Editing Portland Pirates (section)

==History==

===Capitals era===
Tom Ebright, owner of the [[Baltimore Skipjacks]], had a daughter who was an intern at the [[East Coast Hockey League]]'s [[Nashville Knights]]. Liking the way the Knights did business, Ebright contacted Knights owner, [[W. Godfrey Wood]], asking to relocate the Skipjacks to a better market. Wood relocated the team to his home region of [[Portland, Maine]], leading to the creation of the Portland Pirates in [[1993–94 AHL season|1993]] with an affiliation to the [[Washington Capitals]].<ref>[https://app.box.com/s/jgknqd823uafv79q17i1 Fun While It Lasted: W. Godfrey Wood] {{Dead link|date=October 2021}}</ref> The Pirates filled the void made by the [[Maine Mariners (AHL)|Maine Mariners]] who had departed to become the [[Providence Bruins]] a year earlier. On August 4, 1993, forward [[Eric Fenton]] was signed to a professional contract to become the very first member of the Portland Pirates team.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mills|first=Kevin|date=August 5, 1993|title=Pirates ink Eric Fenton|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FF8gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hmUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3183,726195&dq=eric-fenton&hl=en|access-date=|website=[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]]}}</ref>

Under general manager and CEO Wood, who invested in management and creative marketing, the Pirates led the AHL in tickets sold, sponsorships, and sellouts for their first 3 years. The Pirates first season proved to be their most successful as they won the [[Calder Cup]] with a 43–27–10 record and was third overall in attendance with an average of 5,872 fans.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harry|first=David|date=May 11, 2016|title=Former Pirates owner plans ECHL team in Portland|url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2016/05/11/former-pirates-owner-plans-echl-team-portland/|access-date=May 11, 2016|website=[[Sun Journal (Lewiston, Maine)|Sun Journal]]}}</ref> Their next season they had 104 points but were upset in the 1st round of the playoffs. In the 1995–96 season they again reached the Calder Cup Finals, despite a sub-par record of 32–34–10, but lost to the [[Rochester Americans]]. For the first four seasons, the head coach  was [[Barry Trotz]], who later became a long-time NHL head coach and won a [[Stanley Cup]].

Since then, the Pirates had mixed success, routinely making the playoffs and being eliminated early on. This included an excellent 100 point season in 1999–00 only to be eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. The Capitals affiliation ended after 12 seasons in 2005.

===Ducks era===
In 2005, the Pirates announced a five-year lease extension at the [[Cross Insurance Arena]], ending speculation that the team might relocate. The Pirates also signed a three-year affiliation agreement with the [[Mighty Ducks of Anaheim]].

With the Ducks, the Pirates had more mixed success. The team qualified for the [[2006 Calder Cup playoffs]] and made it to the Calder Cup conference finals, only to be defeated by the eventual Calder Cup-winning [[Hershey Bears]] in seven games. The team then missed the 2007 playoff. Then the Pirates again made it to the Calder Cup conference finals again in [[2008 Calder Cup playoffs|2008]] before being eliminated by the [[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins]] in seven games.

===Sabres era===
On June 3, 2008, the Anaheim Ducks announced they were affiliating with the [[Iowa Chops]] instead of renewing the agreement with the Pirates. On June 10, 2008, the Pirates and the [[Buffalo Sabres]] announced that they had reached a new affiliation agreement, ending several months of speculation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vogl|first=John|date=June 10, 2008|title=Sabres to parent Portland|url=http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/366680.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613044838/http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/366680.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=June 13, 2008|access-date=June 10, 2008|website=[[The Buffalo News]]|publisher=}}</ref>

On August 5, 2008, the team announced that [[Kevin Dineen]] has been retained as head coach.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 5, 2008|title=Dineen Named Head Coach|url=http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379388|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806010250/http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379388|archive-date=August 6, 2008|access-date=August 5, 2008|website=[[Buffalo Sabres]]|publisher=}}</ref>

On February 10, 2009, the team played in Buffalo at [[HSBC Arena (Buffalo)|HSBC Arena]] for the first time before a crowd of 11,144. The Pirates lost 4-3 in a shootout to the [[Albany River Rats]]. The Sabres' faithful were pleased with the aggressive play and numerous fights during the game. It was then announced that the Pirates would play in Buffalo twice in 2009–10. The first game would be played on November 12 and the second would be March 7; both games would be against the [[Rochester Americans]] (the Sabres' then previous AHL affiliate).

