BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – News broke Saturday afternoon that the Binghamton Devils franchise was being relocated to, as of yet, an unknown destination.
Tom Mitchell is the Devils’ Executive VP of Operations, and he’s been the face of Binghamton hockey for a long time. At one time, Mitchell held the same role with the Hartford Wolf Pack during the first three years of the franchise’s existence. Mitchell announced on Binghamton’s local TV station, WBNG-TV, that the parent New Jersey Devils informed him that they are relocating the team at mid-week.
Mitchell stated the terms for the team to remain in Binghamton were so onerous that they were impossible to meet. Mitchell did not elaborate on what those terms were. He also did not state where the team was heading.
MORE MITCHELL HISTORY
After three years playing for the Clinton Comets in the old Eastern Hockey League, Mitchell became involved with the AHL in 1985 when they became a partner and General Manager of the Binghamton Whalers, the Binghamton Rangers, and the Binghamton Senators. He’s also been a Devils’ lessee.
A potential clue pointing to the likely destination came earlier this week when The Utica Comets President, Robert Esche, of Mohawk Valley Gardens, Inc., acquired the Utica Devils trademark, name, and logo for licensing purposes.
The Utica Devils were a part of the AHL’s first edition from 1987-1993. The team’s “hockey grandfather” was the original Maine Mariners. The franchise was eventually sold to Calgary, who moved the team to Saint John, New Brunswick, where they became the Saint John Flames.
The other franchise descendants are Omaha, NE, Quad City, IL., Abbotsford, BC, Glens Falls, NY, and Stockton, CA.
UTICA COMETS
The local ownership group is headed by Frank DuRoss, who paid an affiliation fee to the Canucks. The Comets brand did very well during the return of hockey to Utica. Since 2013-14, it’s been very effectively handling its marketing and promotions with most games being sold out. The building was renovated and named the Adirondack Center at Utica War Memorial Auditorium. Utica is two hours North of Binghamton.
The Canucks’ current six-year deal with the Comets began last season (2019-20 season). It features an opt-out clause after the current season. The Canucks would have to exercise that option to leave Utica for the Devils to take over and move in, pending approval from the AHL’s Board of Governors.
AHL VP of Communications, Jason Chaimovitch, stated in an e-mail that has yet to occur and that no application for relocation has yet been submitted.
The Utica Comets have been a dual affiliation this season for the Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. The Blues farm team is the Springfield Thunderbirds. They were about to start their first season together but elected not to operate this season. That action threw the Atlantic Division into chaos.
BORDER ISSUES
Due to COVID-19 border controls, the Canucks have kept a number of players on their taxi squad that generally would have been assigned to Utica. They loaned several players to Canadian-based AHL teams like the Manitoba Moose. Those players include former Quinnipiac University star, Brogan Rafferty. Keeping players in Utica was done to avoid Canadian quarantine restrictions should they be recalled from Utica.
Vancouver could potentially relocate their AHL franchise. They could go to the old Pacific Coliseum, the original Canucks home, or make a deal to return the AHL to the Abbotsford Civic Centre. The building is operated by Spectra, who also runs the XL Center. That could be in the offing with AHL hockey returning to British Columbia seems very likely.
The Abbotsford Heat, affiliated with the Calgary Flames, was a spectacular financial failure. The Flames have since used that buyout money to run their minor league operations.
This is part of some important hockey orchestrations with the expected final payment of the expansion fee this month by the Seattle Kraken. They would formally become a part of the NHL and the long-sought-after Pacific Northwest rivalry between Vancouver and Seattle can begin.
MORE COVID-19 PROBLEMS
The recent three-week COVID disruption in Vancouver demonstrated the folly of maintaining their AHL franchise in Utica 2,900 miles away. The team needs their players closer for a potential recall.
There is a strong indication that the Canadian border will remain closed for the balance of 2021, possibly even extending into 2022. Several sources have indicated that the NHL and AHL Canadian franchises have expressed the need to maintain a Canadian North Division again next season.
Hockey in Binghamton is not likely dead either. They could become part of the ECHL’s North Division next year with the Adirondack Thunder team returning to action and the Worcester Railers, Maine Mariners, and the Newfoundland (St. John’s) Growlers.
This move would help the ECHL get to 32 franchises, marrying and evening up with the NHL and AHL. The ECHL will grow next year with three new expansion franchises in Coralville, Iowa, Savannah, Georgia, and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, making 29 teams, just three shy of the magic number.
