184 replies to this topic

[DropThePuck]

Whoa!!

Iowa didn't bring home the bacon??

The Ducks confirmed they do not plan to continue their working arrangement with the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League.

The teams signed a two-year affiliation agreement before last season, but the Chops did not meet their financial obligations, the Ducks said. The Ducks informed the Chops of their intentions in a letter on Friday.

The Ducks are attempting to find another AHL affiliate. If they are unable to do so in time for next season, they might wind up sharing a farm team with another NHL club.

<OCR blog entry by Zupke>

[Dark Knight]

Wow... I didn't see that coming

[ladiesandgentlemen]

Whoa... this came out of left field.

The poor fans there must be shell-shocked...

[MrsBevo]

Iowa got chopped!

[Dark Knight]

For the record this was first reported by Dan Wood of the OCR.

Thanks for the scoop DTP There's a news bit on the official site but no link yet

[DuckNewbie]

Correct me if I'm wrong.....

But isn't it the case that all AHL teams already have affiliations? Or is there an obvious opening that allowed the Ducks to make this move....And as abruptly as it has.


Other possibility: Are they jumping to a West Coast affiliation much sooner than we expected? Somehow?

[DropThePuck]

For the record this was first reported by Dan Wood of the OCR.

Thanks for the reminder DK! I was so totally taken aback by the news that forgot to paste in the source link.

Wonder if Laatsch had some stuff to convey while he's here with the Black Aces.

[Dark Knight]

But isn't it the case that all AHL teams already have affiliations? Or is there an obvious opening that allowed the Ducks to make this move....And as abruptly as it has.

Dallas didn't have an affiliation last year and I don't believe Edmonton does still. I'd rather see the Ducks have their own rather than sharing. They shared with Detroit for a while in Cincinnati.

I wonder if the economic downturn caused this

[DuckNewbie]

Dallas didn't have an affiliation last year and I don't believe Edmonton does still. I'd rather see the Ducks have their own rather than sharing. They shared with Detroit for a while in Cincinnati.

I wonder if the economic downturn caused this

May have something to do with why the Chops "didn't meet their financial obligations"....whatever that means.

But I'd think the Ducks organization would give some latitude if those "missed obligations" aren't HUGE, and they were happy with the relationship. I'm just wondering if that's more of an excuse in order to allow the Ducks to pursue something they like better.

Guess forthcoming news will answer that.....Eventually.

[DuckNewbie]

This is probably old news to some....but I went to the AHL website for some quick research for my own gratification:

Link - AHL Teams

For the 2008-09 season, there are currently 29 teams. All 29 have NHL affiliations, with Dallas being the "odd man out" as we know.

For 2009-10, they list 3 "new" teams:

- Texas Stars: Will be the new Dallas affiliate in Austin(?)
- Abbotsford, BC (no team name): Will be the Calgary affiliate.
- Adirondak Phantoms: Will be the Philly affiliate, and I presume that means the Philadelphia Phantoms will disappear?

Question: Does that leave the former Calgary affiliate, the "Quad City Flames", open? Or was that team going to be disbanded in the process?

This may mean nothing....But now I know a little more than I did.

______________________

Added:

All Ducks information has been removed from the Chops website, and the Chops link on the the Ducks website has been removed.

An abrupt divorce.....

[jusducks6]

This is probably old news to some....but I went to the AHL website for some quick research for my own gratification:

Link - AHL Teams

For the 2008-09 season, there are currently 29 teams. All 29 have NHL affiliations, with Dallas being the "odd man out" as we know.

For 2009-10, they list 3 "new" teams:

- Texas Stars: Will be the new Dallas affiliate in Austin(?)
- Abbotsford, BC (no team name): Will be the Calgary affiliate.
- Adirondak Phantoms: Will be the Philly affiliate, and I presume that means the Philadelphia Phantoms will disappear?

Question: Does that leave the former Calgary affiliate, the "Quad City Flames", open? Or was that team going to be disbanded in the process?

This may mean nothing....But now I know a little more than I did.

______________________

Added:

All Ducks information has been removed from the Chops website, and the Chops link on the the Ducks website has been removed.

An abrupt divorce.....

I'm pretty sure the Phantoms and Flames are moving. With the Chops being without an affilate at this point what is going to happen to them?

[ladiesandgentlemen]

As far as I know, the ownership group of the Calgary Flames owns (or at least has a controlling interest in) an AHL franchise, and they have applied and received approval to move that franchise from the Quad Cities area to Abbostford, B.C. Therefore, there is no longer a AHL franchise in Quad Cities.

