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Portland Pirates

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Portland Pirates
CityPortland, Maine
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
Founded1975 (In theNAHL)
Operated1993–2016
Home arenaCross Insurance Arena
ColorsBlack, red, silver, white
Franchise history
1975–1982Erie Blades
1982–1993Baltimore Skipjacks
1993–2016Portland Pirates
2016–presentSpringfield Thunderbirds
Championships
Division titles2:(2005–06,2010–11)
Conference titles1:(1995–96)
Calder Cups1:(1993–94)

ThePortland Pirateswere a minor league professionalice hockeyteam in theAmerican Hockey League(AHL). Their home arena was theCross Insurance Arenain downtownPortland, Maine.The franchise was previously known as theBaltimore Skipjacksfrom 1982 to 1993.

The Pirates were affiliated with theWashington Capitals(1993–2005), theAnaheim Ducks(2005–2008), theBuffalo Sabres(2008–2011),Arizona Coyotes(2011–2015), and theFlorida Panthers(2015–2016). The organization hosted theAHL All-Star Classicin 2003 and 2010.

On May 4, 2016, the Pirates announced it had signed a letter of intent with an outside buyer to sell and relocate the franchise for the2016–17 season.[1]It was reported that the team would be relocated toSpringfield, Massachusettsfollowing the pending sale and relocation of theSpringfield Falconsfranchise toTucson, Arizona.[2]The transaction was approved by the AHL on May 23, 2016,[3]and the franchise became theSpringfield Thunderbirds.

History[edit]

Capitals era[edit]

Tom Ebright, owner of theBaltimore Skipjacks,had a daughter who was an intern at theEast Coast Hockey League'sNashville Knights.Liking the way the Knights did business, Ebright contacted Knights owner,W. Godfrey Wood,asking to relocate the Skipjacks to a better market. Wood relocated the team to his home region ofPortland, Maine,leading to the creation of the Portland Pirates in1993with an affiliation to theWashington Capitals.[4]The Pirates filled the void made by theMaine Marinerswho had departed to become theProvidence Bruinsa year earlier. On August 4, 1993, forwardEric Fentonwas signed to a professional contract to become the very first member of the Portland Pirates team.[5]

Under general manager and CEO Wood, who invested in management and creative marketing, the Pirates led the AHL in tickets sold, sponsorships, and sellouts for their first 3 years. The Pirates first season proved to be their most successful as they won theCalder Cupwith a 43–27–10 record and was third overall in attendance with an average of 5,872 fans.[6]Their next season they had 104 points but were upset in the 1st round of the playoffs. In the 1995–96 season they again reached the Calder Cup Finals, despite a sub-par record of 32–34–10, but lost to theRochester Americans.For the first four seasons, the head coach wasBarry Trotz,who later became a long-time NHL head coach and won aStanley Cup.

Since then, the Pirates had mixed success, routinely making the playoffs and being eliminated early on. This included an excellent 100 point season in 1999–00 only to be eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. The Capitals affiliation ended after 12 seasons in 2005.

Ducks era[edit]

In 2005, the Pirates announced a five-year lease extension at theCross Insurance Arena,ending speculation that the team might relocate. The Pirates also signed a three-year affiliation agreement with theMighty Ducks of Anaheim.

With the Ducks, the Pirates had more mixed success. The team qualified for the2006 Calder Cup playoffsand made it to the Calder Cup conference finals, only to be defeated by the eventual Calder Cup-winningHershey Bearsin seven games. The team then missed the 2007 playoff. Then the Pirates again made it to the Calder Cup conference finals again in2008before being eliminated by theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguinsin seven games.

Sabres era[edit]

On June 3, 2008, the Anaheim Ducks announced they were affiliating with theIowa Chopsinstead of renewing the agreement with the Pirates. On June 10, 2008, the Pirates and theBuffalo Sabresannounced that they had reached a new affiliation agreement, ending several months of speculation.[7]

On August 5, 2008, the team announced thatKevin Dineenhas been retained as head coach.[8]

On February 10, 2009, the team played in Buffalo atHSBC Arenafor the first time before a crowd of 11,144. The Pirates lost 4-3 in a shootout to theAlbany River Rats.The Sabres' faithful were pleased with the aggressive play and numerous fights during the game. It was then announced that the Pirates would play in Buffalo twice in 2009–10. The first game would be played on November 12 and the second would be March 7; both games would be against theRochester Americans(the Sabres' then previous AHL affiliate).

