1.
Summerside, Prince Edward Island
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Summerside is a Canadian city in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is the second largest city in the province and the municipality for the western part of the island. Summerside was officially incorporated as a town on April 1,1877 and it was reincorporated as a city on April 1,1995 with the amalgamation of the town of Summerside and the neighbouring communities of St. Eleanors, Wilmot and a segment of Sherbrooke. The population of the town of Summerside in 1991, the last census prior to amalgamation, was 13,636 residents. The largest single employer within the city is the Summerside Tax Centre, the outlying community of New Annan is home to the operations of Cavendish Farms, Prince Edward Islands largest private sector employer. Cavendish Farms maintains two large frozen foods processing plants in New Annan, other outlying communities, such as Borden-Carleton have important employers for Summerside residents. The Summerside area was at one home to the worlds largest concentration of Tame Silver Fox farms. This is highlighted at the Silver Fox Museum, the Summerside City Council is governed by a mayor and eight councillors who represent geographic areas called wards. The current mayor is Bill Martin, the Summerside Police Department has approximately 35 officers responsible for law enforcement within the city. Summerside has seven English public schools, four elementary, two high, and one senior high school. The English Language School Board has an office in the city, the city also has one French public school operated by the Commission scolaire de langue française. The City of Summerside operates the only municipally-owned electric utility in Prince Edward Island, after buying Charlottetown Light & Power in 1918, Maritime Electric consolidated electric distribution on the island. The company offered to take over the operations in Summerside, the Summerside distribution grid has had an inter-connection with the Maritime Electric transmission grid since 1961. Similar to Maritime Electric, Summerside Electric purchases the majority of its electricity from NB Power, in 2008,76. 5% of its power was acquired from NB Power. They also run their engines on the last day of month, for maintenance reasons. In 2007 the city signed a 20-year agreement with a wind energy company to supply about 23% of its electricity from a private wind farm in West Cape. Construction started on a city owned wind farm in 2009 comprising four wind turbines, the wind farm became fully operational in late 2009 and was immediately tied into the citys power. This is Canadas first municipally owned and operated wind farm, on an average day the wind farm produces about 25% of the electricity for the entire city
2.
Ice hockey
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Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponents net to score points. Ice hockey teams usually consist of six each, one goaltender. A fast-paced, physical sport, ice hockey is most popular in areas of North America, Ice hockey is the official national winter sport of Canada, where the game enjoys immense popularity. In North America, the National Hockey League is the highest level for mens hockey, the Kontinental Hockey League is the highest league in Russia and much of Eastern Europe. The International Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body for international ice hockey. The IIHF manages international tournaments and maintains the IIHF World Ranking, worldwide, there are ice hockey federations in 74 countries. Ice hockey is believed to have evolved from simple stick and ball games played in the 18th and 19th century United Kingdom and these games were brought to North America and several similar winter games using informal rules were developed, such as shinny and ice polo. The contemporary sport of ice hockey was developed in Canada, most notably in Montreal, some characteristics of that game, such as the length of the ice rink and the use of a puck, have been retained to this day. Amateur ice hockey began in the 1880s, and professional ice hockey originated around 1900. The Stanley Cup, emblematic of ice hockey club supremacy, was first awarded in 1893 to recognize the Canadian amateur champion, in international competitions, the national teams of six countries predominate, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the United States. Of the 69 medals awarded all-time in mens competition at the Olympics, in the annual Ice Hockey World Championships,177 of 201 medals have been awarded to the six nations. In Russia and the Ukraine, where hockey can also refer to bandy, the name hockey has no clear origin. The English historian and biographer John Strype did not use the word hockey when he translated the proclamation in 1720, the 1573 Statute of Galway banned a sport called hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves. A form of this word was thus being used in the 16th century, though much removed from its current usage. According to the Austin Hockey Association, the word derives from the Scots Gaelic puc or the Irish poc. The blow given by a hurler to the ball with his caman or hurley is always called a puck. Stick-and-ball games date back to pre-Christian times, in Europe, these games included the Irish game of hurling, the closely related Scottish game of shinty and versions of field hockey. IJscolf, a game resembling colf on a surface, was popular in the Low Countries between the Middle Ages and the Dutch Golden Age. It was played with a curved bat, a wooden or leather ball
3.