On March 17, 2010, the Pirates signed a two-year lease extension with the Cross Insurance Arena. The agreement prevented any further Pirates home games from being played outside the arena.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dougherty|first=Pete|date=March 17, 2010|title=It's Official – Pirates Sign Two-Year Lease In Portland|newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]|url=http://blog.timesunion.com/hockey/its-official-pirates-sign-two-year-lease-in-portland/4641|access-date=March 17, 2010}}</ref>

In May 2011, the Sabres had indicated a willingness to break from its affiliation agreement with the Pirates and re-affiliate with the [[Rochester Americans]], with Sabres owner [[Terry Pegula]] intending to buy the Amerks. The Pirates had to sign off on the agreement, since their agreement with the Sabres ran through 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wawrow|first=John|date=May 17, 2011|title=AP Source: Sabres interested in AHL Rochester|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/ap-source-sabres-interested-in-ahl-rochester/c-563045|access-date=May 17, 2011|website=[[National Hockey League|NHL.com]]|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|language=en-US}}</ref> On June 24, 2011, the American Hockey League approved the sale of the Rochester Americans to Pegula; it also included the buyout of the affiliation contract with the Portland Pirates.

===Coyotes era===
On June 27, 2011, the [[Phoenix Coyotes]] announced that the franchise had entered into a five-year player development contract with the Pirates.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 27, 2011|title=Coyotes enter into AHL agreement with Portland|work=[[Fox News]]|url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/coyotes-enter-into-ahl-agreement-with-portland/|access-date=June 27, 2011}}</ref> [[WMTW (TV)|WMTW-TV]] mentioned that during the announcement of the Coyotes being the Pirates affiliate that two of the four teams that were negotiating with the Pirates wanted the Pirates to change the team name and logo, but the Pirates agreed to the deal with Phoenix in order to keep their name and logo and because the Coyotes "wanted it the most".<ref>{{cite web|date=June 27, 2011|title=Pirates Teaming Up With Phoenix Coyotes|url=http://www.wmtw.com/sports/28365931/detail.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817154058/http://www.wmtw.com/sports/28365931/detail.html|archive-date=August 17, 2011|access-date=June 28, 2011|website=[[WMTW (TV)|WMTW-TV]]}}</ref>

During the 2012–13 season, the Pirates played six games at the [[The Colisée|Androscoggin Bank Colisée]] in [[Lewiston, Maine]] in preparation of renovations at the Cross Insurance Arena. On April 17, 2013, the Pirates and Cumberland County announced a five-year lease, with the option for another five years, to stay at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, though that was thrown into question due to a dispute over revenue from food sales (see lease dispute section below). Due to the dispute, the Pirates played their entire 2013-14 home schedule in Lewiston.

The Pirates were forced to play their final game of the 2013–14 season at their 400-seat practice facility in Saco, due to the Colisée being double booked with the game and a circus. The Pirates promised refunds to those who had bought tickets for the game in Lewiston, and stated that all ticket proceeds from the Saco game would go to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=April 15, 2014|title=Pirates season finale moved from Lewiston to Saco|work=[[Kennebec Journal]]|url=http://www.kjonline.com/news/Pirates_season_finale_moved_from_Lewiston_to_Saco_.html|access-date=April 15, 2014}}</ref>

On May 7, 2014, they announced a one-year extension of the affiliation agreement and a small increase in ticket prices as part of the changes the team was doing to rebuild confidence with the community. Ron Cain, the new majority owner stated he was not concerned about getting a new affiliation agreement with the Coyotes for 2015–16 because it seemed likely that they were going to move their affiliate closer to [[Glendale, Arizona]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=May 7, 2014|title=Portland Pirates tweak ticket prices in return to home arena|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2014/05/07/maine_s_pirates_tweak_ticket_prices_in_return_to_home_arena_/|access-date=May 7, 2014|website=[[Portland Press Herald]]}}</ref>

====2013 lease dispute====
In 2013, the Pirates negotiated a new lease agreement with arena trustees, but refused to sign it after they determined that the percentage of food sales they were to receive under the lease would not result in the same amount of money as previously agreed terms calling for the Pirates to get a percentage of food and alcohol sales, which was ruled illegal by the State (as alcohol sales can only be controlled by the property owner).