There are 30 AHL franchises, but only 29 teams because one of the franchises is currently dormant. The Dallas Stars are expected to negotiate a deal to acquire the rights to operate that dormant franchise (was owned by Edmonton last I knew, IIRC) in order to have their own AHL team beginning next season.

Unless another of the AHL franchises discontinues their current affiliation with one of the AHL franchises and we can affiliate with them, the Ducks will have to:
1. share an affiliation
2. re-affiliate with the franchise currently in Iowa (but very unlikely under the current ownership or identity or location), or buy it (acquiring it's operating rights) like the Stars are doing
3. forget the AHL and use another league (e.g., ECHL) for prospect development

[DuckNewbie]

I'm pretty sure the Phantoms and Flames are moving. With the Chops being without an affilate at this point what is going to happen to them?

Agree. After doing more research, I pulled this from multiple sources. (And have no links. Sorry. )

Point of clarification on what "affiliate" means in this discussion: Being an AHL affiliate means you are an official approved member of the AHL league. Having an NHL affiliate means you are associated with an NHL team.

- Only 30 AHL official affiliates exist and are likely to exist. The 29 currently operating, and a 30th dormant affiliate owned by the Edmonton oilers.

- Some, if not most, AHL affiliates are NOT owned by NHL teams, but by smaller entities. They then have NHL affiliates either by their own choice, or by default, because:

- It appears you must BOTH be an official AHL affiliate, AND have an NHL affiliate in order to be a part of the AHL league. (No such thing, under normal operation, to have a non NHL affiliated AHL affiliate.) (Fun, huh?)

- It appears that both the Philadelphia Phantoms, and the Quad City Flames are actually moving their AHL affiliation, along with the team, and NHL affiliation. The first to become the Adirondak Phantoms, the second to become the Abbotsford (Flames?). So those teams disappear as potential AHL teams for Anaheim to form 1-to-1 affiliations with.

- The Texas Stars couldn't officially operate as an AHL team because they don't own an AHL affiliate to move there, or create there. It was believe they intended to buy the dormant affiliation owned by Edmonton, but Edmonton is now contemplating using it to introduce a new team in Oklahoma City, and move their prospects from Springfield. (They apparently don't own the AHL affiliate in Springfield).

- The Dallas/Texas Stars have recently been granted a "special exemption" by the AHL to open their team in Austin for business, and participate in the 2009-10 season, on the condition that they buy and move the "first available" existing AHL affiliate within 1 year.

- (The "within 1 year" stipulation seems to imply that the AHL knows one will be becoming available very soon…doesn't it?)

- So, this appears to indicate the AHL teams in limbo soon will be Iowa, (with Anaheim breaking ties), and the Springfield Falcons sometime in the next few years.

Are the Ducks looking to hook up with Springfield in the future? And is the "first available" AHL team that the Stars could buy and/or move going to end up being the Iowa Chops (former Iowa Stars)?

Unless there is other intrigue going on, (i.e. other NHL teams breaking ties with AHL affiliates), it appears the Ducks may be stuck sharing one or more AHL teams with other NHL teams for a year or more. Until Edmonton makes use of their dormant team, and Springfield opens up.

Or….did Anaheim convince Edmonton to sell THEM the dormant team? (Seems unlikely, but not impossible).

It's all interesting politics…..But I have no real answers.

[DuckNewbie]

As far as I know, the ownership group of the Calgary Flames owns (or at least has a controlling interest in) an AHL franchise, and they have applied and received approval to move that franchise from the Quad Cities area to Abbostford, B.C. Therefore, there is no longer a AHL franchise in Quad Cities.

There are 30 AHL franchises, but only 29 teams because one of the franchises is currently dormant. The Dallas Stars are expected to negotiate a deal to acquire the rights to operate that dormant franchise (was owned by Edmonton last I knew, IIRC) in order to have their own AHL team beginning next season.

Unless another of the AHL franchises discontinues their current affiliation with one of the AHL franchises and we can affiliate with them, the Ducks will have to:
1. share an affiliation
2. re-affiliate with the franchise currently in Iowa (but very unlikely under the current ownership or identity or location), or buy it (acquiring it's operating rights) like the Stars are doing
3. forget the AHL and use another league (e.g., ECHL) for prospect development

I was too slow.....and agree on all of your points. Only additional information I had was the "special exemption" that the Stars somehow got. I'll try to re-find that link since it's pertinent.

