In 1996 the Winnipeg Jets, a former WHA franchise, moved to Phoenix and became the Phoenix Coyotes (now the Arizona Coyotes). In 2016, the Coyotes purchased their AHL affiliate (the Springfield Falcons), and moved them to Tucson. The Tucson Roadrunners use a logo very similar to the WHA Roadrunners.
In 1974, the Roadrunners joined the WHA with their roster mostly intact when the WHL ceased operations. The Roadrunners achieved relative success during their first two WHA seasons, but lack of financial success resulted in the removal of local favorite Sandy Hucul as coach and his replacement with Al Rollins, who was disliked by Phoenix hockey fans. Rollins did not succeed in improving the team's fortunes. At one point, the team was forced to sell players just to pay the bills. The Roadrunners finally gave up and folded at the end of its third season. The last active WHA Roadrunner in major professional hockey was the team's star player, Robbie Ftorek, who retired from the NHL after the 1984–85 season.
The Arizona Coyotes were a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area, which competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division and the Pacific Division (1998–2020) in the Western Conference, and the West Division (2020–2021). They played at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix from 1996 to 2003, at Glendale's Gila River Arena from 2003 to 2022, and at Mullett Arena in Tempe from 2022 to 2024.
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era.
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They began play in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. The club joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1979 after the NHL merged with the WHA. Due to mounting financial troubles, in 1996 the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes. The team played their home games at Winnipeg Arena.
The Phoenix Roadrunners were a minor league ice hockey team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They played in the ECHL beginning in the 2005–06 season and ceasing operations at the end of the 2008–09 season.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league based in Western Canada that operated from 1952 to 1974. The league was managed for most of its history by Al Leader, and had roots in the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League. The championship trophy of the WHL was the Lester Patrick Cup.
The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championship in 1971–72. After the WHL folded in 1974, the team transferred to the Central Hockey League for the 1974–75 season.
Elwin Ira Rollins was a professional Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Robert Brian Ftorek is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
The Phoenix Roadrunners were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the International Hockey League. The team was housed at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The team played in the IHL from 1989 to 1997. The IHL Roadrunners were named for a World Hockey Association team of the same name. The IHL Roadrunners used a similar skating cartoon bird logo as the WHA team with different colors, without the outline of the state of Arizona.
The Phoenix Roadrunners were a professional ice hockey team in Phoenix, Arizona. They were a member of the Western Hockey League from 1967 to 1974. After the 1974 season, the franchise moved to the World Hockey Association. The team played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, aka “The Madhouse on McDowell.”
The Seattle Totems were a professional ice hockey franchise in Seattle, Washington. Under several names prior to 1958, the franchise was a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League between 1944 and 1974. In their last season of existence, the Totems played in the Central Hockey League in the 1974–75 season. They played their home games in the Civic Ice Arena and later at the Seattle Center Coliseum. The Totems won three WHL Lester Patrick Cup championships in 1959, 1967 and 1968.
The Pacific Hockey League was a low-level minor professional hockey league that existed for two seasons in 1977–78, and 1978–79. Its member teams from California, Arizona and Washington states, replaced the void left by defunct World Hockey Association franchises, with some teams sharing the names of their predecessors.
Mark William Lamb is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and current general manager and head coach of the Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Lamb was previously the head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Lamb was born in Ponteix, Saskatchewan but grew up in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
William H. MacFarland was an ice hockey player who played in college for the University of Michigan and professionally for the Seattle Totems of the Western Hockey League. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in January 2009.
The 1979 NHL expansion, popularly referred to as the NHL-WHA merger, was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). The result of the negotiations was that the WHA and its six surviving franchises folded, and the owners of four of the teams – the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets – were granted expansion franchises, which commenced play in the NHL in the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22; it ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the sole major league in North American professional ice hockey.
Craig Alvin Cunningham is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played with the Boston Bruins and Arizona Coyotes in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Boston Bruins, 97th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, before being called up to the Bruins in December 2013.
Laurent Dauphin is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected in the second round, 39th overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Dauphin has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens.
The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play for the 2016–17 season. Based in Tucson, Arizona, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Hockey Club, the Roadrunners play their home games at the Tucson Convention Center Arena.
Joshua Thomas Doan is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Arizona Coyotes selected Doan with the 37th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of Coyotes franchise scoring leader Shane Doan.
Ben McCartney is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Utah Hockey Club of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCartney was drafted 204th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2021.
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