Greeting Hockey-l'ers.
 
Recnetly there has been some discussion regarding the North Stars, et. al.
an their moves.
 
I hope this clarifies some of the NHL franchise moves:
 
In 1967-68, the NHL expanded from 6 to 12 teams, adding a team based in
the California Bay Area, the California Golden Seals.  The Seals were perrenial
losers, always finishing near the bottom.  As teh legend would have it, they
were the team that traded teh first round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens
which the Canadiens used to grab Guy LaFleur.  They guy (not Guy) that the
Seals got quickly proved to be a bit of a bust, and everybody knows what Guy
LaFleur accomplished in his NHL career.
 
The Golden Seals never really drew well, so they decided to move to Cleveland,
Ohio, where they were known as the Cleveland Barons for a couple of years.
The Barons played in the arena where the Cavaliers play now, which is some
distance from Cleveland.  They also did not draw well, but were a bit better
than the Seals.
 
The Minnesota North Stars, also formed in 1967-68, combined with the
Cleveland franchise after the Cleveland franchise folded in the late 70's or
very early 80's.  The North Stars muddled for a couple of years, but eventually
became quite good (losing to the NY Islanders in the 1981 Stanley Cup Finals).
Everybody is familiar with the Starts recent move to Dallas.
 
(That should read Stars, not Starts ^)
 
The Devils history is also interesting.
 
The 1974-75 season saw 2 new clubs, the Washington Capitals and the Kansas
City Scouts.  The Scouts moved to Colorado where they became the Colorado
Rockies.  Neither team drew well and they were always near the bottom of the
league.  The Rockies moved to New Jersey, where they became the Devils
(named after teh legendary New Jersey Pine Barrens Swamp Devil, a legendary
creature which roams the Pine Barrens).  The Devils were very poor their
first few seasons in NJ, prompting Wayne Gretzky to call them 'a Mickey-Mouse
team'.  This is true.  As an Islander fan at the time, I was very amused.
The Devils were the joke of the New York Metro Area, as the Islanders were
the Champions four years running and teh Rangers were usually just above .500.
 
But anyway, the franchises go like this:
 
KC Scouts   ------>   Colorado Rockies   ------>   New Jersey Devils
 
 
California Golden Seals   --->   Cleveland Barons   -\
                                                      \
                                                      |
Minnesota North Stars  ------------------------------>+
                                                      |
                                                      V
                                          Minnesota North Stars
                                                      |
                                                      |
                                                      V
                                               Dallas Stars
 
For what it's worth:
 
6 Original NHL Teams:
 
NY Rangers                           Chicago Black Hawks
Boston Bruins                        Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens                   Toronto Maple Leafs
 
1967-68 Expansion
 
Philadelphia Flyers                  St. Louis Blues
Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars)
California Golden Seals (now part of Dallas Stars, sort of)
Los Angeles Kings                    Pittsburgh Penguins
 
1970-71 Expansion
 
Buffalo Sabres                       Vancouver Canucks
 
1972-73 Expansion
 
NY Islanders                         Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames)
 
1974-75 Expansion
 
Washington Capitals                  Kansas City Scouts (now NJ Devils)
 
1979-80 WHA Absorption
 
Edmonton Oilers                      Hartford Whalers
Winnepeg Jets                        Quebec Nordiques
 
1991-92 Expansion
 
San Jose Sharks
 
1992-93 Expansion
 
Ottowa Senators                      Tampa Bay Lightning
 
1993-94 Expansion
 
Anaheim Might Ducks                  Florida Panthers
 
 
 
I hope this entertain everyone left on Hockey-L.
 
If anything's wrong, correct me.
 
Rich Boehme
[log in to unmask]
 
GO RPI!   Sign dem freshmen!!