Central Hockey League ( 1963 - 1984 ) The Central Hockey League was a minor professional league that operated in the United States from 1963 to 1984 . Initially named the Central Professional Hockey League , it was owned and operated by the National Hockey League and served as a successor to the Eastern Professional Hockey League , which had folded after the 1962 - 63 season . Four of the CHL ' s initial franchises were , in fact , relocations of the previous year ' s EPHL teams . Its founding president was Jack Adams , who served in the role until his death in 1968 . The CHL ' s championship trophy was called the Adams Cup in his honor . History . In the league ' s first season , all five teams were affiliated with an NHL club . The CHL initially consisted of the Indianapolis Capitals ( formerly Sudbury Wolves Detroit Red Wings ) , Minneapolis Bruins ( formerly Kingston Frontenacs Boston Bruins ) , Omaha Knights ( formerly Hull - Ottawa Canadiens Montreal Canadiens ) , St . Louis Braves ( same team Chicago Black Hawks ) and the St . Paul Rangers ( New York Rangers ) . The New York Rangers had not had a farm team in the EPHL in 1962 - 63 . The only NHL team without a CHL affiliate that year , the Toronto Maple Leafs , joined the league through its affiliation with the Tulsa Oilers in the CHL ' s second season . In that first season , 1963 - 64 , the Capitals were forced to relocate because of a terrible accident in their arena . They became the Cincinnati Wings . From 1964 to 1970 , teams from this league played exhibition games during the season against the Canadian national team . After Adams ' s death , Emory Jones served as interim president until the appointment of lawyer Joe Kane in August 1968 . Kane served one year as president , retiring in June 1969 . Kane was succeeded by Jones , who held the job until retiring in 1974 . Max McNab served as league president from 1974 until becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals during his second season . Ray Miron was hired as president in August 1976 , but resigned less than three weeks later to accept the job as general manager of the Colorado Rockies . Before the end of the month , Bud Poile became league president and would hold the job until the CHL folded in 1984 . For the 1974 - 75 season , the CHL absorbed three teams , the Denver Spurs , Salt Lake Golden Eagles , and Seattle Totems , from the folding Western Hockey League . Denver and Seattle would play only one season , but Salt Lake would stay in the league until the end and would continue in the International Hockey League for the 1984 - 85 season , after the CHL ceased operations . For 1979 - 80 , the CHL added the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls , the two teams from the World Hockey Association that were not admitted to the NHL that year . Also during the 1979 - 80 season , the United States Olympic hockey team played games against each team in the CHL that counted in the standings . The team went on to win the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics . In the 1983 - 84 season , both the U . S . and Canadian Olympic hockey teams played games in the CHL . The CHL ' s final champions , the Tulsa Oilers , were left without a home during their championship 1983 - 84 season when the team owners went into receivership . The league stepped in to keep the team operating , and the Oilers played all their games on the road from mid - February through the end of the playoffs . Their Cup - winning game on April 27 , 1984 was the last game played in the CHL . The league folded the following month . Teams . < br clear = " all " > Adams Cup champions . < br clear = " all " > ‡ Oilers team was left without a home after its owners in Tulsa went into receivership ; played the last two months of the season and all playoff games as a road team , with salaries and expenses paid by the league .