On March 17, 2010, the Pirates signed a two-year lease extension with the Cross Insurance Arena. The agreement prevented any further Pirates home games from being played outside the arena.[9]

In May 2011, the Sabres had indicated a willingness to break from its affiliation agreement with the Pirates and re-affiliate with theRochester Americans,with Sabres ownerTerry Pegulaintending to buy the Amerks. The Pirates had to sign off on the agreement, since their agreement with the Sabres ran through 2014.[10]On June 24, 2011, the American Hockey League approved the sale of the Rochester Americans to Pegula; it also included the buyout of the affiliation contract with the Portland Pirates.

Coyotes era[edit]

On June 27, 2011, thePhoenix Coyotesannounced that the franchise had entered into a five-year player development contract with the Pirates.[11]WMTW-TVmentioned that during the announcement of the Coyotes being the Pirates affiliate that two of the four teams that were negotiating with the Pirates wanted the Pirates to change the team name and logo, but the Pirates agreed to the deal with Phoenix in order to keep their name and logo and because the Coyotes "wanted it the most".[12]

During the 2012–13 season, the Pirates played six games at theAndroscoggin Bank ColiseeinLewiston, Mainein preparation of renovations at the Cross Insurance Arena. On April 17, 2013, the Pirates and Cumberland County announced a five-year lease, with the option for another five years, to stay at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, though that was thrown into question due to a dispute over revenue from food sales (see lease dispute section below). Due to the dispute, the Pirates played their entire 2013-14 home schedule in Lewiston.

The Pirates were forced to play their final game of the 2013–14 season at their 400-seat practice facility in Saco, due to the Colisée being double booked with the game and a circus. The Pirates promised refunds to those who had bought tickets for the game in Lewiston, and stated that all ticket proceeds from the Saco game would go to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland.[13]

On May 7, 2014, they announced a one-year extension of the affiliation agreement and a small increase in ticket prices as part of the changes the team was doing to rebuild confidence with the community. Ron Cain, the new majority owner stated he was not concerned about getting a new affiliation agreement with the Coyotes for 2015–16 because it seemed likely that they were going to move their affiliate closer toGlendale, Arizona.[14]

2013 lease dispute[edit]

In 2013, the Pirates negotiated a new lease agreement with arena trustees, but refused to sign it after they determined that the percentage of food sales they were to receive under the lease would not result in the same amount of money as previously agreed terms calling for the Pirates to get a percentage of food and alcohol sales, which was ruled illegal by the State (as alcohol sales can only be controlled by the property owner).

The Pirates then announced that they would look for another arena to play their 2013–14 season in, most likely theAndroscoggin Bank ColiseeinLewiston,where they were already playing the start of the season due to renovations at the arena. Arena trustees stated there would be no Pirates hockey at the arena that year and began seeking other tenants for the dates originally given to the Pirates. They further claimed to only break even on the presence of the Pirates and that their expenses would actually be less without them.[15]The Pirates responded by filing a lawsuit against the arena seeking enforcement of the original unsigned agreement outline and an injunction to prevent the arena from reassigning dates for Pirates home games to other events.[16]

The Pirates announced on September 26, 2013, that they would indeed play their entire 2013–14 home schedule at the Colisée. The dates for four games had to be changed from the original schedule. A spokesman for theAHLsaid that the Pirates had the rights to the Portland market and could play anywhere within a 50-mile radius of the city. The Phoenix Coyotes said they were prepared to move forward despite having hoped differences with the arena would be resolved. The Chairman of the Cross Insurance Arena Board of Trustees criticized the Pirates for demanding more of a "subsidy" for themselves and stated their desired lease agreement would cost county taxpayers money. The Pirates also stated they would continue their lawsuit against the arena with the hopes of playing there in the future.[17]

On October 24, 2013, it was announced that the team had taken out an option on city-owned land inSacofor possibly building a $40 million arena with 5,000 seats as a new home. The team stated, though, that doing so was not the cheapest option for them and that they would prefer to return to Portland.[18]