Added:
Here's the link on 1) Special exemption for the Texas Stars, and 2) claim that Edmonton intends to use their affiliate.
Link

The AHL granted the Texas Stars a limited membership for the 2009-10 season under the condition the franchise complete the purchase of an AHL franchise within one year. The Texas Stars will be based out of a new arena in the Cedar Park area of Austin and will be the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. The Texas Stars had hoped to purchase the Edmonton Oilers' dormant AHL franchise called the Road Runners, but the Oilers plan to operate that franchise starting in the 2010-11 season. There are no other AHL franchises currently for sale, so the Texas Stars are expected to work out a deal with an AHL franchise and move it to the Austin area within the year. Dallas used the Des Moines-based Iowa Stars as its affiliate from 2005 to 2008, but did not have an AHL affiliate last season.

[woodbutcher]

"Move west young man" as the saying goes. There have been rumors of Anaheim wanting Bakersfield to move up to the AHL but most thought this wouldn't happen for a number of years, depending on how the rest of the western NHL teams moved their AHL affiliates. Should be an interesting off season of speculation.

[Dark Knight]

Thanks DuckNewbie and l&g for the research. I'm not very fond of the sharing thing or of having an ECHL team as the Ducks primary AHL affiliate. Let's hope the Ducks management have some news for us soon.

[LightItUp4126]

I propose Anaheim come back to Portland. At least we bought tickets.

[DuckNewbie]

I propose Anaheim come back to Portland. At least we bought tickets.

I would prefer a shared affiliation with an Easter Conference team....as opposed to having our Ducklings hanging out with other WC enemies.

[ladiesandgentlemen]

I was too slow.....and agree on all of your points. Only additional information I had was the "special exemption" that the Stars somehow got. I'll try to re-find that link since it's pertinent.

Added:
Here's the link on 1) Special exemption for the Texas Stars, and 2) claim that Edmonton intends to use their affiliate.
Link

Thanks for that info on the Stars' situation. I didn't know they were not able buy the dormant franchise, but acquired the rights to operate an AHL team through other means... "Special Exemption"... I could use some of those, too. Particularly from Big Brother and the Grim Reaper.

This move by the Ducks could be one of many things, but I think the most certain thing is that our prospects will no longer be skating around with an angry pig on their chest.

[Dark Knight]

This move by the Ducks could be one of many things, but I think the most certain thing is that our prospects will no longer be skating around with an angry pig on their chest.

And that is a big positive as far as I'm concerned. I wish we could go back to Portland too, but that won't happen.

By the way, DuckNewbie, I think you could change your handle to DuckExpert

[sugarmama]

Correct me if I'm wrong.....

But isn't it the case that all AHL teams already have affiliations? Or is there an obvious opening that allowed the Ducks to make this move....And as abruptly as it has.


Other possibility: Are they jumping to a West Coast affiliation much sooner than we expected? Somehow?

Just to add to the other well-researched points, it's pretty common to have a high turnover rate in the AHL. I don't have a list, but there are likely a number of agreements set to expire this year. It's likely that could result in a swap of some sort.

[play puck]

Dang i didnt see this coming. Hppe no one gets Dropped

[DuckNewbie]

By the way, DuckNewbie, I think you could change your handle to DuckExpert

That's going too far....but I will admit that "DuckNewbie" WAS an poorly planned moniker. Kind of like going through your whole life being called "Junior".

[wildcat48]

Hello..... Long time away, but I've been keeping an eye on Ducks. I'm sort of hoping for a Ducks/Bruins SCF so I could go to Boston.

Anyway... I suppose this news caught everyone here as abrupt as it did all of us in the AHL when it was announced. Besides the fact that Iowa is a lame duck – no pun intended – franchise because not only do they need to find an affiliate to operate, they need one by summer BoG meetings when AHL teams have to declare their intentions for next season.

Right now the AHL actually has 31 teams, but only 30 will be active. It’s a little confusing, but here's the quickie version.

1.) Philadelphia relocated to Glens Falls, NY and became the Adirondack Phantoms. This happened because Comcast is tearing down the Spectrum for a new retail/hotel project called Philly Live. The move to Glens Falls will only be short lived because the Brooks Bros. (new owners of the franchise) have full intentions on moving to Lehigh Valley, PA once a new arena is complete.

2.) Austin is being allowed to go active in 2009-'10 as the Texas Stars after the AHL granted them a "limited" franchise so they can begin operations. It's only for one year at which time they must complete the purchase of an AHL franchise. It doesn’t mean they’ve got a franchise lineup, but that they have one year to find one and complete the purchase. It’s still remains to be seen how they will pull that rabbit out of the hat considering this have been going on for almost two years now. As far as a limited franchise… all it means is Dallas won’t get a binding vote at the BoG meetings.

