Talk:Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

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[edit] History

I remember hearing when this franchise was first placed in Wilkes-Barre, that this was the rebirth of the dormant Corwall Aces - Halifax Citadels franchise. I remember hearing that at the end of the 1995-96 AHL season, the Pittsburgh Penguins puchased the Corwall Aces and left it dormant until they could find a city for the team to play in. I remember them intially trying to place the team in Hartford for the 1997-98 season after the Hartford Whalers left they lost their bid to the New York Rangers who placed the Wolf Pack in Hartford. So then Penguins waited until they waited until the 1999-2000 season to bring back the franchise when Wilkes-Barre offered them a home for their minor league team. Do you have any information of knowledge that can confirm this? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Whalerguy1 (talk • contribs).

I've always heard of them referred to as an expansion team. I'd have to look back, but I think they might have been the last true expansion team in the AHL. Everything since then has been IHL merger or relocation/reinstatement of existing teams. There are 30 franchise out there and have been for quite a few years (27 active for 2006-07 + the Cleveland bound Utah Grizzlies, the Oilers owned franchise and the Cincinnati franchise).

Who were the Penguins affiliated during this time of uncertainty? That might give us some insight. ccwaters 00:32, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I do question the Rangers "outbidding" the Penguins for a Hartford lease as MSG history operated the venue. The story goes that NYR/MSG bought the Bingo AHL franchise from local owners specifically to relocate them and fill the vacancy left from the NHL Whalers. I don't see why they would have done that if the Pens were knocking on the door with a dormant AHL team. This is of course from a Binghamton native POV.

Interesting article regarding maritime AHL histories I stumbled upon. It says that the Utica Devils became the Saint John Flames: http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/aj_walling.asp?id=127058 . Anyway also ask RGTraynor. He is rather knowledgable of the AHL. ccwaters 00:49, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

The Penguins top minor league affiliate prior to thier current team was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. This is verified on Wikipedia's Pittsburgh Penguins page. However, in the mid 90's, the IHL began moving away from being a developement league and more towards being a top independent minor league. For this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. So the Penguins bought a dormant AHL franchise but did not have a city to place the team. After the Whalers left Hartford, there were four groups interested in putting a minor league team in Hartford. Those groups were MSG with the Binghamton Rangers, Howard Baldwin with the Penguins, a group that had partial ownership in the Worcester Ice Cats, and Connecticut Pride owner Brian Foley wanted to put an independent IHL team in Hartford. MSG won because they offered to take over full operations of the Hartford Civic Center Colliseum when none of the other three groups offered this. In addition, Worcester Ice Cats group withdrew there bid a few weeks prior to the final decision. I know all of this to be 100% accurate. The only thing I am not sure of is if the dormant AHL team the Penguins bought was the Cornwall Aces. Whalerguy1 02:38, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

I just found verification on the the AHL's web site. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins did in fact used to be the Cornwall Aces. [1] Penguins buy Colorado's franchise

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins will move and rename the Cornwall Aces of the American Hockey League after buying the franchise from the Colorado Avalanche. The AHL's board of governors on Wednesday approved the sale of the franchise. It will be inactive until a new city is chosen. The Penguins were last affiliated with an AHL team with the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1987. Whalerguy1 02:48, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Cool. ccwaters 03:11, 18 August 2006 (UTC)