Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) from 1974 – 76 . In 1976 the franchise relocated to Denver , Colorado and became the Colorado Rockies . In 1982 , the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where they are now known as the New Jersey Devils . Franchise history . In 1974 , the NHL ended its first expansion period by adding teams in Kansas City , Missouri and Washington , D . C . Kansas City was awarded their franchise on June 8 , 1972 , and Kemper Arena was constructed to host the team ' s games . Kansas City had been the home of several minor league ice hockey teams through the years . The Scouts shared Kemper Arena with the Kansas City Kings basketball franchise from the National Basketball Association . The arrival of the Scouts and Washington Capitals resulted in the NHL creating four divisions , and the Scouts were placed in the Smythe Division . The Kansas City franchise was to be called the Kansas City MO - Hawks , since the Kansas City metropolitan area includes portions of Missouri and Kansas . The name would have combined Missouri ' s postal abbreviation ( MO ) and the Kansas nickname of " Jayhawkers . " However , the Chicago Black Hawks objected to the name because it came too close to that of their own franchise . The team then chose the name Kansas City Scouts , named after the Kansas City Scout statue that overlooks the city . On October 9 , 1974 , the Scouts took the ice for the first time at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto and lost 6 – 2 to the Maple Leafs . To allow construction to be completed on Kemper Arena , the Scouts played their first eight games on the road . In those eight games , the Scouts lost seven games and tied one game . The Scouts made their home debut on November 2 , losing to the Black Hawks 4 – 3 . The following day , the team got their first victory , coming against the Capitals by a score of 5 – 4 in Washington . Like most expansion teams , the Scouts played poorly , garnering only 41 points in their inaugural season . The next season , the team won only 12 games , which still stands as the worst in Scouts / Rockies / Devils franchise history . For a time in late 1975 , the team was poised to compete for a playoff spot . After a 3 – 1 win over the California Golden Seals on December 28 , they stood just one point behind the St . Louis Blues and playoff position in the weak Smythe Division . But the Scouts entered into a free - fall once 1976 hit , winning only one of their remaining 44 games ( 1 – 35 – 8 ) , ending the season with a 27 game winless stretch , and finishing their second and final season with a record of 12 – 56 – 12 and 36 points . In their two seasons the Scouts went through three coaches – Bep Guidolin , Sid Abel ( 3 - game interim stint ) , and Eddie Bush . The team had two captains , Simon Nolet and Guy Charron . Steve Durbano led the league in penalty minutes during the 1975 – 76 season . Wilf Paiement was the last active player in the NHL to have played for the Scouts . He retired in 1988 , ending his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins . The Scouts failed to make the playoffs in either season in Kansas City and won only 27 of 160 games . With a combined 32 teams between the NHL and the rival World Hockey Association , the talent available to stock the new teams in Kansas City and Washington was stretched thin . In their first season , the Capitals would set an NHL record for futility , losing 67 of 80 games , and only winning one on the road . The Scouts fared only marginally better , and the 1974 expansion was widely seen as having been a mistake . The Scouts suffered from inflated player costs , a weak ownership group , an economic downturn , poor performance on the ice and poor attendance . The Scouts drew an average of just 8 , 218 fans during their two years ( at a time when the league average was approximately 13 , 000 ) . The owners quickly amassed massive debts . The team ' s 30 or so investors tried to initiate a ticket drive to allow the team to remain in Kansas City for a third season , but it failed . Relocation to Denver . After just two seasons , the Scouts franchise was sold and relocated to Denver and renamed the Colorado Rockies . The Colorado Rockies would play six NHL seasons in Denver , relocating to the east coast to become the New Jersey Devils following the 1982 season . The Scouts and the California Golden Seals , who moved to Cleveland and became the Cleveland Barons the same year , were the first NHL teams to relocate since the 1935 season . Denver and Seattle were to have been granted franchises in an aborted 1976 NHL expansion . Legacy . Following the departure of the Scouts , Kansas City became a minor league hockey town again affiliating with a number of teams . Most notably , the Kansas City Blades , who operated from 1990 – 2001 in the International Hockey League . Within a few years of the Blades ' departure , plans started for a new arena in downtown Kansas City , which has led city officials to actively pursue a return to the NHL , speaking with several teams about possible relocation . In 2009 , the Scouts were named as having one of the five ugliest uniforms in NHL history by Versus . com . Season - by - season record . " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes "