The Panthers announced on Monday that they’ve entered a multi-year AHL affiliation agreement with Springfield Hockey, LLC beginning with the 2016-17 season.
The Panthers recently lost their AHL affiliation with the Portland Pirates after the team’s owner abruptly decided to sell the team. The new owner – who the Panthers made a new agreement with on Monday – is moving the team from Portland to Springfield, Massachusetts. About 3 weeks ago, the Panthers said they would be looking at all of their options with regard to where they could put their AHL players, however creating an agreement with the Pirates’ new owner was the only move that made the most sense for the sake of player development.
Monday’s press release states that more details regarding the team name, jerseys, and front office personnel will be released in the coming weeks. Springfield also recently lost it’s own AHL team when it’s former parent club, the Arizona Coyotes, purchased the team – the Falcons – and moved it to Tucson, Arizona. The Springfield team will be the Panthers’ 3rd AHL affiliate since 2011.
