St . John ' s IceCaps The St . John ' s IceCaps are a professional ice hockey team based in St . John ' s , Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada . They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League ( AHL ) . The team was originally affiliated with the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets from 2011 to 2015 . However , beginning with the 2015 – 16 AHL season , they will be the top affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) after the Jets relocated their franchise back to Manitoba and the Canadiens moving the former Hamilton Bulldogs franchise to St . John ' s . The IceCaps are also affiliated with the Brampton Beast of the ECHL . History . Winnipeg Jets franchise ( 2011 – 2015 ) . The franchise was founded in 1994 as the Minnesota Moose , who at that time , were members of the International Hockey League . The team played two seasons in St . Paul , Minnesota before relocating to Winnipeg in 1996 following the departure of the original Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix , Arizona . The Manitoba Moose continued in the IHL until the league folded in 2001 , at which time they joined the AHL and became the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks . During their ten years in the AHL , the Moose made it to the Calder Cup Finals once , in 2009 , losing 4 – 2 to the Hershey Bears in the best - of - seven series . In May 2011 , True North Sports and Entertainment purchased the NHL ' s Atlanta Thrashers with the intention of relocating the team to Winnipeg for the 2011 – 12 NHL season . With the return of the NHL to Winnipeg , a new home was needed for Moose . A deal was reached with former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams to relocate the AHL team to St . John ' s for the 2011 – 12 season . The AHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the franchise ' s relocation to St . John ' s on June 20 , 2011 . Later that day , Williams and True North Senior Vice President Craig Heisinger held an event at Mile One Centre officially announcing the relocation of the Manitoba Moose to St . John ' s . At the same time , True North made the new St . John ' s team the top affiliate of its new NHL team . Coincidentally , the nearby community of Conception Bay South had been awarded the Kraft Hockeyville exhibition game for 2011 , which would have featured the Atlanta Thrashers facing the Ottawa Senators . Because of the proximity of Conception Bay South to St . John ' s , the game between the Senators and the Jets was relocated to the Mile One Centre to accommodate larger crowds . This would be the first IceCaps - related game , as many of the Jets players were prospects who would be assigned to the IceCaps shortly after . The de facto home Jets defeated the Senators , 3 – 1 . The IceCaps played their inaugural game on October 7 , 2011 in Providence , Rhode Island against the Providence Bruins . Their first home game was on October 14 , 2011 against the Hamilton Bulldogs . In their inaugural season , the IceCaps finished first in Atlantic division and reached the Eastern Conference Championship series , falling in four games to the eventual Calder Cup Champion Norfolk Admirals . After missing the playoffs in the 2012 – 13 season , the IceCaps would finish 2013 – 14 in second place in the Atlantic Division ( 46 - 23 - 2 - 5 , 99 pts ) and would return to the playoffs by earning the fourth playoff seed in the Eastern Conference . The IceCaps defeated the Albany Devils 3 games to 1 in the conference quarterfinals and the Norfolk Admirals 4 games to 2 in the conference semifinals . On June 3 , 2014 , with a 5 - 0 victory over the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Championship series , the IceCaps claimed the Richard Canning Trophy as Eastern Conference champions and advanced to the Calder Cup Finals for the first time since relocating to Newfoundland from Manitoba . This marked the second time that St . John ' s would be represented in the AHL Championship series and the first since the St . John ' s Maple Leafs advanced to the 1992 Calder Cup Finals against the Adirondack Red Wings . The IceCaps would be defeated in five games by the Western Conference Champion Texas Stars . Montreal Canadiens franchise ( 2015 – present ) . In January 2014 , True North Sports and Entertainment chairman Mark Chipman confirmed that the organization was exploring plans to relocate their AHL franchise to Thunder Bay , Ontario after the current lease with Danny Williams ' group expired in 2015 . Although the IceCaps have been a financial success , the geographical location of St . John ' s has presented significant travel difficulties for Jets personnel . Williams stated he would try and find another team to bring to Newfoundland should the IceCaps leave . In September 2014 , True North and Williams ' group agreed to extend their affiliation agreement through the 2015 – 16 season . However , news reports surfaced in March 2015 that Williams ' s group was close to reaching a deal that would see the Hamilton Bulldogs franchise relocate to Newfoundland for the 2015 – 16 season and True North ' s franchise move back to Winnipeg as the Manitoba Moose . These reports were later confirmed on March 12 , 2015 , when Williams ' group announced that the IceCaps would be the primary affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens through the 2016 – 17 season . The team will still be known as the St . John ' s IceCaps . Such reports were confirmed by the AHL on March 12 , 2015 , when the current IceCaps ' return to Winnipeg was announced . However , the IceCaps identity will remain , to be taken up by the Montreal Canadiens ' franchise and affiliate ( previously known as the Hamilton Bulldogs ) when they relocate to St . John ' s for the 2015 – 16 season . The tenure as a Canadiens farm team will be brief as the Canadiens confirmed that their AHL farm team will be based out of Laval , Quebec in the new arena that is scheduled to open in mid - 2017 . Team Information . Name . Following the announcement of the team ' s relocation to St . John ' s , Williams stated that while he would prefer to hold a fan contest to name the team ; however , with insufficient time before the start of the season , this task was brought to the team ' s advisory committee . The " Moose " moniker , which the team had used until that time , was immediately ruled out . The high volume vehicular accidents in Newfoundland and Labrador involving the animal was cited as one of the reasons behind not retaining the old name . Several media outlets soon started reporting that the team would be known as the St . John ' s IceCaps , this after St . John ' s IceCaps Inc . was registered with Newfoundland and Labrador ' s registry of deeds and companies . The official announcement was made on July 29 , 2011 . Logo . The St . John ' s IceCaps ' colours were aviator blue , white , polar night blue , and silver ; the same colours used by the Winnipeg Jets , their parent club . The IceCaps ' home uniform was a white jersey with a polar night blue collar with aviator blue and silver trim , while their away uniform was a polar night blue jersey with aviator blue and silver trim , with the IceCaps logo placed on the front . These jerseys were styled from the Winnipeg Jets ' jerseys . The IceCaps ' jerseys also included the Winnipeg Jets ' primary logo on the shoulder . The team unveiled a special third jersey on January 15 , 2016 to honour the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme at Beaumont - Hamel in which 733 men from Newfoundland and Labrador were killed or injured . The logo is crested by a commemorative logo for the 100th anniversary and the words " The Royal Newfoundland Regiment " with the dates " 1916 " and " 2016 " . Mascot . Buddy the Puffin is the mascot of the IceCaps . Buddy was previously the mascot of the St . John ' s Maple Leafs . Buddy ' s number is 92 , which represents 1992 , the year that he was introduced as the mascot of the St . John ' s Maple Leafs . Schedule . Newfoundland ' s isolated location in the easternmost part of Canada presented travel difficulties for teams flying to and from St . John ' s . Most flights to St . John ' s required a connection at Montréal or Toronto , which added to the length and cost of travel . In order to reduce costs for both the IceCaps and other AHL teams , teams traveling to St . John ' s usually played two games in a row . Team records . Single season . Goaltender stats ( min . 20 games played for the season )