National Hockey League
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Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the playoff champion at the end of each season. At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all in Canada, the league expanded to the United States in 1924, when the Boston Bruins joined, and has since consisted of American and Canadian teams. After a labour-management dispute that led to the cancellation of the entire 2004–05 season, in 2009, the NHL enjoyed record highs in terms of sponsorships, attendance, and television audiences. The league draws many highly skilled players from all over the world, canadians have historically constituted the majority of the players in the league, with an increasing percentage of American and European players in recent seasons. The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association, founded in 1909, the NHA began play one year later with seven teams in Ontario and Quebec, and was one of the first major leagues in professional ice hockey. Realizing the NHA constitution left them unable to force Livingstone out, the four teams voted instead to suspend the NHA, frank Calder was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943. The Bulldogs were unable to play, and the remaining owners created a new team in Toronto, the first games were played on December 19,1917. The Montreal Arena burned down in January 1918, causing the Wanderers to cease operations, the NHL replaced the NHA as one of the leagues that competed for the Stanley Cup, which was an interleague competition back then. Toronto won the first NHL title, and then defeated the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1918 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens won the title in 1919, however their Stanley Cup Final against the PCHAs Seattle Metropolitans was abandoned as a result of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Montreal in 1924 won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the NHL, the Hamilton Tigers, won the regular season title in 1924–25 but refused to play in the championship series unless they were given a C$200 bonus. The league refused and declared the Canadiens the league champion after defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final. Montreal was then defeated by the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1925 Stanley Cup and it was the last time a non-NHL team won the trophy, as the Stanley Cup became the de facto NHL championship in 1926 after the WCHL ceased operation. The National Hockey League embarked on rapid expansion in the 1920s, adding the Montreal Maroons, the Bruins were the first American team in the league. The New York Americans began play in 1925 after purchasing the assets of the Hamilton Tigers, the New York Rangers were added in 1926. The Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Cougars were also added after the league purchased the assets of the defunct WCHL, a group purchased the Toronto St. Patricks in 1927 and immediately renamed them the Maple Leafs. The first NHL All-Star Game was held in 1934 to benefit Ace Bailey, the second was held in 1937 in support of Howie Morenzs family when he died of a coronary embolism after breaking his leg during a game
4.
Columbus Blue Jackets
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The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, the Blue Jackets were founded as an expansion team in 2000. The team qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 2009, the Blue Jackets name and logos were inspired by Ohios Civil War history. The Blue Jackets play their games at Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus. They are affiliated with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, prior to the establishment of the Blue Jackets, the last NHL team in the state of Ohio was the Cleveland Barons, who played from 1976 to 1978. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets replaced the Columbus Chill of the ECHL, the Chill played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum where they had an 83-game sellout streak, which was a minor league hockey record at the time. In November 1996, five investors formed a partnership called Columbus Hockey Limited, who submitted an application. The voters of Columbus were considering a referendum to build a publicly financed arena, when League Commissioner Gary Bettman visited Columbus to meet with the communitys leaders about the franchise proposal, there was concern that the voters might not pass the needed referendum. The civic leaders told Bettman that they would not be willing to foot the bill for the if the referendum failed. However, just after the meeting adjourned, John H. McConnell privately guaranteed Bettman that an arena would be built, Columbus hopes for the bid dimmed when the May referendum failed. However, Nationwide announced on May 31,1997, that it would finance the $150-million arena, subsequently, on June 25,1997, the NHL announced that Columbus would receive a new franchise. Afterwards a Name the Team contest was held with the help from Wendys throughout central Ohio during the month of August 1997, out of 14,000 submitted entries, the franchise with help from the NHL narrowed the 14,000 entries down to 10 names. Then with the information received from owner John H. McConnell regarding Columbus history, the League, the former, which referenced Ohios contributions to the American Civil War, was eventually announced as the team name in November. On June 23,2000, the NHLs two newest teams, the Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, took part in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft in Calgary, Alberta. Under the drafts rules,26 of the NHLs active 28 teams were allowed to protect one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards. The Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators both had their full rosters protected because they were the two newest teams, only being in existence for one and two years, respectively. Both the Blue Jackets and Wild had to use their first 24 selections on three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and thirteen forwards and their final two picks could be players of any position. With the first-overall choice, the Blue Jackets selected goaltender Rick Tabaracci from the Colorado Avalanche, over the course of the draft, Columbus picked up goalie Dwayne Roloson, defensemen Lyle Odelein and Mathieu Schneider, and forwards Geoff Sanderson, Turner Stevenson and Dallas Drake, among others
5.
Florida Panthers
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The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League and it was founded in 1993 as an expansion team. They play home games at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, the team has made one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, in 1996, the only season in which the Panthers have ever won a playoff series, eventually losing the Finals to the Colorado Avalanche. Blockbuster Video magnate Wayne Huizenga was awarded an NHL franchise for Miami on December 10,1992, at the time, Huizenga owned both the newly founded Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball and a share of the National Football Leagues Miami Dolphins. The entry fee was $50 million, but despite fellow Florida team Tampa Bay Lightning starting play the year before, Huizenga announced the team would play at the Miami Arena, sharing the building with the National Basketball Associations Miami Heat, until a new arena was built. The team is named for the Florida panther, a species of large cat endemic to the nearby Everglades region. Once the logos and uniforms were unveiled on June 15, the team announced its financial commitment to the panther preservation cause. Huizenga held the Panthers trademark since 1991, when he purchased it from a group of Tampa investors who sought to create an MLB team on the Bay area, the new franchise would join the NHL for participation in the 1993–94 season, along with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Panthers first major stars were New York Rangers goaltender castoff John Vanbiesbrouck, rookie Rob Niedermayer and forward Scott Mellanby, who scored 30 goals in Floridas inaugural season. The Panthers had one of the most successful first seasons of any expansion team and their first-year success was attributed mainly to the trap defense that first-year coach Roger Neilson implemented. This conservative style was criticized by NHL teams, some even suggested that the Panthers were ruining the game at the time. While the team expected the audience to consist of mostly snowbird Canadians living in Florida. Helped by Miamis other teams having middling performances, the club averaged 94% capacity at the 14, 500-seat Miami Arena, in August 1994, General Manager Clarke left to work for the Philadelphia Flyers, while Bryan Murray was brought in from the Detroit Red Wings as his replacement. Doug MacLean, who had been the player development director, was promoted to coach. The team then acquired Ray Sheppard from the San Jose Sharks at the NHL trade deadline, a very unusual goal celebration developed in Miami during the 1995–96 season. On the night of the Panthers 1995–96 home opener, a rat scurried across the locker room. Scott Mellanby reacted by one-timing the rat against the wall, killing it and that night, he scored two goals, which Vanbiesbrouck quipped was a rat trick. Two nights later, as the story found its way into the world, the rubber rat count went from 16 for the third home game to over 2,000 during the playoffs
6.
Prince Edward Island
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Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the island of the same name, as well as several much smaller islands. It is one of the three Maritime Provinces and is the smallest province in land area and population. It is the only jurisdiction of North America outside the Caribbean to have no mainland territory. The backbone of the economy is farming, it produces 25% of Canadas potatoes, historically, PEI is one of Canadas older settlements and demographically still reflects older immigration to the country, with Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and French surnames being dominant to this day. According to the 2011 census, the province of Prince Edward Island has 140,204 residents and it is located about 200 kilometres north of Halifax, Nova Scotia and 600 kilometres east of Quebec City. It consists of the island and 231 minor islands. Altogether, the province has a land area of 5,685.73 km2. The main island is 5,620 km2 in size, slightly larger than the U. S. state of Delaware and it is the 104th-largest island in the world and Canadas 23rd-largest island. The island is named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the son of King George III. Prince Edward has been called Father of the Canadian Crown, Prince Edward Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of Cape Breton Island, north of the Nova Scotia peninsula, and east of New Brunswick. Its southern shore bounds the Northumberland Strait, the island has two urban areas. A much smaller urban area surrounds Summerside Harbour, situated on the southern shore 40 km west of Charlottetown Harbour, as with all natural harbours on the island, Charlottetown and Summerside harbours are created by rias. Rolling hills, woods, reddish white sand beaches, ocean coves, under the Planning Act of the province, municipalities have the option to assume responsibility for land-use planning through the development and adoption of official plans and land use bylaws. Thirty-one municipalities have taken responsibility for planning, in areas where municipalities have not assumed responsibility for planning, the Province remains responsible for development control. The islands lush landscape has a bearing on its economy. The author Lucy Maud Montgomery drew inspiration from the land during the late Victorian Era for the setting of her classic novel Anne of Green Gables, today, many of the same qualities that Montgomery and others found in the island are enjoyed by tourists who visit year-round. The smaller, rural communities as well as the towns and villages throughout the province, retain a slower-paced, Prince Edward Island has become popular as a tourist destination for relaxation. The economy of most rural communities on the island is based on small-scale agriculture, industrial farming has increased as businesses buy and consolidate older farm properties
7.
University of New Brunswick
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The University of New Brunswick is a public university with two primary campuses, located in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North America, UNB was founded by a group of seven Loyalists who left the United States after the American Revolution. UNB has two campuses, the original campus, founded in 1785 in Fredericton, and a smaller campus which opened in Saint John in 1964. In addition, there are two satellite health sciences campuses located in Moncton and Bathurst, New Brunswick, and two offices in the Caribbean and in Beijing. UNB offers over 75 degrees in fourteen faculties at the undergraduate and graduate levels with a student enrollment of approximately 11,400 between the two principal campuses. In the fall of 2010, UNB partnered with Dalhousie University, UNB was named the most entrepreneurial university in Canada at the 2014 Startup Canada Awards. In 1783, Loyalist settlers began to build upon the ruins of a former Acadian village called Ste-Anne-des-Pays-Bas, the new settlement was named Fredericks Town in honour of Prince Frederick, son of King George III and uncle of Queen Victoria. Initially modelled on the Anglican ideals of older, European institutions, John Coffin, Ward Chipman, and Adino Paddock. By an 1800 provincial charter, signed by Jonathan Odell, the Academy of Liberal Arts, the College was succeeded by Kings College, which was granted by royal charter in December 1827. In 1866, Mary Kingsley Tibbits became the first regularly admitted female student of UNB, the president, appointed by the board, was to provide a link between the two bodies and to provide institutional leadership. By 1867, the University of New Brunswick had two faculties, Arts and Applied Science and it awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Science. The latter was awarded only in the fields of engineering, electrical engineering. At this time, the university had 156 male students,21 female students, and only academic staff. In the 1960s, University policies changed in response to social pressure, in 1964, a second, smaller campus was established in Saint John, New Brunswick. The growth of the UNBSJ campus is notable, for the campus began with only 96 students spread throughout various buildings in Saint Johns central business district. In 1968, UNBSJ moved to its new home at Tucker Park, in 1959, the Faculty of Law moved from Saint John to Fredericton following a report on the status of legal education in Canada by Professor Maxwell Cohen from McGill University. In his report, Cohen stated that the Saint John Law School was only nominally a faculty of UNB and this prompted Lord Beaverbrook, as Chancellor, and UNB President Colin B. Mackay, to move the Saint John Law School to the UNB Fredericton campus
8.
St. Louis Blues
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The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song Saint Louis Blues, and plays in the 19, the franchise was founded in 1967 as an expansion team during the leagues original expansion from six to 12 teams. The Blues are the oldest NHL team never to have won the Stanley Cup, the Blues were one of the six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion, along with the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and California Seals. St. Louis was the last of the six teams to gain entry into the League. The Black Hawks were owned by the influential Wirtz family of Chicago, which also owned the decrepit St. Louis Arena. The Wirtzes sought to unload the arena, which had not been well-maintained since the 1940s, and thus pressed the NHL to give the franchise to St. Louis, which had not submitted a formal expansion bid. NHL President Clarence Campbell said during the 1967 expansion meetings that, We want a team in St. Louis because of the geographical location. The teams first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr. his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson, Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Garagnani would never see the Blues franchise take the ice, as he died from an attack on June 19,1967. Upon acquiring the franchise in 1966, Salomon then spent several million dollars on extensive renovations for the 38-year-old arena, the Blues were originally coached by Lynn Patrick, who resigned in late November after recording a 4–13–2 record. He was replaced by Assistant Coach Scotty Bowman, who led the team to a winning record for the rest of the season. Although the Leagues rules effectively kept star players with the six teams. Phil Goyette won the Lady Byng Trophy for the Blues in 1970, the arena quickly became one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, a reputation it maintained throughout its tenure as the Blues home. During that time, Salomon gained a reputation throughout the NHL as the top players owner and he gave his players cars, signed them to deferred contracts and treated them to vacations in Florida. The players, used to being treated like mere commodities, felt the way they could pay him back was to give their best on the ice every night. The Blues successes in the late 1960s, however, did not continue into the 1970s, as the Stanley Cup playoff format changed, defensively, however, the Blues were less than stellar and saw Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers overtake the Division. After missing the playoffs for the first time in 1973–74, the Blues ended up in the Smythe Division after a League realignment
9.
Washington Capitals
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The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D. C. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League, since their founding in 1974, the Capitals have won one conference championship, and nine division titles. In 1997, the team moved their home ice rink from the suburban Capital Centre to the new MCI Center, in Washington. Businessman Ted Leonsis has owned the team since 1999, and has revitalized the franchise by drafting star players such as Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Bäckström, the 2009–10 Capitals won the franchises first-ever Presidents Trophy for being the team with the most points at the end of the regular season. They won it a time in 2015–16, and did so for a third time the following season in 2016–17. Along with the Kansas City Scouts, the Capitals joined the NHL as a team for the 1974–75 season. The team was owned by Abe Pollin, Pollin had built the Capital Centre in suburban Landover, Maryland, to house both the Bullets and the Capitals. His first act as owner was to hire Hall of Famer Milt Schmidt as general manager, with a combined 30 teams between the NHL and the World Hockey Association, the available talent was stretched thin. The Capitals had few players with experience and were at a disadvantage against the long-standing teams that were stocked with veteran players. Like the other three teams who joined the league during the WHA era—the Scouts, Atlanta Flames, and New York Islanders—the Capitals did not factor the survival of the league into their plans. The Capitals inaugural season was dreadful, even by expansion standards and they finished with far and away the worst record in the League at 8–67–5. Their 21 points were half that of their brethren, the Scouts. The eight wins are the fewest for an NHL team playing at least 70 games, and they also set records for most road losses, most consecutive road losses, and most consecutive losses. Head Coach Jim Anderson said, Id rather find out my wife was cheating on me than keep losing like this, at least I could tell my wife to cut it out. Schmidt himself had to take over the coaching reins late in the season, in 1975–76, Washington went 25-straight games without a win and allowed 394 goals en route to another horrendous record, 11–59–10. During the middle of the season, Max McNab was hired as the general manager. For the rest of the 1970s and early 1980s, the Capitals alternated between seasons and finishing only a few points out of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 1980 and 1981, for instance, they were in contention until the last day of the season
10.
Detroit Red Wings
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The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League and are one of the Original Six teams of the league, founded in 1926, the team was known as the Detroit Cougars from then until 1930. For the 1930–31 and 1931–32 seasons the team was called the Detroit Falcons, between the 1933–34 and 1965–66 seasons, the Red Wings missed the playoffs only four times. Between the 1966–67 and 1990–91 seasons, the Red Wings made the only eight times in 25 seasons. During the last 11 years of this stretch, only five of the Leagues 21 teams did not make the post-season and this rough period for the team provoked the nickname of the Dead Wings. Near the end of that 25-year period, however, the Red Wings advanced to the Conference Finals twice. They have made the playoffs in 30 of the last 32 seasons, including 25 in a row, during a subsequent meeting on May 15, the league approved a franchise to the Townsend-Seyburn group of Detroit and named Charles A. Hughes as governor. Frank and Lester Patrick, the owners of the WHL, made a deal to sell the players to the NHL. The new Detroit franchise purchased the players of the folded Victoria Cougars WHL club to play for the team, the new Detroit franchise also adopted the Cougars nickname in honor of the folded franchise. Since no arena in Detroit was ready at the time, the Cougars played their first season in Windsor, for the 1927–28 season, the Cougars moved into the new Detroit Olympia, which would be their home rink until December 27,1979. This was also the first season behind the bench for Jack Adams, the Cougars made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 1929 with Carson Cooper leading the team in scoring. The Cougars were outscored 7–2 in the series with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1930, the Cougars were renamed the Falcons, but their woes continued, as they finished near the bottom of the standings. In 1932, the NHL let grain merchant James E. Norris, Norris first act was to choose a new name for the team—the Red Wings. Earlier in the century, Norris had been a member of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, the MAAAs teams were known by their club emblem and these Winged Wheelers were the first winners of the Stanley Cup in 1893. Norris decided that a version of their logo was perfect for a team playing in the Motor City, Norris also placed coach Jack Adams on a one-year probation for the 1932–33 NHL season. Adams managed to pass his probationary period by leading the franchise to first ever playoff series victory over the Montreal Maroons. Despite this success, the team lost in the semi-finals to the New York Rangers, in 1934 the Wings made the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, with John Sorrell scoring 21 goals over 47 games and Larry Aurie leading the team in scoring
11.
