AHL Hockey Moves South: An Interview With Charlotte Checkers COO Tera Black

From SBN’s Canes Country...

Rumors of a split among the ranks at Madison Square Garden have the Rangers eyeballing Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Can the Amerks be blamed for calling foul on Florida? Litter Box Cats reports:

In any case, it’s hardly been news that Amerks fans and ownership have been less than enamoured with the Panthers’ performance in regard to their American Legue stablemate, and finding anyone who believed an extension is forthcoming is an exercise in pain management. Of course, Cats’ GM Dale Tallon just arrived, but whether he can - or more correctly chooses to - smooth over the crisis is anyone’s guess. Florida and Rochester are joined at the hip for at the very least one more season.

As if there wasn’t enough franchise swapping in the AHL this year, the Florida Panthers and Rochester Americans look like they have a head start on next year’s dealings. Keith Wozniak from Litter Box Cats reports that this is the final year of the affiliation agreement between the two teams and it’s likely the last:

It’s going to be a long summer and long season unless Dale Tallon can come in and work some magic to smooth things over. The affiliation between the Amerks and Panthers has had some rough times but they seemed to be making progress. Stay tuned, it’s going to be interesting.

The AHL and NHL do not provide a list of current affiliation lengths between teams so there’s no real way to say what other team would be available. Get ready for another lame duck season and world of distractions.

It’s taken forever for the new AHL franchise in Oklahoma City to officially announce their nickname. There has been a ton of speculation. Could it be the Tornadoes? The Roughnecks? The Wildcatters? The Roughnecks again? Or perhaps the Bison or the Twisters?

As it turns out, it will be none of those possible choices. A few weeks ago, a site called Oilfield Hockey discovered a few logos for the Oklahoma City Barons by performing a search of the Patent and Trademark Office.

After the Carolina Hurricanes left Albany without an affiliation, the River Rats have been actively seeking a new team to affiliate with for the 2010-11 season. They started with Portland and now the New Jersey Devils are looking to possibly move from Lowell to Albany. From Tom Gulitti of Fire and Ice:

With all of the switching of teams in the AHL for next season, some team is going to be left in the dark without an affiliate, which is a sad thought for fans of a small market team.

From SBN’s Columbus blog, The Cannon:

The Cannon also posted this photo, courtesy of The Springfield Republican:

The speculation became official Wednesday morning as the Anaheim Ducks officially affiliated with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, according to The Post-Standard of Syracuse. Of course, the suits from each side told the media how happy they are with the agreement.

From the Crunch:

The Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY is speculating that the Anaheim Ducks are set to affiliate with the Syracuse Crunch. The Ducks have gone all season without an AHL team to call their own, and the Crunch were recently dumped by the Columbus Blue Jackets in favor of the Springfield Falcons.

SB Nation’s Ducks blog, Anaheim Calling, reacted to the potential affiliation.

Bob Belber, general manager of Albany’s Times Union Center, has offered the New Jersey Devils a ten-year contract to relocate their AHL franchise from Lowell, Massachusetts to his building, according to the aptly-named Albany Times Union.

A deal to bring the Lowell team to Albany could be the last chance officials there have of getting a team in the city for next year. Negotiations with the Portland Pirates fell through, and that team ultimately wound up signing a new two-year lease to stay in Maine. Albany’s current team, the River Rats, are moving to Charlotte, North Carolina next season to be closer to their NHL affiliate, the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League are currently on the lookout for a new NHL affiliate after the Columbus Blue Jackets cut ties with them this week. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, Crunch owner Howard Dolgon is inching closer and closer to signing a new affiliation agreement with another team.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have reportedly ended their ten year partnership with the Syracuse Crunch. Next year they will affiliate with the Springfield Falcons, dropped by the Edmonton Oilers in favor of Oklahoma City earlier this year. This is the third official affiliation shift thus far this year, and the Anaheim Ducks are still without an AHL affiliate.

Syracuse is now on the hunt for an affiliate and Albany has not given up the search for a new franchise. The Iowa Chops need to find an affiliate for 2010-2011 or they will be forced to sell off the franchise. At least two other affiliation agreements expire this year, including the Texas Stars / Dallas Stars agreement which is widely expected to be renewed, as long as Texas can purchase a franchise.

Hockey has been played in the capital city of the State of New York for 20 straight seasons, but with the move of the Albany River Rats to Charlotte, North Carolina for the 2010-2011 season, that reign is in jeopardy.

Sources have told the Albany Times Union that the Portland (Maine) Pirates are negotiating with the Times Union Center, the ironically named building that the River Rats currently call home, and that a move to Albany could be announced within a few weeks.

The move of the Albany River Rats to Charlotte doesn’t affect just hockey fans in New York’s capital.

An excerpt:

The Albany River Rats have officially been sold to MAK Hockey, Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which has been a part of the Albany sports landscape since 1990, will move to Charlotte for the start of the 2010-11 season.

Here’s the press release from the American Hockey League:

The sale represents the second major franchise shift in two days, following yesterday’s announcement that Edmonton was reactivating the Roadrunners and moving the franchise to Oklahoma City. More moves are expected in the near future as four other affiliation agreements are expiring, including those of the Lowell Devils, Syracuse Crunch, Hartford WolfPack and Texas Stars.