List of defunct and relocated National Hockey League teams

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional men's ice hockey league, founded in 1917. The NHL Board of Governors review and approve the relocation of any member club. Each team appoints an individual or individuals to represent their team on the Board of Governors. A majority vote is needed for relocation of a club. Clubs are considered permanently relocated when moved out of their respective home territories, which includes the city that they were located in, plus 50 miles from the city's corporate limits.
Under the constitution of the NHL, membership is on a partnership basis, each partner holding a franchise from the League for the operation of a hockey club in its designated city.NHL Constitution, p. 2 The franchise can out-live teams located in different cities. For example, the Kansas City Scouts, Colorado Rockies, and New Jersey Devils are one franchise. A franchise's history includes the records of competition won in different cities, as differently-named teams. Naming and team logos and designs are registered with the league. The current Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets had to get the formal permission of the league members to use the name of the previous franchise that had used the team nickname. The league considers the history of the current Senators to not include the original Senators; the Jets' franchise history includes the Atlanta Thrashers' history, not the first Winnipeg Jets.
There are 19 defunct and relocated NHL teams. The Montreal Wanderers, original Ottawa Senators, and the Quebec Bulldogs had played in the NHA before joining the NHL; Quebec City joined the NHL two years later as the Athletics. The Pittsburgh Pirates played in the U.S. Amateur Hockey Association as the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets before joining the NHL in 1925. The first NHL team to disband was the Montreal Wanderers, citing the lack of available players due to World War I. The first team to relocate was the Athletics, who relocated to Hamilton, Ontario to become the Hamilton Tigers. The NHL president at the time, Frank Calder, stripped the franchise from owner Mike Quinn and sold it to a Hamilton-based company. Three franchises became defunct due to the Great Depression: the Philadelphia Quakers, the St. Louis Eagles, and the Montreal Maroons. During their time in the NHL, the Senators and Maroons both won the Stanley Cup championship multiple times, with four and two respectively. The Brooklyn Americans was the last team to become defunct in the NHL. The franchise was struggling financially, and due to the lack of players via World War II, was suspended prior to the . The franchise formally ceased in 1946. The Americans departure reduced the number of teams to six. This began what became known as the Original Six era of the NHL.
The Original Six era ended when the NHL expanded twofold in 1967. Two teams from the expansion—the California Golden Seals and the Minnesota North Stars—relocated to other cities. The Golden Seals moved to Cleveland after nine seasons in the San Francisco Bay Area to become the Cleveland Barons; this was the first time in four decades the NHL approved a franchise relocation. Two years later, after failed overtures towards merging with the Washington Capitals and the Vancouver Canucks, the Barons merged with the North Stars. The Barons are the only NHL team to merge operations with another one. The North Stars relocated to Dallas in 1993 to become the Stars.
After six additional expansion teams, the merger of the Cleveland Barons with the Minnesota North Stars, and the NHL–WHA merger, the league had expanded to 21 teams by 1979. Three of the four teams from the NHL–WHA merger relocated to other cities: the Quebec Nordiques, the original Winnipeg Jets, and the Hartford Whalers. The Nordiques became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, while the Winnipeg Jets became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 and rebranded as the Arizona Coyotes in 2014, with the Hartford Whalers moving to Raleigh, NC and becoming the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. The Winnipeg Jets identity was revived in 2011, when a Winnipeg-based company received approval from the league to purchase the struggling Atlanta Thrashers and relocate them to Winnipeg for the . Out of the seven active relocated franchises in the NHL, two have not yet won the Stanley Cup championship: the Coyotes and the Jets (both teams have also never been to the Stanley Cup Finals).
Most of the metropolitan areas that have hosted relocated or defunct teams have been given another NHL team. Montreal, Quebec City and Atlanta all have two defunct or relocated teams with the Wanderers and Maroons, the Athletics and Nordiques, and the Flames and Thrashers, respectively. Philadelphia (Philadelphia Flyers), Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Penguins), and St. Louis (St. Louis Blues) gained teams during the 1967 expansion. After losing the Americans, two more teams have been added into the New York metropolitan area: the New York Islanders in 1972 and the New Jersey Devils in 1982. Other former host-metropolitan areas of NHL teams that have been given another team include: San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose Sharks in 1991), Ottawa (current Ottawa Senators in 1992), Denver (Colorado Avalanche in 1995), Minneapolis – St. Paul (Minnesota Wild in 2000) and Winnipeg (current Jets in 2011).
==Defunct and relocated teams==
First 	First year in the NHL
Last 	Last year in the NHL
Record	Win–loss–tie–overtime record
Win% 	Winning percentage
PA 	NHL (1918–1926) / Stanley Cup playoffs (1927–present) appearances
SC 	Stanley Cup wins
* 	Denotes active franchise
^ 	City would later receive a new franchise
Team 	First	Last	Relocated to 	Seasons	Record 	Win%	PA	SC	Reason for relocation/disbandment 	Reference
Montreal Wanderers 	1917 	1918	Defunct 	1 	1–5–0 	.167	0 	0 	Lack of available players due to World War I and arena burned down 	
Quebec Bulldogs^ 	1919 	1920	Hamilton Tigers 	1 	4–20–0 	.167	0 	0 	Sold to a Hamilton-based company 	
Hamilton Tigers 	1920 	1925	Defunct 	5 	47–78–1 	.377	0 	0 	Ceased operations due to players' strike; players were bought by the New York Americans. 	
