| Springfield Falcons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | The Birds |
| City | Springfield, Massachusetts |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Operated | 1994–2016 |
| Folded | 2016 (now theTucson Roadrunners) |
| Home arena | MassMutual Center |
| Colors | Blue, black, red, gray, white |
| General manager | Bruce Landon |
| Media | The Springfield Republican WHYN NewsRadio 560 WSHM-LD,WWLP WGGB-TV |
| Franchise history | |
| 1994–2016 | Springfield Falcons |
| 2016–present | Tucson Roadrunners |
| Championships | |
| Division titles | 4 (1995–96,1997–98,2012–13,2013–14) |
TheSpringfield Falcons were aice hockey team in theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) and played inSpringfield, Massachusetts, at theMassMutual Center.
In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by theNational Hockey League (NHL)'sArizona Coyotes and relocated toTucson, Arizona, before the start of the2016–17 AHL season.
In 1994, the longtime AHLSpringfield Indians team was sold to interests that moved the franchise toWorcester, Massachusetts, to become theWorcester IceCats (now theAbbotsford Canucks). Ex-Indian playersBruce Landon, then the general manager of the Indians, and Wayne LaChance, a local rink owner and former member of theSpringfield Kings, secured an expansion franchise for Springfield for the1994–95 season. The Indians name was still under trademark, so the new owners named the team after Andy and Amelia, a pair of nestingperegrine falcons that was a popular local civic symbol. The AHL, which was headquartered in nearbyWest Springfield, was keen to maintain a presence in a city that had hosted a team in the AHL or its predecessors for all but nine years since 1926, and readily granted an expansion franchise to Landon and LaChance.
The Falcons secured affiliation with both theHartford Whalers and theWinnipeg Jets of the NHL. Since the Indians had been the Whalers' top affiliate in their last few years, this allowed the Falcons to secure most of the players who had played for the Indians the previous season. Veteran defensemanJohn Stevens (the last captain of the Indians, who shared the co-captaincy that first year withRob Murray) scored the franchise's first goal.
Among the Falcons' early notable players wereJean-Guy Trudel, the franchise's leading career goal and point scorer;Daniel Briere of theColorado Avalanche;Manny Legace, the franchise's all-time leading goaltender and formerSt. Louis Blues starter;Nikolai Khabibulin, former Stanley Cup winning goalie; andRob Murray, the franchise's long-time captain and inspirational leader. During the2004 season, Springfield fans voted on the Web for the club's 10th Anniversary Team, and selected Briere at center, Trudel at left wing,Tavis Hansen at right wing,Brad Tiley andDan Focht on defense and Legace in goal.
Individual honors won by Falcons players during their first thirteen seasons included theBaz Bastien Award given to the league's best goaltender (to Legace in 1996 andScott Langkow in 1998), Briere winning theRed Garrett Award emblematic of rookie of the year and a nod as First Team All-Star center in 1998, Tiley winning theEddie Shore Award for the league's outstanding defenseman in 2000 and Trudel winning a Second Team All-Star award in 1999–00.
After the Whalers relocated to become theCarolina Hurricanes, the Falcons were subsequently affiliated exclusively with the Jets, an affiliation that continued when that team became thePhoenix Coyotes in 1996. The team was then affiliated with theTampa Bay Lightning between2004 and2007.
The team had finished in first place in its division twice and made the playoffs six times in its first nine seasons. However, after three seasons affiliated with Tampa Bay and nine straight losing seasons, the team announced that it was exercising its option to sever relations with the Lightning. On March 19, 2007, they announced an affiliation with theEdmonton Oilers beginning in the2007–08 season until the conclusion of the2009–10 season.[1]
On August 3, 2007, the team hired former Edmonton Oilers playerKelly Buchberger to be the head coach. After posting a .500 record, the Oilers promoted Buchberger to be an assistant coach on the Oilers staff. On June 17, 2008, assistant coach Jeff Truitt was named the team's tenth head coach. He was fired in February 2009, after 50 games, and replaced by formerHouston Aeros coach Rob Daum. The Falcons finished the 2008–09 season with the worst record in the AHL.
On June 23, 2009, Oilers general managerSteve Tambellini announced that Daum would remain the head coach of the Springfield Falcons through the 2009–10 season. From November 25 to January 1, the Falcons went on a franchise record 17-game losing streak, recording only five points in that span. The Falcons finished the 2009–10 season as the worst team in the AHL once again, and was the only team that did not win at least 30 games. The lone bright spot from the season wasCharles Linglet being named a Second Team All-Star.
On February 9, 2010, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they were severing ties with the Springfield Falcons to move their affiliation toOklahoma City, a decision that had been expected for months.[2]
On March 25, 2010, theColumbus Blue Jackets announced a one-year affiliation agreement with a one-year option. Also introduced was a new jersey and logo. The new logo still had a falcon holding a hockey stick, but the background was changed to grey, the word Falcons to red, and the word Springfield to navy blue.[3] The newECHL affiliation was with theEvansville IceMen.
