Everything about The Springfield Falcons totally explained
The
Springfield Falcons are an
ice hockey team in the
American Hockey League. They play in
Springfield, Massachusetts,
USA, at the
MassMutual Center.
History
In 1994, the longtime AHL
Springfield Indians team was sold to interests that moved the franchise to
Worcester, Massachusetts, to become the
Worcester IceCats (now the
Peoria Rivermen). Ex-Indian players
Bruce Landon, then the general manager of the Indians, and
Wayne LaChance, a local rink owner, secured an expansion franchise for Springfield for the 1994–1995 season. The Indians name was still under trademark, so the new owners named the team after Andy and Amelia, a pair of nesting
peregrine falcons that was a popular local civic symbol. The Falcons secured affiliation with both the
Hartford Whalers and the
Winnipeg Jets of the NHL, keeping continuity with the Whalers' affiliation of the previous few years. Veteran defenceman
John Stevens (who shared the co-captaincy that first year with
Rob Murray) scored the franchise's first goal.
Among the Falcons' notable players have included
Jean-Guy Trudel, the franchise's leading career goal and point scorer;
Daniel Briere;
Manny Legace, the franchise's all-time leading goaltender and
St. Louis Blues starter;
Nikolai Khabibulin, the
Chicago Blackhawks star goaltender and
Rob Murray, the franchise's long-time captain and inspirational leader, and current assistant coach for the
Providence Bruins. During the 2003–2004 season, Springfield fans voted on the Web for the team's 10th Anniversary Team, and selected Briere at center, Trudel at left wing,
Tavis Hansen at right wing,
Brad Tiley and
Dan Focht on defense, and Legace in goal.
Individual honors won by Falcons players have included the
Baz Bastien Memorial Award given to the league's best goaltender (to Legace in 1996 and
Scott Langkow in 1998), Briere winning the
Red Garrett Memorial Award emblematic of rookie of the year and a nod as First Team All-Star center in 1998, Tiley winning the
Eddie Shore Award for the league's outstanding defenceman in 2000, and Trudel winning a Second Team All-Star award in 2000.
The team has finished in first place in its division twice and made the playoffs six times in its twelve seasons. It has subsequently been affiliated with the
Phoenix Coyotes, and starting in the 2004–2005 season, exclusively with the Lightning.
On April 17, 2006, after posting a combined record of 52–90–6–12 over two seasons, the Falcons fired head coach
Dirk Graham.
(External Link
) Former
New York Islanders head coach
Steve Stirling was named to replace him on May 22.
On March 19, 2007, the team announced that given its ninth straight losing season, it was exercising its option to sever relations with the
Tampa Bay Lightning to become an affiliate to the
Edmonton Oilers, starting in the
2007–08 AHL season.
The Oilers initially named
Geoff Ward, who had coached Edmonton's AHL affiliates between 2003 and 2005, as the Falcons' new coach. However, on August 1, 2007,
Geoff Ward resigned as Head Coach of the Springfield Falcons in order to take an Assistant Coach position with the
Boston Bruins of the
NHL. Former Edmonton Oilers Development Coach
Kelly Buchberger was subsequently named Head Coach of the Falcons on August 3, 2007.
This market was previously home to:
Season-by-season results
Springfield Falcons 1994-Present
Regular Season
| Season |
Games |
on |
ost |
ied |
TL |
OL |
oints |
Goals
for |
Goals
against |
tanding |
| 1994–95 |
80 |
31 |
37 |
12 |
— |
— |
74 |
269 |
289 |
5th, North |
| 1995–96 |
80 |
42 |
22 |
11 |
5 |
— |
100 |
272 |
215 |
1st, North |
| 1996–97 |
80 |
41 |
25 |
12 |
2 |
— |
96 |
268 |
229 |
2nd, New England |
| 1997–98 |
80 |
45 |
26 |
7 |
2 |
— |
99 |
278 |
248 |
1st, New Englnd |
| 1998–99 |
80 |
35 |
35 |
9 |
1 |
— |
80 |
245 |
232 |
3rd, New England |
| 1999–00 |
80 |
33 |
35 |
11 |
1 |
— |
78 |
272 |
252 |
4th, New England |
| 2000–01 |
80 |
29 |
37 |
8 |
6 |
— |
72 |
253 |
280 |
6th, New England |
| 2001–02 |
80 |
35 |
41 |
2 |
2 |
— |
74 |
213 |
237 |
5th, North |
| 2002–03 |
80 |
34 |
38 |
7 |
1 |
— |
76 |
202 |
243 |
4th, East |
| 2003–04 |
80 |
26 |
43 |
9 |
2 |
— |
63 |
179 |
234 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2004–05 |
80 |
24 |
47 |
— |
3 |
6 |
57 |
161 |
255 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2005–06 |
80 |
28 |
43 |
— |
3 |
6 |
65 |
220 |
312 |
6th, Atlantic |
| 2006–07 |
80 |
28 |
49 |
— |
1 |
2 |
59 |
181 |
268 |
7th, Atlantic |
| 2007–08 |
See 2007–08 AHL season for up-to-date standings. |
Playoffs
| Season |
relim |
st round |
nd round |
rd round |
inals |
| 1994–95 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 1995–96 |
— |
W, 3–1, PROV |
L, 2–4, PORT |
— |
— |
| 1996–97 |
— |
W, 3–2, PORT |
W, 4–1, PROV |
L, 3–4, HER |
— |
| 1997–98 |
— |
L, 1–3, WOR |
— |
— |
— |
| 1998–99 |
— |
L, 0–3, HART |
— |
— |
— |
| 1999–00 |
— |
L, 2–3, HART |
— |
— |
— |
| 2000–01 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2001–02 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2002–03 |
W, 2–0, HART |
L, 1–3, HAM |
— |
— |
— |
| 2003–04 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2004–05 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2005–06 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2006–07 |
Out of Playoffs |
| 2007–08 |
Out of Playoffs. |
Team records
Single Season
» Goals: 39 John LeBlanc (1994–95)
Assists: 65 Jean-Guy Trudel (2000–01) » Points: 99 Jean-Guy Trudel (2000–01)
Penalty Minutes: 373 Rob Murray (1994–95) » GAA: 2.27 Manny Legace (1995–96)
SV%: .922 Jean-Marc Pelletier (2003–04)
Career
» Career Goals: 90 Jean-Guy Trudel
Career Assists: 157 Rob Murray » Career Points: 242 Jean-Guy Trudel
Career Penalty Minutes: 1529 Rob Murray » Career Goaltending Wins: 63 Scott Langkow
Career Shutouts: 8 Manny Legace » Career Games: 501 Rob Murray
Notable players
Retired numbers
#2: Eddie Shore
#23: Rob Murray
Note: Former AHL President Jack Butterfield and Vice-President Gordie Anziano, longtime Springfield residents, have been honored with banners raised with the retired numbers.
Notable NHL alumni
List of Springfield Falcons alumni that played more than 100 games in Springfield, and also played 100 or more games in the National Hockey League.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Springfield Falcons'.
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