The St. John’s IceCaps have only existed since 2011, but St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador has been the home of AHL franchises for 20 years.
From 1991-2005, St. John’s was the home of the St. John’s Maple Leafs, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate. After the Leafs decided to move their farm system closer to home, the Winnipeg Jets made St. John’s their AHL destination from 2011-2015. Since 2015, the IceCaps have belonged to the Montreal Canadiens, who are moving the team closer to home in Laval next year.
After being the home of AHL franchises for 20 years, St. John’s will be without an AHL franchise for the first time in six years. The team wanted to show their appreciation for the loyal hockey fans in St. John’s by creating a fantastic tribute video for them.
From the early days to the last ones, the team did a very good job getting a little bit of everything in this tribute video.
The team and AHL hockey as a whole will certainly be missed in St. John’s next year, but they’re hopeful this isn’t the last time they host an AHL team.
(H/T Twitter/IceCaps)