3.) Calgary opened up a can of worms with this relocation and many of us in the AHL are very skeptical if it will work. The Flames have relocated their affiliate from Quad Cities to Fraser Valley, BC and will play in Abbotsford, BC. The closest opponent is the Manitoba Moose who are some 1500 miles away, but the Flames and Abbotsford agreed to pay a 100% travel subsidy to the league. That means any team traveling to Abbotsford won’t bear any cost. That was the only way they'd get the 75% approval and even then it was a close vote. I’m hearing only 23 of the 29 teams voted for the move, which is only one vote over the required for relocation. A lot of us remain hesitate on this working because of two reasons. The first is the fact that it's on the west coast and it creates travel issues in regard to cost and actual development. Second reason is the fact this is Calgary and this will be their fourth city since 2002-'03. The Flames have gone from Saint John, NB, which was very successful to Omaha, Quad Cities and now Abbotsford so it will be something to keep an eye on.

4.) Edmonton owns a dormant team which they plan to activate in 2010-'11 in Oklahoma City as the Oklahoma Blazers. That will leave the Springfield Falcons without an affiliate, but the league and team has said they will be staying put so that begs to ask which NHL team will be going to Springfield.

The Ducks situation isn't going to be an easy one to solve.

They are currently looking to affiliate with another team or multiple teams for at least next season. After that time it will give them a chance to find a full-time partner or buy a franchise and relocated to San Diego. That has been mentioned many times as city where the Ducks would like to move. As for Portland... I think those days are gone. Buffalo has been successful in their first season and the folks in Buffalo have put a lot of marketing into the Pirates and it showed when 12,000 people attended a Tuesday night game for the Pirates at HSBC Arena. It's worked well. While many miss Anaheim and what they brought to the table, at the end of the day they had a chance to stay, but left because they wanted to be closer to Anaheim.

Dallas needs to buy a franchise and now Anaheim needs a franchise for an affiliate. Without an affiliate Iowa can't operation as per league rules so that's mean if they have to NHL team.... The team's only real value can't be realized unless it's sold because they can't operate without an NHL affiliation. So... I could see Iowa selling to Dallas - sort of ironic - and become the Texas Stars as a full franchise. Edmonton is allowed to get out of their deal with Springfield and activate their deal with Oklahoma for next season, which opens up Springfield for the Anaheim Ducks.

They are back on the East Coast, but they at least have a stable city with a good building.

I do wonder if they wished they stayed in Portland however……?

[ladiesandgentlemen]

Hello..... Long time away, but I've been keeping an eye on Ducks. I'm sort of hoping for a Ducks/Bruins SCF so I could go to Boston...

...The Ducks situation isn't going to be an easy one to solve.

They are currently looking to affiliate with another team or multiple teams for at least next season. After that time it will give them a chance to find a full-time partner or buy a franchise and relocated to San Diego. That has been mentioned many times as city where the Ducks would like to move. As for Portland... ... While many miss Anaheim and what they brought to the table, at the end of the day they had a chance to stay, but left because they wanted to be closer to Anaheim.

Dallas needs to buy a franchise and now Anaheim needs a franchise for an affiliate. Without an affiliate Iowa can't operation as per league rules so that's mean if they have to NHL team.... The team's only real value can't be realized unless it's sold because they can't operate without an NHL affiliation. So... I could see Iowa selling to Dallas - sort of ironic - and become the Texas Stars as a full franchise. Edmonton is allowed to get out of their deal with Springfield and activate their deal with Oklahoma for next season, which opens up Springfield for the Anaheim Ducks.

They are back on the East Coast, but they at least have a stable city with a good building.

I do wonder if they wished they stayed in Portland however……?

Hey wc, long time no see. Hope all is well on your end...

Thanks for the input on the AHL. I don't know if you know this, but the LA Kings have snagged a more immediate foothold in San Diego because AEG Facilities acquired a controlling interest in the San Diego Arena (Reference), which is probably the only existing facility there that could handle an AHL operation... even though as it currently stands it's pretty much a dump.

As for Iowa, the thought occurred to me that the Ducks could be pulling the rug out from under the Chops as they stand, in order for a big change like a sale to occur. Just a thought, not an accusation. Time will tell I suppose.

Our first year with our new affiliations has had some challenges. A couple of the coaches in Bakersfield were suspended by the team for a week, and there were some problems with players there that stretched from on-ice to off-ice and all the way to the police department. And now this with Iowa...

And now that Burkie has gone to be the blue & white pope, who knows if the remaining suits wish they had kept us in Portland. Not sure where Bob Murray stood on that change. But having LAK slip into the driver's seat in San Diego in the mean time seems like a big oversight on Anaheim's part.