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There’ve been plenty of NHL teams over the years that have folded or moved. Here are the Canadian teams we miss.
The Montreal Wanderers
Four-time Stanley Cup winners, the Montreal Wanderers played in a number of amateur and professional leagues before joining the NHL in 1917. In a run of bad luck though, a fire burned down the Montreal Arena and the Wanderers were left without home ice. After that, they lost a few star players and despite appealing to other teams, they were left without enough bodies to play. After defaulting on a couple of games, the Wanderers were done.
The Quebec Bulldogs
Another team that played in a number of amateur and professional leagues, the Bulldogs were based in Quebec City. Founded in 1878, they only joined the NHL in 1919. At the time, various hockey teams didn’t like the behaviour of the National Hockey Association, in particular the duplicitous actions of Toronto Blueshirts owner Eddie Livingston, so teams manoeuvred to compete. As part of this manoeuvring, the Bulldogs were sold and moved to Hamilton.
The Hamilton Tigers
So, the Bulldogs became the Hamilton Tigers in 1920, but the Tigers only lasted until 1925. They’d finished first in the league, but financial troubles and a players strike resulted in the team’s dissolution. The players’ contracts were sold to the New York Americans.
The Ottawa Senators
Yep, the Senators of yesteryear aren’t related to the Senators of today. The early Senators, founded in 1883, the first hockey team in Ontario, were highly dominant in various amateur and professional leagues, winning the Stanley Cup 11 times. Sadly, money troubles thanks to poor attendance during the Great Depression forced the team’s owners to sell player contracts. The franchise moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and became the St. Louis Eagles. They only lasted a season and folded.
The Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons existed from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup twice. In fact, they were the last non–Original Six team to win until the expansion in the ’70s. The Maroons were founded as a team meant to appeal to Montreal’s English community, in contrast to the Montreal Canadiens. A home arena, the Montreal Forum, was built for the Maroons in 1924 (the Canadiens started playing there in 1926). Unfortunately, the Great Depression caused the team to lose money, and they folded in 1938. Haphazard efforts were made to revive the team, but the franchise was cancelled in 1947.
The Quebec Nordiques
Originally a WHA team, the Nordiques joined the NHL in 1979. The Nordiques were always beloved, and you can still find Nordiques hats and sweaters if you’re in Quebec City, but the team struggled financially thanks to their small market and a weak Canadian dollar in the nineties. Sadly, the team moved to Colorado in 1995 and became the Avalanche. To this day, fans and players alike are calling for the return of a team to Quebec City.
The Winnipeg Jets
The first iteration of the Jets existed from 1972 to 1996. Originally a WHA team, the Jets joined the NHL in 1979. The best they ever did was in the 1984-85 season, where they ranked fourth. Financial troubles caused them to move to Phoenix, Arizona, and become the Coyotes. Of course, Winnipeg can obviously support the team, and the current version of the Jets used to be the Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 to 2011, when they moved to Winnipeg and brought the NHL back to Manitoba.