Rob Riley, the former head coach at theUnited States Military Academy, was named the new head coach of the Falcons on August 3, 2010, replacing Daum. The Falcons opened the2010–11 AHL season with a home-and-home matchup against theProvidence Bruins. To honor the 75th anniversary of the AHL, each team wore throwback jerseys from 1936. The Bruins wore the jerseys of theProvidence Reds while the Falcons wore the jerseys of theSpringfield Indians. The Falcons won the first game in Providence 5–1, while the Bruins took the following game in Springfield 6–5.
On December 21, 2010, it was announced that the Falcons had been sold to Charlie Pompea, while Bruce Landon remained the minority owner, and continued to be the president/general manager.
During the2011–12 season, the Falcons honored the Springfield hockey teams that had won the Calder Cup, wearing commemorative jerseys for those games, and honoring former coaches and players in pre-game festivities. Following the season, Rob Riley was fired as head coach after two seasons of missing the playoffs. Assistant coachBrad Larsen was named head coach for the 2012–13 season.
The2012–13 season, beginning with the2012–13 NHL lockout, saw the Falcons make the playoffs for the first time since 2003. With help of NHL playersMatt Calvert,Cam Atkinson,Ryan Johansen,John Moore andTim Erixon, the Falcons were able to take an early lead in both the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference. When the NHL lockout ended and these players were called up to Columbus, the Falcons continued to stay at the top of the standings. All-Star play from goaltenderCurtis McElhinney and forwardJonathan Marchessault, as well as veteran leadership from team captainRyan Craig, helped guide the team to a first-place finish in the Northeast Division. On April 6, 2013, the Falcons qualified for the2013 Calder Cup playoffs, ending a nine-year playoff drought, the longest in AHL history.[4] The Falcons defeated theManchester Monarchs in the first round three games to one, with all of their wins coming in overtime. The Falcons playoff run came to an end at the hands of theSyracuse Crunch, as the Crunch swept the Falcons out of the playoffs in their second round matchup. Winger Jonathan Marchessault was named to the First All-Star team, while goaltender Curtis McElhinney was named a Second Team All-Star.
The 2013–14 Falcons set a team record for wins (47) and points (100).[5] They suffered a first round defeat in the playoffs at the hands of the Providence Bruins in five games.
On February 4, 2014, the Springfield Falcons announced thatBruce Landon would be retiring. Landon had served as president, general manager and co-owner since 1994. He remained with the team as director of hockey operations.[6] Sarah Pompea, the daughter of owner Charlie Pompea, was named the new team president.
While it was initially announced that the entire coaching staff would return to Springfield for the2014–15 season, head coach Brad Larsen was promoted to an assistant coach in Columbus. On June 16, 2014, Columbus announced thatJared Bednar would become head coach and he continued to be joined by assistant coachNolan Pratt, in addition to first year assistantToby Petersen. In the 2014–15 season, the team set a franchise record with 11 consecutive wins. The streak lasted from November 14 through December 6, and propelled the Falcons back into first place in the Northeast Division. However, a poor March cost the team as they missed the playoffs, finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
On April 17, 2015, the Springfield Falcons and Arizona Coyotes announced that they had reached a three-year affiliation agreement.[7] This was part of change of affiliations for the2015–16 season where Columbus would have their AHL team inCleveland, the Colorado Avalanche inSan Antonio and theFlorida Panthers would be tied to thePortland Pirates.[8]
The Coyotes hiredRon Rolston as the team's head coach, withDoug Janik andMike Bavis as his assistants for the2015–16 season.Dustin Jeffrey was named a Second Team All-Star, although he finished the season with theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after being traded at the trade deadline. The season was one of the worst in franchise history and marked the 11th time in 13 seasons that the club missed the playoffs, finishing with the second lowest points percentage in the AHL and the most regulation losses.
On April 19, 2016, the Arizona Coyotes signed an agreement to purchase the team. The Coyotes had been in negotiations to relocate the franchise toTucson, Arizona, for the2016–17 season and join the other AHL Pacific Division teams created in the previous season.[9]
On May 4, 2016, the Portland Pirates announced that it had signed a letter of intent with an outside buyer to sell and relocate the franchise for the2016–17 season.[10] It was reported that the team would be relocated to Springfield following the pending sale and relocation of the Falcons franchise.[11]
The AHL Board of Governors conditionally approved of the sale and relocation of the Falcons on May 10,[12] pending approval of a deal through Tucson's city council.[13] On May 17, the Coyotes and the Tucson city council came to terms on a lease agreement for the 2016–17 season to meet the conditions of the AHL approval.[14] The team became theTucson Roadrunners. The Pirates' sale and relocation to Springfield was approved on May 23,[15] to subsequently become theSpringfield Thunderbirds.