Pittsburgh Pirates^ 	1925 	1930	Philadelphia Quakers 	5 	67–122–23 	.370	2 	0 	Financial problems during the Great Depression 	
Philadelphia Quakers^ 	1930 	1931	Defunct 	1 	4–36–4 	.136	0 	0 	Financial problems during the Great Depression 	
Ottawa Senators^ 	1917 	1934	St. Louis Eagles 	16 	258–221–63 	.534	9 	4 	Financial problems during the Great Depression 	
St. Louis Eagles^ 	1934 	1935	Defunct 	1 	11–31–6 	.292	0 	0 	Financial problems during the Great Depression 	
Montreal Maroons 	1924 	1938	Defunct 	14 	271–260–91 	.509	11	2 	Financial problems during the Great Depression 	
Brooklyn Americans^ 	1925 	1942	Defunct 	17 	255–402–127 	.406	5 	0 	Financial problems, plus lack of players due to World War II; formally ceased in 1946. 	
California Golden Seals^	1967 	1976	Cleveland Barons 	9 	182–401–115 	.343	2 	0 	In search of better financial conditions; Cleveland is the hometown of minority owner George Gund III. 	
Kansas City Scouts 	1974 	1976	Colorado Rockies 	2 	27–110–23 	.241	0 	0 	Financial problems; sold to a group of investors with the intention to move. 	
Cleveland Barons 	1976 	1978	Minnesota North Stars (merge)	2 	47–87–26 	.375	0 	0 	Both teams with financial problems. To date, the Barons are the last NHL franchise to cease operations.	
Atlanta Flames^ 	1972 	1980	Calgary Flames* 	8 	268–260–108 	.506	6 	0 	Financial problems; sold to Nelson Skalbania with the intention to move to Calgary. 	
Colorado Rockies^ 	1976 	1982	New Jersey Devils* 	6 	113–281–86 	.325	0 	0 	Sold to John McMullen in search of better financial conditions; New Jersey is McMullen's home state. 	
Minnesota North Stars^ 	1967 	1993	Dallas Stars* 	26 	758–970–334 	.449	17	0 	In search of better financial conditions. 	
Quebec Nordiques 	1979 	1995	Colorado Avalanche* 	16 	497–599–160 	.459	9 	0 	Financial problems; sold to a Denver-based group. 	
Winnipeg Jets^ 	1979 	1996	Arizona Coyotes* 	17 	506–660–172 	.442	11	0 	Sold to a group of investors with the intention to move in search of better financial conditions. 	
Hartford Whalers 	1979 	1997	Carolina Hurricanes* 	18 	534–709–177 	.438	8 	0 	In search of better financial conditions. 	
Atlanta Thrashers 	1999 	2011	Winnipeg Jets* 	11 	342–437–45–78	.447	1 	0 	Financial problems; sold to a Winnipeg-based company TNSE. 	
===Notes===
* This team was not affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).
* This team was not affiliated with the present-day Ottawa Senators.
* The team was formerly known as the New York Americans (1925–1941), and was not affiliated with the Rangers, the Islanders, or the Devils. In addition, the Devils relocated from East Rutherford to Newark in 2007, while the Islanders relocated from Uniondale to Brooklyn in 2015 and returned on a part-time basis to Uniondale in 2018. However, the Devils and the Islanders have never relocated out of the New York metropolitan area.
* The team was formerly known as the California Seals (1967), Oakland Seals (1967–1970), and Bay Area Seals (1970).
* This team was not affiliated with the Colorado Rockies of MLB.
* This team was not affiliated with the present-day Winnipeg Jets.
* The Wanderers played four games during the before becoming defunct; a further two games were defaulted before the club folded.
* The Senators were on hiatus during the due to financial problems.*
* The 2004–05 season was cancelled due to the season lockout.*
==Map of defunct and relocated teams==
Image:nhldefunctteams.png|825px|thumb|centre|Map of the defunct and relocated NHL teams; the team names are clickable.
rect 539 71 658 89 Winnipeg Jets (1972–96)
rect 593 202 776 223 Minnesota North Stars
rect 1000 127 1130 147 Quebec Bulldogs
rect 1001 146 1140 164 Quebec Nordiques
rect 14 267 205 325 California Golden Seals
rect 780 495 904 513 Atlanta Flames
rect 781 514 914 527 Atlanta Thrashers
rect 651 377 796 398 St. Louis Eagles
rect 508 382 650 401 Kansas City Scouts
rect 571 366 592 384 Kansas City Scouts
rect 364 325 513 347 Colorado Rockies (NHL)
rect 797 342 930 364 Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
rect 850 318 884 345 Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
rect 842 295 971 310 Cleveland Barons (NHL)
rect 815 296 846 319 Cleveland Barons (NHL)
rect 936 324 1098 349 Philadelphia Quakers
rect 935 311 960 326 Philadelphia Quakers
rect 906 201 1098 222 Ottawa Senators (original)
rect 906 180 938 204 Ottawa Senators (original)
rect 968 167 1099 183 Montreal Maroons
rect 970 183 1115 200 Montreal Wanderers
rect 989 260 1132 280 Hartford Whalers
rect 970 283 1133 317 New York Americans
rect 840 234 976 255 Hamilton Tigers (ice hockey)
desc bottom-right
==See also==
*History of the National Hockey League
*History of organizational changes in the NHL
*Potential National Hockey League expansion
==References==
==Further reading==
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Defunct teams