Colorado Avalanche
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The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, the Avalanche are the only team in their division not based in the Central Time Zone, the team is situated in the Mountain Time Zone. Their home arena is Pepsi Center and their general manager is Joe Sakic. The Avalanche were founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques and were one of the franchises of the World Hockey Association. The franchise joined the NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger, following the 1994–95 season, they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and relocated to Denver. Among teams in the major North American professional sports leagues, only the National Football League s Washington Redskins have also accomplished the feat and this was the first major professional sports championship a Denver-based team would bring to the city. In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 4–3 to win their second, as a result, they are the only active NHL team that has won all of its Stanley Cup Final appearances. Coincidentally, the Devils had preceded the Avalanche in Denver, they were called the Colorado Rockies, the Avalanche have won nine division titles and qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons in Denver, this streak ended in 2007. The Quebec Nordiques were one of the World Hockey Associations original teams when the league play in 1972. Though first awarded to a group in San Francisco, the team moved to Quebec City when the California deal soured because of financial. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977 and lost the finals once, in 1979, the franchise entered the NHL, along with the WHAs Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets. After making the postseason for seven years, from 1981 to 1987. From 1987–88 to 1991–92, the finished last in their division every season. This included a dreadful 12-win season in 1989-90 that is still the worst in franchise history, as a result, the team earned three consecutive first overall draft picks, used to select Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan and Eric Lindros. Lindros made it clear he did not wish to play for the Nordiques, to the extent that he did not wear the jersey for the press photographs. On advice from his mother, he refused to sign a contract, on June 30,1992, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg, two first round draft picks and US$15 million. The Eric Lindros trade turned the moribund Nordiques into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight, in the first season after the trade, 1992–93, the Nordiques reached the playoffs for the first time in six years. Two years later, they won the Northeast Division and had the second best regular-season record during the strike-shortened season, while the team experienced on-ice success, it spent most of its first 23 years struggling financially
12.
Arizona Coyotes
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The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League, since December 2003, the Coyotes have played their home games at Gila River Arena after having spent 7½ seasons at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix. On June 10,2015, the Glendale City Council voted to end their agreement with the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Coyotes were founded on December 27,1971, as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association, after the WHA had ceased operations, they were one of four franchises absorbed into the National Hockey League and then granted membership on June 22,1979. The Jets moved to Phoenix on July 1,1996, and were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes, the NHL took over ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes franchise in 2009 after owner Jerry Moyes turned it over to the league after declaring bankruptcy. The sale to IceArizona Acquisition Co, LLC. was completed on August 5,2013. On June 27,2014, the changed its geographic name from Phoenix to Arizona. On June 26,2015, the team introduced updated jerseys for the 2015–16 NHL season, the team began play as the Winnipeg Jets, one of the founding franchises in the World Hockey Association. The Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA, winning the Avco World Trophy and it then became one of the four teams admitted to the NHL as part of a merger when the financially struggling WHA folded in 1979. However, the club was never able to translate its WHA success into the NHL after the merger, as a result, they finished last in the NHL during their first two seasons, including a nine-win season in 1980–81 that is still the worst in franchise history. They recovered fairly quickly, however, making the playoffs 11 times in the next 15 seasons, however, the Jets only won two playoff series, largely due to being in the same division as the powerful Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. Because of the way the playoffs were structured for much of their Winnipeg run, in 1984–85, for instance, they finished with the fifth-best record in the league, only to be bounced by the Oilers in the division finals. Two years later, they dispatched the Flames in the first round, the franchise would not win another playoff series for 25 years. The Jets ran into trouble when player salaries began spiraling up in the 1990s. In addition, the home arena, Winnipeg Arena, was one of the smallest in the league. Despite strong fan support, several attempts to keep the team in Winnipeg fell through, after the franchise considered Mustangs, Outlaws, Wranglers and Freeze, a name-the-team contest yielded the nickname Coyotes, which finished ahead of the second-place Scorpions. In the summer that the move took place, Jets star Alexei Zhamnov left the team, Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players like Shane Doan, Oleg Tverdovsky and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, another key addition to the squad was veteran forward Mike Gartner, who had come over from the Toronto Maple Leafs
