Almost NHL Teams

[saskriders]

What are teams that almost came to be? Off the top of my head I have heard of:

- Baltimore Nonames were supposedly a favourite for the 67 expansion

- Seattle Totems at some point were supposed to join the league in the mid 70s like the WHL Canucks had

- An earlier plan for a WHL merger had the Houston Aeros and Cincinnati Stingers joining in addition to the four that did

- There was an attempt to move the Blues to Saskatoon

- At one point the Whalers owner wanted to relocate them to become the Hampton Roads Rhinos

 

[HisIceness]

One scenario is if the Devils had relocated to Nashville in 1995, then it's likely IMO that Houston gets the Predators expansion franchise in 1997. That would mean that the Oilers probably would have been "flirting" with Oklahoma City in 1998 (instead it was Houston they were looking into before being saved at the last minute). OKC was one of the cities vying for expansion in that round and since there was no major-league competition there at that time, you'd have to think there's a pretty good chance they'd be an NHL city instead of an NBA one. How that would have gone in the long run is anyone guess.

Should also mention that it was Columbus that Karmanos had his eye on for the Whalers. He did show interest in the George Shinn-led Rhinos but it was Ohio that was thought to be the leader. Whether or not that gives Raleigh the Columbus spot (likely owned by Charlotte-based NASCAR businessman Felix Sabates) is another what-if.

The Rhinos are kind of an interesting piece of trivia, I don't think they were ever going to become a thing but in 1997 Shinn was becoming less and less popular in Charlotte and the Hornets were losing attendance and playing in an outdated arena. That attempt could have been a door for him to relocate the Hornets there instead. Keep in mind thats one of the cities he expressed interest to go in 2001 but New Orleans had an arena already built.

And, yet another piece of trivia to nibble on, but Karmanos wanted to be the owner for the team that would become the Tampa Bay Lightning but lost out to Phil Esposito. Inside Carolina Hurricanes History: A failed expansion bid set the table for the Canes’ move to North Carolina

 

[The Panther]

 

[ForsbergForever]

The original AHL Cleveland Barons applied for NHL membership multiple times in the 1950s and 60s but were denied despite many believing them to already be as good as many NHL clubs after winning multiple championships.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Technically the team itself still came to be, but...

The original plan was to have a second iteration of the Montreal Wanderers, similar to how we now have a sequel to the Ottawa Senators.

James Strachan, the owner of the original Wanderers in their glory days, lined up a franchise to revive the team and their rivalry with the Canadiens. But Strachan never did manage to lock in the rights to the Wanderers name — though he must not have taken the nickname issue too seriously, because he settled for just calling them the Montreal Professional Hockey Club.

In those days you could call your team something ridiculously plain like the Montreal Professional Hockey Club, because sportswriters were a pro bono marketing department. Left with creative freedom to come up with something for the headlines, they fixed on the color of the sweaters and gave us... the Maroons.

 

[Oheao]

The original AHL Cleveland Barons applied for NHL membership multiple times in the 1950s and 60s but were denied despite many believing them to already be as good as many NHL clubs after winning multiple championships.

I wonder if that Cleveland Barons would have survived, considering what happened to the eventual NHL Cleveland Barons.

 

[saskriders]

Technically the team itself still came to be, but...

The original plan was to have a second iteration of the Montreal Wanderers, similar to how we now have a sequel to the Ottawa Senators.

James Strachan, the owner of the original Wanderers in their glory days, lined up a franchise to revive the team and their rivalry with the Canadiens. But Strachan never did manage to lock in the rights to the Wanderers name — though he must not have taken the nickname issue too seriously, because he settled for just calling them the Montreal Professional Hockey Club.

In those days you could call your team something ridiculously plain like the Montreal Professional Hockey Club, because sportswriters were a pro bono marketing department. Left with creative freedom to come up with something for the headlines, they fixed on the color of the sweaters and gave us... the Maroons.