After obtaining a majority share of the team, former minority owner Ron Cain stated on December 17 that should an agreement with arena trustees not be reached within a month, that he would consider moving the team to the aforementioned Saco land or even out of state if necessary. Continued requests for negotiation were rebuffed by the trustees.[19]Two days later, Cain announced that the team dropped its lawsuit and that arena trustees would resume negotiations, both seeking "to strike a balance between the team's business needs and the arena's financial obligations" according to Cain. The chairman of the trustees stated that he found Cain's comments on the issue "constructive" and he thus was willing to restart talks.[20]

Maine Senate PresidentJustin Alfond,who is from Portland, announced that he submitted emergency legislation to theMaine Legislatureto allow the Pirates to receive a share of alcohol revenue, as the original agreement had called for. Cain said that Alfond's efforts did not play a role in their decision on the lawsuit, but could help the team going forward.[20]

On February 4, 2014, arena trustees and the Pirates announced that a five-year lease agreement had been reached and that the team would return to the Cross Insurance Arena for the 2014–15 season and should the team make the 2014 playoffs, it is possible they could return for those games, though Pirates ownership joked that with the team at the bottom of the division that day making such a scenario unlikely. The agreement included the sharing of concessions revenue the Pirates sought, which may or may not have included alcohol sales pending passage of Sen. Alfond's bill. Owner Ron Cain also revealed that he had explored the possibility of moving the team toGlens Falls, New Yorkto replace the departingAdirondack Phantoms,going so far as to send CEOBrian Petrovekto Glens Falls for discussions, but that he wanted the Pirates to remain in Maine too much to do so.[21]

Panthers era and final season[edit]

On March 18, 2015, the Pirates announced an affiliation agreement with theFlorida Panthersto begin in the2015–16 seasonand that Eric Joyce, the general manager of Florida's previous AHL affiliate, theSan Antonio Rampage,would take over the same position in Portland.[22]On May 4, 2016, the Pirates announced it had signed a letter of intent with an outside buyer to sell and relocate the franchise for the 2016–17 season. On May 23, the franchise was relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts, following the sale and relocation of theSpringfield Falconsfranchise toTucson, Arizona.[23][24]On June 15, the franchise's new name was announced as theSpringfield Thunderbirds.[25]

A team of investors headed by former Pirates executivesW. Godfrey WoodandBrad Church—the latter a former Portland player as well—announced their intentions to put anECHLteam in Portland to fill the void, joining as early as 2017.[26]However, progress to attain a franchise by the Portland group stalled[27]until four groups, none of which involved Wood, submitted their own proposals at the end of February 2017.[28]By March 8, the arena owners had narrowed their choices to the proposals submitted bySpectraand National Sports Services, with both groups having been involved with managingECHLteams in their past.[29]In June 2017,Comcast Spectacor,the operators of theCross Insurance Arenaand the NHL'sPhiladelphia Flyers,purchased the franchise rights of the recently dormantAlaska Acesof theECHL.The league approved of the sale and relocation of the franchise to Portland on June 15.[30]

The market was previously home to:

The franchise was replaced by:

Season-by-season results[edit]

The results from the 23 seasons played by the Portland Pirates.[31]

