pichette, Jon Waldman and Baron Bedesky.
I am indebted to the newspapermen who covered several of the expansion teams for local newspapers and The Hockey News. The work of writers such as Charley Barton, Spence Conley, Ed Conrad, Pat Doyle, Geoffrey Fisher, Jay Greenberg, Jim Huber, Harry Klaff, Bill Libby, Jim Matheson, Ken McKenzie, Buddy O’Connor, Lou Prato, Glenn Redmann, Hal Sigurdson and Wayne Warriner proved to be a tremendous resource for this work. I also relied on two key websites, Hockey-reference.com and the Hockey Summary Project (hsp.flyershistory.com), and scoured them almost daily to find relevant statistics.
Thank you also to the following players and coaches who took the time to discuss their roles in the grand history of NHL expansion: Paul Andrea, Andy Bathgate, Bill Bennett, Curt Bennett, Red Berenson, John Bethel, Laurie Boschman, Scotty Bowman, Curt Brackenbury, Brian Bradley, John Brenneman, Leo Boivin, Willie Brossart, Charlie Burns, Al Cameron, Wayne Connelly, Cam Connor, Jim Corsi, Bart Crashley, Terry Crisp, Ray Cullen, Joe Daley, Michel Dion, Dave Dryden, Jack Egers, Doug Favell, Bob Fitchner, Val Fonteyne, Emile Francis, Ed Gilbert, Michel Goulet, Phil Goyette, Pierre Hamel, Denis Herron, Bruce Hood, Doug Horbul, Bronco Horvath, Mark Howe, Jim Hrycuik, Fred Hucul, Greg Johnson, Larry Keenan, Forbes Kennedy, Dave Kryskow, Jim Kyte, Gord Labossiere, Andre Lacroix, Bill Lesuk, Chris Luongo, Lowell MacDonald, Parker MacDonald, Randy Manery, Cesare Maniago, Jimmy Mann, Seth Martin, Ab McDonald, Peter McDuffe, Bob McGill, Lindsay Middlebrook, Bill Mikkelson, Tom Miller, Doug Mohns, Lew Morrison, Gerry Odrowski, J.P. Parise, Gilbert Perreault, Larry Popein, Poul Popiel, Lynn Powis, Noel Price, Jim Roberts, Leon Rochefort, Mike Rogers, Dale Rolfe, Randy Rota, Gary Sabourin, Ken Schinkel, Ron Schock, Bobby Schmautz, Dave Semenko, Doug Smail, Floyd Smith, John Smrke, Ted Snell, Ralph Stewart, Art Stratton, Red Sullivan, Bill Sutherland, George Swarbrick, Tom Thurlby, Gene Ubriaco, Gary Veneruzzo, Ed Westfall and Bill White. I am especially grateful to John Garrett for kindly agreeing to write the foreword for this book.
The photos in this book were graciously provided by Doug McLatchy and are available for purchase through his website (completehistoryofhockey.com).
Finally, a special thank you to my family for their support as I worked on this project. I could not have done this without you!
APPENDIX
TIMELINE OF NHL EXPANSION AND FRANCHISE SHIFTS
1917–18
National Hockey League begins play with four clubs (Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Arenas). After their rink burns down, the Wanderers cease operations after playing just four games. The Quebec Athletic Club (commonly known as the Bulldogs) are league members at this time and sit out this season and the one that follows because of financial woes.
1919–20
The Quebec Athletics (Bulldogs) finally join the NHL.
1920–21
The Quebec franchise is relocated to Hamilton and called the Tigers. The move is made to head off a potential rival league tied to Eddie Livingstone from heading into that city.
1924–25
The Boston Bruins and the Montreal Professional Hockey Club are the NHL’s first expansion teams. The Montreal club is later called the Maroons for the colour of their sweaters. Also, the Hamilton Tigers stage a strike to protest the lack of increased pay for an increased number of games in the regular season.
1925–26
The New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates begin play. The Amerks are staffed with many players from Hamilton, but the franchise was actually granted before the Tigers ceased operations.
1926–27
After the death of western pro hockey, the NHL uses many of their players to make up the rosters of the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers.
1930–31
The Pittsburgh Pirates become the Philadelphia Quakers. After a disastrous first season, the franchise shuts down.
1931–32
As a result of the state of the economy, the Ottawa Senators take a year off from NHL play.
1932–33
The Senators return to action.
