American Hockey League (1982-1986)
Tombstone
Born: 1982 – The New Brunswick Hawks relocate to St. Catharines, ON
Moved: June 1986 (Newmarket Saints)
First Game: October 6, 1982 (L 5-3 @ Adirondack Red Wings)
Last Game: May 7, 1986 (L 4-2 @ Hershey Bears)
Calder Cup Championships: None
Arena
Garden City Arena (3,096)11982-83 American Hockey League Yearbook-Guide
Marketing
Team Colors: Blue & White21982-83 American Hockey League Yearbook-Guide
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. (Harold Ballard)
NHL Affiliation: Toronto Maple Leafs
Attendance
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Source: 1994-95 American Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book
Background
In June 1982, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard attempted to move his American Hockey League minor league operation from Moncton, New Brunswick to St. Catharines, Ontario. The former New Brunswick Hawks were the defending champions of the American Hockey League, having won the Calder Cup a month earlier. The move of the Hawks to Ontario would bring Toronto’s top farm club much closer to home.
The problem was, it would also bring pro hockey much closer to the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, located just 30 miles from St. Catharines. The Sabres used the vote of their AHL farm club in Rochester, New York to block Ballard’s move to St. Catharines. Ballard threatened to sue the Sabres and the NHL for $20 million and the opposition evaporated. St. Catharines was admitted to the AHL in late July 1982. The franchise changed its name to the ‘Saints’, as the previous New Brunswick Hawks moniker had reflected a now-defunct affiliate-sharing arrangement with the Chicago Black Hawks.
Box Office Bust & Relocation
The Saints lasted four years in St. Catharines. Their best season was their last one. The Saints came within a game of making the 1986 Calder Cup finals, losing to the Hershey Bears in a 7-game semi-final series. But St. Catharine’s attendance was far and away the worst in the 13-team AHL in 1985-86 at 1,450 fans per game. In fact, the Saints had the worst attendance in the league in three of their four seasons.
In addition to the lousy fan support, Maple Leafs officials lamented the condition of Garden City Arena and its under-sized (185′ x 85′) ice sheet. Ballard announced that the Saints would move to tiny Newmarket, Ontario (pop. 35,000) in June 1986.
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