Calder Cup Champions Conference Champions Division Champions League leader
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing Year Prelim 1st
round 		2nd
round 		3rd
round 		Finals
1993–94 80 43 27 10 0 — 96 .600 328 269 2nd, North 1994 — W, 4–1,ALB W, 4–2,ADK — W, 4–2,MNC
1994–95 80 46 22 12 0 — 104 .650 333 233 2nd, North 1995 — L, 3–4,PRO — — —
1995–96 80 32 34 10 4 — 78 .488 282 283 3rd, North 1996 — W, 3–1,WOR W, 4–2,SPR W, 4–3,SJF L, 3–4,RCH
1996–97 80 37 26 10 7 — 91 .569 279 264 3rd, New England 1997 — L, 2–3,SPR — — —
1997–98 80 33 33 12 2 — 80 .500 241 247 3rd, Atlantic 1998 — W, 3–1,FRD L, 2–4,SJF — —
1998–99 80 23 48 7 2 — 55 .344 214 273 5th, Atlantic 1999 Did not qualify
1999–00 80 46 23 10 1 — 103 .644 256 202 2nd, New England 2000 — L, 1–3,WOR — — —
2000–01 80 34 40 4 2 — 74 .463 250 280 5th, New England 2001 — L, 0–3,SJF — — —
2001–02 80 30 31 15 4 — 79 .494 220 225 4th, North 2002 Did not qualify
2002–03 80 33 28 13 6 — 85 .531 221 195 4th, North 2003 L, 1–2,MTB — — — —
2003–04 80 32 27 13 8 — 85 .531 156 160 5th, Atlantic 2004 W, 2–0,PRO L, 1–4,HWP — — —
2004–05 80 34 34 — 6 6 80 .500 175 242 6th, Atlantic 2005 Did not qualify
2005–06 80 53 19 — 5 3 114 .713 306 241 1st, Atlantic 2006 — W, 4–2,PRO W, 4–2,HWP L, 3–4,HER —
2006–07 80 37 31 — 3 9 86 .538 225 232 6th, Atlantic 2007 Did not qualify
2007–08 80 45 26 — 5 4 99 .619 238 215 3rd, Atlantic 2008 — W, 4–1,HWP W, 4–2,PRO L, 3–4,WBS —
2008–09 80 39 31 — 3 7 88 .550 249 239 3rd, Atlantic 2009 — L, 1–4,PRO — — —
2009–10 80 45 24 — 7 4 101 .631 244 214 2nd, Atlantic 2010 — L, 0–4,MCH — — —
2010–11 80 47 24 — 7 2 103 .644 280 238 1st, Atlantic 2011 — W, 4–2,CTW L, 2–4,BNG — —
2011–12 76 36 31 — 4 5 81 .533 223 254 3rd, Atlantic 2012 Did not qualify
2012–13 76 41 30 — 3 2 87 .572 230 233 2nd, Atlantic 2013 — L, 0–3,SYR — — —
2013–14 76 24 39 — 3 10 61 .401 222 284 5th, Atlantic 2014 Did not qualify
2014–15 76 39 28 — 7 2 87 .572 203 190 4th, Atlantic 2015 — L, 2–3,MCH — — —
2015–16 76 41 27 — 6 2 90 .592 215 207 3rd, Atlantic 2016 — L, 2–3,HER — — —
Totals 1820 870 683 116 95 56 2007 .551 5590 5420 17 playoff appearances, 1 Calder Cup

Players[edit]

Team captains[edit]

Pirates Hall of Fame[edit]

Officially only #50 has been retired by the Portland Pirates. However a banner still hangs in the rafters in tribute to the 5 Maine Mariners who had their number retired before moving to Providence.

AHL awards and trophies[edit]

Team records[edit]

Single season[edit]

Goals:Michel Picard,41 (1993–94)
Assists:Jeff Nelson,73 (1993–94)
Points:Jeff Nelson, 107 (1993–94)
Points (By a Defenseman):Marc-Andre Gragnani,60 (2010–11)
Penalty minutes:Mark Major355 (1997–98)
GAA:Maxime Ouellet,1.99 (2003–04)
SV%:Maxime Ouellet,.930 (2003–04)

Career[edit]

Career goals:Kent Hulst,147 (1993–2001)
Career assists:Andrew Brunette,224 (1993–98)
Career points:Kent Hulst, 360 (1993–2001)
Career penalty minutes:Kevin Kaminski,797 (1994–95, 98)
Career goaltending wins:Mike McKenna,84 (2007–08, 2014–16)
Career shutouts:Maxime Ouellet, 17 (2002–05)
Career games:Kent Hulst, 473 (1993–2001)

References[edit]