I'd love to see the Maroons return like the Sens did. Also, I think it is fun to imagine what the Habs-Maroons rivalry could have been. Considering the Maroons were supposed to be the team for Anglophones I think there could have been a game during the FLQ crisis that made the Good Friday Brawl look like a walk in the park.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I'd love to see the Maroons return like the Sens did. Also, I think it is fun to imagine what the Habs-Maroons rivalry could have been. Considering the Maroons were supposed to be the team for Anglophones I think there could have been a game during the FLQ crisis that made the Good Friday Brawl look like a walk in the park.

Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and speculate that a Habs/Maroons playoff series, with all 7 games held at the Forum, would not have been fun for the local police.

 

[Uncle Rotter]

- Seattle Totems at some point were supposed to join the league in the mid 70s like the WHL Canucks had

Seattle and Denver:

On June 12, 1974, the NHL announced that a Seattle group headed by Vince Abbey had been awarded an expansion team to begin play in the 1976–77 season.[5] A $180,000 deposit was due by the end of 1975 and the total franchise fee was $6 million.[6][7] Additionally, Abbey had to repurchase the shares in the Totems held by the Vancouver Canucks, who were using the minor-league Totems as a farm club.[5] The expansion announcement also included a franchise for Denver, and with the loss of two more of its major markets, the WHL announced on the same day that it was folding.[8] The Totems joined the Central Hockey League for 1974–75.[9]
After missing a number of deadlines while scrambling to secure financing, the NHL threatened to pull the franchise as there were a number of other suitors in the wings.[citation needed] Abbey allegedly passed on an opportunity to purchase a WHA team for $2 million during this period,[citation needed] and he missed an opportunity to acquire an existing franchise when the Pittsburgh Penguins were sold in a bankruptcy auction for $4.4 million in June 1975.[10]

Seattle Totems - Wikipedia

Ivan Mullenix, owner of the Central Hockey League's Denver Spurs, had been awarded a "conditional" NHL franchise for the 1976–77 season. With McNichols Sports Arena already completed by 1975, he looked to enter the NHL a year early, and the league attempted to broker an arrangement by which he would acquire the struggling California Golden Seals and move them to Denver in lieu of an expansion team. At the same time, the Pittsburgh Penguins would be sold to a Seattle-based group that had also won a conditional franchise for that city.
The proposed arrangement fell through, and with the continuing franchise difficulties, the NHL called off the 1976–77 expansion. The Spurs then elected to move to the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the 1975–76 season, but Denver fans did not consider the WHA a major league, and stayed away in droves. By December, rumors that the NHL was preparing to move the Seals or Kansas City Scouts to Denver led Mullenix to conclude he could not survive in Denver. Out of desperation, he moved the Spurs to Ottawa almost halfway through the season. However, the renamed Ottawa Civics lasted only two weeks before folding.

Colorado Rockies (NHL) - Wikipedia

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I don't know of any time where the name was being considered for a potential NHL franchise. It was an original WHA team with players such as Bernie Parent on the roster but the franchise relocated without playing a game.

 

[crobro]

The Charlestown Chiefs almost moved to Florida

Mickey Dunn wrote the article at the time must of been true

 

[SealsFan]

I bought a 1965 copy of The Hockey News on Ebay and I think I made a post about it here, don't recall the exact specifics but they were talking about Buffalo or Vancouver being one of the 1967 expansion franchises and for whatever reasons that didn't happen until 1970.

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

I bought a 1965 copy of The Hockey News on Ebay and I think I made a post about it here, don't recall the exact specifics but they were talking about Buffalo or Vancouver being one of the 1967 expansion franchises and for whatever reasons that didn't happen until 1970.

We discussed various expansion chronologies in other threads but in October of 1965, Vancouver and the Bay Area were granted the third and fourth teams in the 6-team increase. St. Louis and Los Angeles were the first two teams and had already gained approval from the NHL execs via vote. Vancouver needed to fulfill obligations regarding construction of its new arena.

