The
Springfield Falcons are an
ice hockey team in the
American Hockey League (AHL).
They play
in Springfield,
Massachusetts
, at the MassMutual Center
and are the top affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Their mascot is a falcon named Screech.
History
In 1994,
the longtime AHL Springfield
Indians team was sold to interests that moved the franchise to
Worcester,
Massachusetts
, to become the Worcester IceCats (now the Peoria Rivermen). Ex-Indian players
Bruce Landon, then the general manager
of the Indians, and Wayne LaChance, a local rink owner, secured an
expansion franchise for Springfield for the
1995 season. The Indians name was
still under trademark, so the new owners named the team after Andy
and Amelia, a pair of nesting
peregrine
falcons that was a popular local civic symbol. The Falcons
secured affiliation with both the
Hartford Whalers and the
Winnipeg Jets of the NHL, keeping continuity
with the Whalers' affiliation of the previous few years. Veteran
defenseman
John Stevens
(who shared the co-captaincy that first year with
Rob Murray and the last captain of the Indians)
scored the franchise's first goal.
Tavis Hansen and Daniel Briere score
against Saint John
Among the Falcons' notable players have included
Jean-Guy Trudel, the franchise's leading
career goal and point scorer;
Daniel
Briere;
Karri Ramo, the
former
Tampa Bay Lightning
goaltender,
Manny Legace, the
franchise's all-time leading goaltender and former
St. Louis Blues starter;
Nikolai Khabibulin, the
Edmonton Oilers' star goaltender; and
Rob Murray, the franchise's long-time
captain and inspirational leader, and current head coach of the
Providence Bruins. During the
2004 season, Springfield
fans voted on the Web for the team's 10th Anniversary Team, and
selected Briere at center, Trudel at left wing,
Tavis Hansen at right wing,
Brad Tiley and
Dan Focht
on defense, and Legace in goal.
Original Falcons logo used from
1995-2003
Individual honors won by Falcons players have included the
Baz Bastien Award given to the league's best
goaltender (to Legace in 1996 and
Scott
Langkow in 1998), Briere winning the
Red
Garrett Award emblematic of rookie of the year and a nod as
First Team All-Star center in 1998, Tiley winning the
Eddie Shore Award for the league's
outstanding defenceman in 2000, and Trudel winning a Second Team
All-Star award in 2000.
The team has finished in first place in its division twice and made
the playoffs six times in its fifteen seasons, although only once
in the last nine years. After the Whalers relocated to become the
Carolina Hurricanes, the Falcons
were subsequently affiliated exclusively with the Jets, and with
their relocated successors, the
Phoenix
Coyotes. The team was affiliated with the
Tampa Bay Lightning between
2005 and
2007.
On March 19, 2007, the team announced that given its ninth straight
losing season, it was exercising its option to sever relations with
the
Tampa Bay Lightning to
become an affiliate to the
Edmonton
Oilers, starting in the
2007–08 AHL season, through the
2009-10 AHL season. The Tampa Bay Lightning became affiliated with
the
Norfolk Admirals.
On August 3, 2007, the team hired former Edmonton Oilers player
Kelly 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
former
Houston Aeros coach Rob Daum.
The Falcons finished the 2008-09 season with the worst record in
the AHL.
On June 23, 2009,
Edmonton Oilers
general manager
Steve Tambellini
announced that Rob Daum would remain the head coach of the
Springfield Falcons through the 2009-10
American Hockey League season. Since
the contract the Oilers have with the Falcons runs out at the end
of the season, it is unknown who the Falcons will be affiliated
with for the 2010-11 AHL season.