  1. ^"Portland Pirates Sign Letter of Intent to Relocate Franchise".OurSports Central.May 4, 2016.RetrievedMay 4,2016.
  2. ^"Portland Pirates to leave Maine and move to Springfield, MA".WCSH.May 4, 2016.RetrievedMay 4,2016.
  3. ^"American Hockey League Announces Franchise Transaction".OurSports Central.May 23, 2016.RetrievedMay 23,2016.
  4. ^Fun While It Lasted: W. Godfrey Wood[dead link]
  5. ^Mills, Kevin (August 5, 1993)."Pirates ink Eric Fenton".Sun Journal.
  6. ^Harry, David (May 11, 2016)."Former Pirates owner plans ECHL team in Portland".Sun Journal.RetrievedMay 11,2016.
  7. ^Vogl, John (June 10, 2008)."Sabres to parent Portland".The Buffalo News.Archivedfrom the original on June 13, 2008.RetrievedJune 10,2008.
  8. ^"Dineen Named Head Coach".Buffalo Sabres.August 5, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon August 6, 2008.RetrievedAugust 5,2008.
  9. ^Dougherty, Pete (March 17, 2010)."It's Official – Pirates Sign Two-Year Lease In Portland".Times Union.RetrievedMarch 17,2010.
  10. ^Wawrow, John (May 17, 2011)."AP Source: Sabres interested in AHL Rochester".NHL.Associated Press.RetrievedMay 17,2011.
  11. ^"Coyotes enter into AHL agreement with Portland".Fox News.June 27, 2011.RetrievedJune 27,2011.
  12. ^"Pirates Teaming Up With Phoenix Coyotes".WMTW-TV.June 27, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2011.RetrievedJune 28,2011.
  13. ^Jordan, Glenn (April 15, 2014)."Pirates season finale moved from Lewiston to Saco".Kennebec Journal.RetrievedApril 15,2014.
  14. ^Jordan, Glenn (May 7, 2014)."Portland Pirates tweak ticket prices in return to home arena".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedMay 7,2014.
  15. ^Hall, Jessica (August 31, 2013)."Civic Center, Pirates in standoff over concessions".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedSeptember 3,2013.
  16. ^Hall, Jessica (September 7, 2013)."Pirates file lawsuit against civic center".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedSeptember 9,2013.
  17. ^Murphy, Edward D.; Lowe, Mike (September 26, 2013)."Portland Pirates leave Cumberland County Civic Center".Kennebec Journal.RetrievedSeptember 26,2013.
  18. ^Betit, Paul (October 24, 2013)."Hockey group with link to Pirates looks at Saco for arena".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedOctober 30,2013.
  19. ^Hall, William (December 17, 2013)."Portland Pirates could move out of state if lease dispute isn't resolved soon, new majority owner says".Bangor Daily News.RetrievedDecember 17,2013.
  20. ^abHall, Jessica (December 19, 2013)."Portland Pirates drop lawsuit against civic center".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedDecember 19,2013.
  21. ^Murphy, Edward D. (February 4, 2014)."Portland Pirates, civic center reach lease agreement".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedFebruary 4,2014.
  22. ^"Pirates announce affiliation with Florida".American Hockey League.March 18, 2015.RetrievedMarch 18,2015.
  23. ^Chimelis, Ron (May 4, 2016)."Springfield investors step up to save hockey for city".The Republican.RetrievedMay 5,2016.
  24. ^Jordan, Glenn (May 4, 2016)."Portland blindsided by Pirates' plan to leave for Springfield after 23 seasons in Maine".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedMay 5,2016.
  25. ^Pignatiello, Jim (June 15, 2016)."Springfield Thunderbirds announced as name, mascot of city's AHL franchise".The Republican.RetrievedJune 15,2016.
  26. ^Jordan, Glenn (May 11, 2016)."Effort underway to bring pro hockey back to Portland".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedMay 11,2016.
  27. ^Jordan, Glenn (January 11, 2017)."Group pulls plug on effort to return pro hockey to Portland later this year".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedJanuary 11,2017.
  28. ^Jordan, Glenn (March 1, 2017)."Four groups submit proposals to return pro hockey to Portland".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedMarch 1,2017.
  29. ^Rose, Chris (March 8, 2017)."Negotiations to begin with two groups to bring ECHL team to Portland".WCSH.RetrievedMarch 8,2017.
  30. ^Jordan, Glenn (June 15, 2017)."Portland lands a pro hockey team for the fall of 2018".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedJune 15,2017.
  31. ^"Portland Pirates season statistics and records".HockeyDB.RetrievedApril 27,2021.
  32. ^"Portland Pirates - Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon August 25, 2010.RetrievedMay 4,2010.
  33. ^"Portland Pirates - Hall of Fame".Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2011.RetrievedApril 10,2011.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portland_Pirates&oldid=1218422897"