The Pirates then announced that they would look for another arena to play their 2013–14 season in, most likely the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in [[Lewiston, Maine|Lewiston]], where they were already playing the start of the season due to renovations at the arena. Arena trustees stated there would be no Pirates hockey at the arena that year and began seeking other tenants for the dates originally given to the Pirates. They further claimed to only break even on the presence of the Pirates and that their expenses would actually be less without them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Civic Center, Pirates in standoff over concessions |first=Jessica |last=Hall |url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/Pirates-refuse-to-sign-lease-with-Civic-Center.html |newspaper=[[Portland Press Herald]] |date=August 31, 2013 |access-date=September 3, 2013}}</ref> The Pirates responded by filing a lawsuit against the arena seeking enforcement of the original unsigned agreement outline and an injunction to prevent the arena from reassigning dates for Pirates home games to other events.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pirates file lawsuit against civic center|first=Jessica|last=Hall|url=http://www.kjonline.com/news/pirates-file-lawsuit-against-civic-center_2013-09-06.html|newspaper=[[Portland Press Herald]]|date=September 7, 2013|access-date=September 9, 2013}}</ref>

The Pirates announced on September 26, 2013, that they would indeed play their entire 2013–14 home schedule at the Colisée. The dates for four games had to be changed from the original schedule. A spokesman for the [[American Hockey League|AHL]] said that the Pirates had the rights to the Portland market and could play anywhere within a 50-mile radius of the city. The Phoenix Coyotes said they were prepared to move forward despite having hoped differences with the arena would be resolved. The Chairman of the Cross Insurance Arena Board of Trustees criticized the Pirates for demanding more of a "subsidy" for themselves and stated their desired lease agreement would cost county taxpayers money. The Pirates also stated they would continue their lawsuit against the arena with the hopes of playing there in the future.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=Edward D.|last2=Lowe|first2=Mike|date=September 26, 2013|title=Portland Pirates leave Cumberland County Civic Center|newspaper=[[Kennebec Journal]]|url=http://www.kjonline.com/news/Pirates-hockey-Portland-Cumberland-County-Civic-Center-lewiston-colisee.html|access-date=September 26, 2013}}</ref>

On October 24, 2013, it was announced that the team had taken out an option on city-owned land in [[Saco, Maine|Saco]] for possibly building a $40 million arena with 5,000 seats as a new home. The team stated, though, that doing so was not the cheapest option for them and that they would prefer to return to Portland.<ref>{{cite news|last=Betit|first=Paul|date=October 24, 2013|title=Hockey group with link to Pirates looks at Saco for arena|work=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/Hockey_group_with_link_to_Pirates_looks_at_Saco_site_for_arena_.html|access-date=October 30, 2013}}</ref>

After obtaining a majority share of the team, former minority owner Ron Cain stated on December 17 that should an agreement with arena trustees not be reached within a month, that he would consider moving the team to the aforementioned Saco land or even out of state if necessary. Continued requests for negotiation were rebuffed by the trustees.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=William|date=December 17, 2013|title=Portland Pirates could move out of state if lease dispute isn't resolved soon, new majority owner says|work=[[Bangor Daily News]]|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2013/12/17/sports/portland-pirates-could-move-out-of-state-if-lease-dispute-isnt-resolved-soon-new-majority-owner-says/|access-date=December 17, 2013}}</ref> Two days later, Cain announced that the team dropped its lawsuit and that arena trustees would resume negotiations, both seeking "to strike a balance between the team's business needs and the arena's financial obligations" according to Cain. The chairman of the trustees stated that he found Cain's comments on the issue "constructive" and he thus was willing to restart talks.<ref name="cainnegotiate">{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Jessica|date=December 19, 2013|title=Portland Pirates drop lawsuit against civic center|work=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/Pirates_drop_lawsuit_against_civic_center_.html|access-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref>

[[List of Presidents of the Maine Senate|Maine Senate President]] [[Justin Alfond]], who is from Portland, announced that he submitted emergency legislation to the [[Maine Legislature]] to allow the Pirates to receive a share of alcohol revenue, as the original agreement had called for. Cain said that Alfond's efforts did not play a role in their decision on the lawsuit, but could help the team going forward.<ref name=cainnegotiate />

On February 4, 2014, arena trustees and the Pirates announced that a five-year lease agreement had been reached and that the team would return to the Cross Insurance Arena for the 2014–15 season and should the team make the 2014 playoffs, it is possible they could return for those games, though Pirates ownership joked that with the team at the bottom of the division that day making such a scenario unlikely. The agreement included the sharing of concessions revenue the Pirates sought, which may or may not have included alcohol sales pending passage of Sen. Alfond's bill. Owner Ron Cain also revealed that he had explored the possibility of moving the team to [[Glens Falls, New York]] to replace the departing [[Adirondack Phantoms]], going so far as to send CEO [[Brian Petrovek]] to Glens Falls for discussions, but that he wanted the Pirates to remain in Maine too much to do so.<ref>{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Edward D.|date=February 4, 2014|title=Portland Pirates, civic center reach lease agreement|work=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/news/Pirates__Civic_Center_reach_lease_agreement_.html|access-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref>

