The professional hockey world shifted a bit when Atlanta Thrashers relocated to become the Winnipeg Jets. Not only did the NHL get affected, but so did the minor league affiliations which needed to be reestablished.
Atlanta had affiliations with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and the Gwinnett Glaidiators of the ECHL. Those were ended in the summer of 2011 when Winnipeg established a new affiliation hierarchy by forming a new team in St. John’s and establishing an agreement with a new ECHL team, the Colorado Eagles.
The purpose of this post is to track how the three teams have risen and fallen along side each other to see if there is any pattern. It tracks the 2nd and 3rd seasons. You can see the first and second season comparison from 2011-13 here.
This was the second year of the operating agreement between the three franchises. The St-John’s IceCaps had a bust sophomore year. The Winnipeg Jets unfortunately carried on the mediocre tradition of the Thrashers while the Eagles had a disappointing regular season. There was not much to celebrate.
In addition, unfortunately for NHL Hockey fans the 2012-13 season was almost halved due to the player lockout. The AHL and ECHL teams continued their full schedule.
| 2012-13 Regular Season | Team | G | W | L | OTL | P | Win % | GF | GA | Division Finish | Season Change | |||
|
Colorado Eagles (ECHL) | 72 | 34 | 31 | 7 | 75 | 47.22% | 239 | 224 | 3rd, Mountain | -5.56 pp | ↓ | ||
|
St-Johns IceCaps (AHL) | 76 | 32 | 36 | 8 | 72 | 42.11% | 195 | 237 | 5th, Atlantic | -14.47 pp | ↓ | ||
|
Winnipeg Jets (NHL) |
48 | 24 | 21 | 3 | 51 | 50.00% | 128 | 144 | 2nd, Southeast | +4.88 pp | ↑ |
Yes the Jets made some modest improvement over the previous season finishing with 24 wins out of 48 games this was done in a very weak Southeast division. The Eagles continued their downward slide for a 2nd straight season while the IceCaps had a complete reversal over their successful first year, falling from 1st to 5th and to last in their division. Only the Eagles made the playoffs.
| 2012-13 Playoffs | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Season Change | ||
|
Colorado Eagles (ECHL) | L, 2–4 | — | — | — | ↔ level x 2 | ||
|
St-Johns IceCaps (AHL) | DNQ | — | — | — | ↓ 3 levels | ||
|
Winnipeg Jets (NHL) |
DNQ | — | — | — | ↔ DNQ x 5 | x 2 as Jets |
True North Sports and Entertainment had little to be happy about with only the ECHL franchise making the playoffs. The Eagles did not make much noise being eliminated in the 1st round while the Jets and IceCaps both did not qualify for the post-season. This would be the 5th straight shut-out of the playoffs for the Jets/Thrashers. The move to Winnipeg did not result in the improved on-ice results that fans wished for.
2012-13 would be the last season that Winnipeg and St-John’s would affiliate with the Colorado Eagles. In the 2013-14 season they entered into a shared affiliation agreement with the Ontario Reign, who is owned by the Los Angeles Kings. This was a shift in strategy since Colorado was a one to one affiliation.
| 2013-14 Regular Season | Team | G | W | L | OTL | P | Win % | GF | GA | Division Finish | Season Change | |||
|
Ontario Reign (ECHL) * |
71 | 44 | 20 | 7 | 95 | 61.97% | 215 | 191 | 1st, Pacific | -1.92 pp | ↓ | ||
|
St-Johns IceCaps (AHL) | 76 | 46 | 23 | 7 | 99 | 60.53% | 258 | 207 | 1st, Atlantic | +18.42 pp | ↑ | ||
|
Winnipeg Jets (NHL) |
82 | 37 | 35 | 10 | 84 | 45.12% | 227 | 237 | 7th, Central | -4.88 pp | ↓ |
* The Ontario Reign is owned by the Los Angeles Kings and is a shared affiliation agreement with them.
In this third season, the two farm teams did very well. The Ontario Reign did not top their previous season’s amazing winning percentage, but still won over 60% of their games finishing first again in their division.
St-John’s had a great turn around season. They too won a bunch with over 60% of their games being wins and captured first in their division for the second time in three seasons.
Winnipeg found itself in the new Central division (due to the divisional realignment) and did not so bad considering they had the same exact record as their 2011-12 season when they played in the much weaker Southeast division. Winning 45% of their games got them finishing last in the Central.
Two of the three teams went onto the playoffs.
| 2013-14 Playoffs | Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Season Change | ||
|
Ontario Reign (ECHL) |
L, 0–4 | — | — | — | ↓ 1 level | ||
|
St-Johns IceCaps (AHL) | W, 3-1 | W, 4-2 | W, 4-2 | L, 4-1 | ↓ 3 levels | ||
|
Winnipeg Jets (NHL) |
DNQ | — | — | — | ↔ DNQ x 6 | x 3 as Jets |
True North Sports Entertainment could take some consolation that even though the Jets made it three years in a row (six when including Atlanta’s seasons) of not making playoffs, the IceCaps did them proud! The IceCaps had an amazing playoff run with only being three wins shy of winning the Calder Cup. The Ontario Reign got swept in the first round, which was a setback for them.
It will be curious to see whether the IceCaps run will create a positive effect on the Jets in 2014-15.