The fifth and sixth teams were to be among Philadelphia (provided an arena was built), Baltimore, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh.

A few months later, Baltimore was named as a conditional franchise but only if St. Louis, which had the facility in place owned by the same group as the Blackhawks, couldn't fulfill its obligation via an application (separate ownership) with the other three admitted. Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Philadelphia were those selected to round out the six teams after Vancouver's bid was nullified (reasons have varied from the existing Canadian teams not wanting to share revenue to being not having a satisfactory proposal).

The NHL's desire was to put two franchises in three regions (LA/OAK-SF; PHI-PIT; MIN-STL) and theoretically the competition was based on geography (example: two of three western applicants would be picked, rather than three from the west, two in the east and one Midwest).

Buffalo's eventual ownership, which had applied for expansion in the past, had a minority stake in the Seals and wanted to move the franchise to Buffalo around 1969. That was rejected. Much of that was CBS' desire in having more of a regional balance (a rival for the Kings).

Buffalo and Vancouver were rejected in 1966 for 1967 but gained access in the next expansion for 1970 (Baltimore applied and was rejected).

 

[BadgerBruce]

I bought a 1965 copy of The Hockey News on Ebay and I think I made a post about it here, don't recall the exact specifics but they were talking about Buffalo or Vancouver being one of the 1967 expansion franchises and for whatever reasons that didn't happen until 1970.

Here’s a quick rundown of the presentations made to the NHL Board of Governors for the 1967 expansion.

'Second Six' took shape 50 years ago

Foster Hewitt fronted the Vancouver pitch and a lot has been written about his role in the pursuit of a franchise there. He felt very burned by the league and the process.

A ton of big names mentioned in the article — Ralph Wilson, George Eby (owned the Ice Capades),Dan Reeves from the Rams, Art Rooney from the Steelers— all chasing approval.

The one that makes me very curious is the Cleveland bid, reported this way: “The President [Campbell] reported that he had been in communication with a Cleveland group who wished to make an application but who did not wish to disclose their identity until they were in position to indicate where they expected to play and this could only be disclosed by senior State Government officer who could not be available for this Meeting."

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

I wonder if that Cleveland Barons would have survived, considering what happened to the eventual NHL Cleveland Barons.

IMO they probably would have been fine. The biggest factor back then would have been the gate, which would have probably been good given the fans would have been following a familiar team with good players. Getting a few years jump start on expansion also could have put them in a good position to win in the 1968-1975 timeframe, compared to the expansion clubs who had to struggle to keep their heads above the water.

I'd love to see the Maroons return like the Sens did. Also, I think it is fun to imagine what the Habs-Maroons rivalry could have been. Considering the Maroons were supposed to be the team for Anglophones I think there could have been a game during the FLQ crisis that made the Good Friday Brawl look like a walk in the park.

See post #22 in this thread

Would a New "Montreal Maroons" Work Today?

I do agree that a team in Montreal would not be the most insane thing I can imagine, although I think the far more obvious option would be a second GTA team. Having lived in the area my entire life I think theres a lot of people that may be hockey fans, but just dont identify with the Habs or Leafs. Its easy to forget right now that the Leafs are good, but when they go through their 2008-2015 spells of looking incompetent on the ice and in head office, you can take a poll of GTA hockey fans, and easily 80% of them will be rooting for some team thats not the leafs.

Yeah I’m gonna go ahead and speculate that a Habs/Maroons playoff series, with all 7 games held at the Forum, would not have been fun for the local police.

I believe some of the accounts Ive read from the time definitely confirmed this. Although it honestly sounded more like Rangers-Islanders than Canadiens-Nordiques when they talked about the intensity of it. I could be wrong, but it seemed like the perception of anglo vs french wasnt nearly as stark at the time as it would be 20 years later. This could be because the ownership was anglo for the first 10-15 years of the clubs existence.