===Panthers era and final season===
On March 18, 2015, the Pirates announced an affiliation agreement with the [[Florida Panthers]] to begin in the [[2015–16 AHL season|2015–16 season]] and that Eric Joyce, the general manager of Florida's previous AHL affiliate, the [[San Antonio Rampage]], would take over the same position in Portland.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 18, 2015|title=Pirates announce affiliation with Florida|url=https://theahl.com/pirates-announce-affiliation-with-florida|access-date=March 18, 2015|website=[[American Hockey League]]|publisher=}}</ref> On May 4, 2016, the Pirates announced it had signed a letter of intent with an outside buyer to sell and relocate the franchise for the 2016–17 season. On May 23, the franchise was relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts, following the sale and relocation of the [[Springfield Falcons]] franchise to [[Tucson, Arizona]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Chimelis|first=Ron|date=May 4, 2016|title=Springfield investors step up to save hockey for city|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/2016/05/springfield_investors_buy_port.html|access-date=May 5, 2016|website=[[The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)|The Republican]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=May 4, 2016|title=Portland blindsided by Pirates' plan to leave for Springfield after 23 seasons in Maine|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/04/portland-pirates-leaving-maine/|access-date=May 5, 2016|website=[[Portland Press Herald]]}}</ref>  On June 15, the franchise's new name was announced as the [[Springfield Thunderbirds]].<ref name="tbirdsbegin">{{cite web|author=Pignatiello|first=Jim|date=June 15, 2016|title=Springfield Thunderbirds announced as name, mascot of city's AHL franchise|url=http://www.masslive.com/sports/2016/06/springfield_thunderbirds_annou.html|access-date=June 15, 2016|website=[[The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts)|The Republican]]|publisher=}}</ref>

A team of investors headed by former Pirates executives [[W. Godfrey Wood]] and [[Brad Church]]—the latter a former Portland player as well—announced their intentions to put an [[ECHL]] team in Portland to fill the void, joining as early as 2017.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=May 11, 2016|title=Effort underway to bring pro hockey back to Portland|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/11/report-echl-team-coming-to-portland-in-2017/|access-date=May 11, 2016|work=[[Portland Press Herald]]}}</ref> However, progress to attain a franchise by the Portland group stalled<ref>{{cite news|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=January 11, 2017|title=Group pulls plug on effort to return pro hockey to Portland later this year|newspaper=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2017/01/11/group-pulls-plug-on-effort-to-return-pro-hockey-to-portland-later-this-year/|access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref> until four groups, none of which involved Wood, submitted their own proposals at the end of February 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=March 1, 2017|title=Four groups submit proposals to return pro hockey to Portland|newspaper=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2017/03/01/four-groups-submit-proposals-to-bring-pro-hockey-to-portland/|access-date=March 1, 2017}}</ref> By March 8, the arena owners had narrowed their choices to the proposals submitted by [[Comcast Spectacor|Spectra]] and National Sports Services, with both groups having been involved with managing [[ECHL]] teams in their past.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rose|first=Chris|date=March 8, 2017|title=Negotiations to begin with two groups to bring ECHL team to Portland|newspaper=[[WCSH]]|url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/negotiations-to-beging-with-two-groups-to-bring-echl-team-to-portland/420793862|access-date=March 8, 2017}}</ref> In June 2017, [[Comcast Spectacor]], the operators of the [[Cross Insurance Arena]] and the NHL's [[Philadelphia Flyers]], purchased the franchise rights of the recently dormant [[Alaska Aces (ECHL)|Alaska Aces]] of the [[ECHL]]. The league approved of the sale and relocation of the franchise to Portland on June 15.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jordan|first=Glenn|date=June 15, 2017|title=Portland lands a pro hockey team for the fall of 2018|newspaper=[[Portland Press Herald]]|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2017/06/15/portland-lands-a-pro-hockey-team-for-the-fall-of-2018/|access-date=June 15, 2017}}</ref>

'''The market was previously home to:'''
*[[Maine Mariners (AHL)|Maine Mariners]] (1977–1992): American Hockey League

'''The franchise was replaced by:'''
* [[Maine Mariners (ECHL)|Maine Mariners]] (2018–): ECHL