1934–35
After years of declining gate receipts, the Senators end their lengthy run in Canada’s capital and relocate to St. Louis to become the Eagles. They last only a single season there because of high travel costs.
1938–39
The Montreal Maroons suspend operations for a year but do not return to action. The franchise is controlled for many years after by Len Peto, a director for the Montreal Canadiens, with the intention of moving it to Philadelphia. He cannot find a suitable arena by the 1946–47 season and the franchise is then removed.
1941–42
The New York Americans attempt to bring in bigger crowds by renaming themselves the Brooklyn Americans for their first home game.
1942–43
The Original Six era begins when the Brooklyn franchise does not return to action. Despite the best efforts of Red Dutton to find them a new arena, the team is removed from the league in 1946.
1967–68
The NHL doubles in size with the addition of six new clubs. They are all part of the new West Division and include the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues. Within their first month of operation, the California Seals are rechristened the Oakland Seals.
1970–71
Two more franchises are added in Vancouver and Buffalo. The Oakland Seals are sold to Charles O. Finley and he dubs them the California Golden Seals.
1972–73
The formation of the World Hockey Association forces the NHL to expand. The Atlanta Flames and New York Islanders begin play.
1974–75
The NHL adds two more teams in the Kansas City Scouts and Washington Capitals.
1976–77
Although originally planning to grant expansion franchises to Denver and Seattle, the NHL decides to move the financially troubled Scouts to Colorado to become the Rockies, and the California Golden Seals relocate to become the Cleveland Barons.
1977–78
The Cleveland Barons finish their second season in dire financial straits and are merged with the troubled Minnesota North Stars.
1978–79
The WHA plays its final season before merging four of its six remaining franchises with the NHL.
1979–80
The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets begin play.
1980–81
The Atlanta Flames are relocated to Calgary.
1982–83
The Colorado Rockies head east to become the New Jersey Devils. Throughout the season, it is rumoured that the St. Louis Blues will move to Saskatoon, but the relocation never takes place.
1991–92
The San Jose Sharks are added to the league after splitting off from the Minnesota North Stars.
1992–93
The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning are added to the NHL’s growing membership.
1993–94
The NHL wants to add more Sunbelt teams and seeks out owners with deep pockets. They welcome the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Minnesota North Stars are moved to Texas and become the Dallas Stars.
1995–96
The Quebec Nordiques head west to become the Colorado Avalanche and win the Stanley Cup in their first season.
1996–97
Much to the chagrin of fans in Winnipeg, the Jets are sold and become the Phoenix Coyotes.
1997–9
8
The Hartford Whalers head south and are renamed the Carolina Hurricanes.
1998–99
The NHL’s latest expansion program kicks off when the Nashville Predators begin play.
1999–00
Big-league hockey returns to Atlanta when the Thrashers hold their inaugural season.
2000–01
With the addition of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, the NHL’s membership increases to 30 teams and a decade of relative franchise stability begins.
2011–12
Hockey in Atlanta is deemed a failure and the Thrashers are moved to Winnipeg, which warmly welcomes the club, and the Jets return to action.
2013–14 and beyond …
The New York Islanders will be relocated to Brooklyn beginning with the 2015–16 season.
Financial instability for clubs could potentially lead to more franchise shifts. The often-rumoured locations for new teams include Quebec, Seattle and Kansas City.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A seasoned hockey historian, Stephen Laroche has a distinct passion and deep appreciation for many aspects of the sport’s history. The editor of Beckett Basketball, he is a former trading card company executive. He lives in Belleville, Ontario, with his wife, Michelle, and stepdaughter, Guenevere.
Copyright © Stephen Laroche, 2014
Published by ECW Press
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Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4E 1E2
416-694-3348 / [email protected]
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Laroche, Stephen, author
Changing the game : a history of NHL expansion / Stephen Laroche ; foreword by John Garrett.
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77090-578-8 (ePUB)
978-1-77090-577-1 (PDF);
978-1-77041-079-4 (pbk.)
1. National Hockey League—History. I. Title.
GV847.8.N3L37 2014 796.962’64 C2014-902560-2 C2014-902561-0
Editor for the press: Michael Holmes
Cover design: Patrick Gray
Type: Troy Cunningham
All photos from the collection of Doug McLatchy
The publication of Changing the Game has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country, and by the Ontario Arts Council (OAC), an agency of the Government of Ontario, which last year funded 1,793 individual artists and 1,076 organizations in 232 communities across Ontario, for a total of $52.1 million. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities, and the contribution of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
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