This market was previously home to:
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for | Goals against | Standing | Year | Prelims | 1st round | 2nd round | 3rd round | Finals |
| 1994–95 | 80 | 31 | 37 | 12 | — | — | 74 | .463 | 269 | 289 | 5th, North | 1995 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 1995–96 | 80 | 42 | 22 | 11 | 5 | — | 100 | .625 | 272 | 215 | 1st, North | 1996 | — | W, 3–1,PRO | L, 2–4,POR | — | — |
| 1996–97 | 80 | 41 | 25 | 12 | 2 | — | 96 | .600 | 268 | 229 | 2nd, New England | 1997 | — | W, 3–2,POR | W, 4–1,PRO | L, 3–4,HER | — |
| 1997–98 | 80 | 45 | 26 | 7 | 2 | — | 99 | .619 | 278 | 248 | 1st, New England | 1998 | — | L, 1–3,WOR | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | 80 | 35 | 35 | 9 | 1 | — | 80 | .500 | 245 | 232 | 3rd, New England | 1999 | — | L, 0–3,HAR | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | 80 | 33 | 35 | 11 | 1 | — | 78 | .488 | 272 | 252 | 4th, New England | 2000 | — | L, 2–3,HAR | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | 80 | 29 | 37 | 8 | 6 | — | 72 | .450 | 253 | 280 | 6th, New England | 2001 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2001–02 | 80 | 35 | 41 | 2 | 2 | — | 74 | .463 | 213 | 237 | 5th, North | 2002 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2002–03 | 80 | 34 | 38 | 7 | 1 | — | 76 | .475 | 202 | 243 | 4th, East | 2003 | W, 2–0HAR | L, 1–3,HAM | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | 80 | 26 | 43 | 9 | 2 | — | 63 | .394 | 179 | 234 | 7th, Atlantic | 2004 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2004–05 | 80 | 24 | 47 | — | 3 | 6 | 57 | .356 | 161 | 255 | 7th, Atlantic | 2005 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2005–06 | 80 | 28 | 43 | — | 3 | 6 | 65 | .406 | 220 | 312 | 6th, Atlantic | 2006 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2006–07 | 80 | 28 | 49 | — | 1 | 2 | 59 | .369 | 181 | 268 | 7th, Atlantic | 2007 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2007–08 | 80 | 35 | 35 | — | 5 | 5 | 80 | .500 | 214 | 257 | 5th, Atlantic | 2008 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2008–09 | 80 | 24 | 44 | — | 8 | 4 | 60 | .375 | 188 | 258 | 7th, Atlantic | 2009 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2009–10 | 80 | 25 | 39 | — | 12 | 4 | 66 | .413 | 207 | 296 | 8th, Atlantic | 2010 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2010–11 | 80 | 35 | 40 | — | 2 | 3 | 75 | .469 | 232 | 253 | 6th, Atlantic | 2011 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2011–12 | 76 | 36 | 34 | — | 3 | 3 | 78 | .513 | 217 | 231 | 4th, Northeast | 2012 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2012–13 | 76 | 45 | 22 | — | 5 | 4 | 99 | .651 | 235 | 186 | 1st, Northeast | 2013 | — | W, 3–1,MAN | L, 0-4,SYR | — | — |
| 2013–14 | 76 | 47 | 23 | — | 1 | 5 | 100 | .651 | 247 | 212 | 1st, Northeast | 2014 | — | L, 2-3,PRO | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 76 | 38 | 28 | — | 8 | 2 | 86 | .566 | 192 | 209 | 3rd, Northeast | 2015 | Out of playoffs | ||||
| 2015–16 | 76 | 26 | 42 | — | 3 | 5 | 60 | .395 | 194 | 265 | 8th, Atlantic | 2016 | Out of playoffs | ||||
Note: Former AHL PresidentJack Butterfield and Vice-President Gordie Anziano, longtime Springfield residents, were honored with banners raised with the retired numbers.
At the end of each season, the team awarded individual players with:
List of Springfield Falcons alumni who played at least 100 games in Springfield and played 100 or more games in theNational Hockey League:
List of Springfield Falcons alumni later inducted into theAHL Hall of Fame.
In addition, team ownerBruce Landon was also inducted into the AHOF.
These are the top ten scorers in Falcons' history.Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Jean-Guy Trudel | LW | 228 | 90 | 152 | 242 |
| Rob Murray | RW | 501 | 61 | 157 | 218 |
| Daniel Briere | RW | 169 | 88 | 129 | 217 |
| Jason Jaspers | C | 317 | 86 | 114 | 200 |
| Ryan Craig | LW | 305 | 94 | 86 | 180 |
| Brad Tiley | D | 239 | 33 | 130 | 163 |
| Tavis Hansen | C | 298 | 79 | 79 | 158 |
| Eric Healey | LW | 178 | 57 | 80 | 137 |
| Jason McBain | D | 208 | 35 | 87 | 122 |
| Rob Schremp | F | 147 | 30 | 88 | 118 |