This market was previously home to:
Season-by-season results
- Springfield Falcons 1994-Present
Regular Season
| Season |
Games |
Won |
Lost |
Tied |
OTL |
SOL |
Points |
Goals
for |
Goals
against |
Standing |
| 1994–95 |
80 |
31 |
37 |
12 |
— |
— |
74 |
269 |
289 |
5th, North |
| 1995–96 |
80 |
42 |
22 |
11 |
5 |
— |
100 |
272 |
215 |
1st, North |
| 1996–97 |
80 |
41 |
25 |
12 |
2 |
— |
96 |
268 |
229 |
2nd, New England |
| 1997–98 |
80 |
45 |
26 |
7 |
2 |
— |
99 |
278 |
248 |
1st, New Englnd |
| 1998–99 |
80 |
35 |
35 |
9 |
1 |
— |
80 |
245 |
232 |
3rd, New England |
| 1999–00 |
80 |
33 |
35 |
11 |
1 |
— |
78 |
272 |
252 |
4th, New England |
| 2000–01 |
80 |
29 |
37 |
8 |
6 |
— |
72 |
253 |
280 |
6th, New England |
| 2001–02 |
80 |
35 |
41 |
2 |
2 |
— |
74 |
213 |
237 |
5th, North |
| 2002–03 |
80 |
34 |
38 |
7 |
1 |
— |
76 |
202 |
243 |
4th, East |
| 2003–04 |
80 |
26 |
43 |
9 |
2 |
— |
63 |
179 |
234 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2004–05 |
80 |
24 |
47 |
— |
3 |
6 |
57 |
161 |
255 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2005–06 |
80 |
28 |
43 |
— |
3 |
6 |
65 |
220 |
312 |
6th, Atlantic |
| 2006–07 |
80 |
28 |
49 |
— |
1 |
2 |
59 |
181 |
268 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2007–08 |
80 |
35 |
35 |
— |
5 |
5 |
80 |
214 |
257 |
5th, Atlantic |
| 2008–09 |
80 |
24 |
44 |
— |
8 |
4 |
60 |
188 |
258 |
7th, Atlantic |
Playoffs
| Season |
Prelim |
1st round |
2nd round |
3rd round |
Finals |
| 1994–95 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 1995–96 |
— |
W, 3–1, PROV |
L, 2–4, PORT |
— |
— |
| 1996–97 |
— |
W, 3–2, PORT |
W, 4–1, PROV |
L, 3–4, HER |
— |
| 1997–98 |
— |
L, 1–3, WOR |
— |
— |
— |
| 1998–99 |
— |
L, 0–3, HART |
— |
— |
— |
| 1999–00 |
— |
L, 2–3, HART |
— |
— |
— |
| 2000–01 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2001–02 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2002–03 |
W, 2–0, HART |
L, 1–3, HAM |
— |
— |
— |
| 2003–04 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2004–05 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2005–06 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2006–07 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2007–08 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2008–09 |
Out of Playoffs |
Team records
Single Season
- Goals: 39 - John
LeBlanc (1994–95)
- Assists: 65 - Jean-Guy Trudel (2000–01)
- Points: 99 - Jean-Guy Trudel (2000–01)
- Penalty Minutes: 373 - Rob Murray (1994–95)
- Appearances by a Goalie: 62 - Devan Dubnyk (2008-09)
- GAA: 2.27 - Manny
Legace (1995–96)
- SV%: .922 - Jean-Marc Pelletier (2003–04)
Career
- Career Goals: - 90 Jean-Guy Trudel
- Career Assists: - 157 Rob Murray
- Career Points: - 242 Jean-Guy Trudel
- Career Penalty Minutes: - 1529 Rob Murray
- Career Goaltending Wins: 63 - Scott Langkow
- Career Shutouts: 8 - Manny Legace
- Career Games: 501 - Rob
Murray
Notable players
Retired numbers
Note: Former AHL President Jack
Butterfield and Vice-President Gordie Anziano, longtime
Springfield residents, have been honored with banners raised with
the retired numbers.
Notable NHL alumni
List of Springfield Falcons alumni that played more than 100 games
in Springfield, and also played 100 or more games in the
National Hockey League.
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