For an organization that is over 100 years old, the NHL has a relatively good record at making its franchises stick. With 19 teams going defunct or becoming relocation franchises, only the 77-year-old NBA has fewer.
Still, that doesn’t stop locations that used to have an NHL team from clamouring for another, especially when they see the state of some that are currently “competing” in the league.
Scroll on to check out the defunct Canadian hockey teams that were once playing in the NHL, from those that were relocated to ones that are outright extinct.
Montreal Wanderers (1917-1918)
As a team, the Montreal Wanderers were in existence since 1903, competing at the amateur level before entering into the NHA and then, for the shortest time, the NHL.
The Wanderers were part of the original Challenge Cup era of the Stanley Cup, taking the crown in 1906, 1907, 1908, and 1910.
On January 2, 1918, the city’s English-speaking team saw its home arena burned to the ground, with the team already at 1-3 and having seen many of its star players depart.
Being forced to default a couple of games after the fire, the Wanderers soon disbanded, leaving the city to its Francophone rivals, the Montréal Canadiens.
Québec Bulldogs, Hamilton Tigers (1919-1925)
As an initially rejected member of the new NHA, the Québec Bulldogs somehow managed to surge from the worst team in the league in their inaugural season to standings leader in 1911/12, going on to win the 1912 and 1913 Stanley Cups.
In 1917, the Bulldogs attempted to move to the NHL with a couple of other teams, but finances were tight. So, the club was sold, sat out the first season, and refused to play in the next.
For the 1920/21 campaign, the NHL took control of the flailing franchise and sold it to new owners in Hamilton, who changed the name to the Hamilton Tigers.
The Tigers competed in the NHL up to the 1925 players’ strike, at which point, the league took the opportunity to revoke the franchise and oversee its ultimate demise.
The Bulldogs wouldn’t be the last NHL franchise to try to make it work in Quebec City, and the avid fan base of the province continues to clamour for another team.
Ottawa Senators (1917-1934)
Winners of 11 Stanley Cups from the Challenge Cup era through to the early days of the NHL, these original Ottawa Senators were a force to be reckoned with in Canadian hockey.
Would-be Hall of Famers Jack Adams, Art Ross, and Cy Denney, among several others, made their way into an Ottawa jersey, with Denney finishing as the franchise’s record scorer at 245 goals and 312 points.
Despite being a founder of the NHL with the Canadiens, Wanderers, and Bulldogs, Ottawa didn’t enjoy the best of starts, but in 1920, the infamous ‘Super Six’ emerged.
Ruling the rink until the last 20s, the Senators claimed the Stanley Cup in 1920, 1921, 1923, and then became the first NHL champions in 1927.
Less than a decade later, operations proved to be unsustainable amidst the Great Depression, so the franchise was sold to become the St. Louis Eagles in 1934: the Eagles went defunct in 1935.
In 1992, a brand new franchise came to Ottawa, retaking the name ‘Senators’ but not being affiliated with the team that dominated the 1920s.
The new organization hasn’t been able to emulate that of its namesake in this more competitive era of hockey, making it to the Finals once (2007) and being out at +5000 to take the title in the NHL odds this season.
Montreal Maroons (1924-1938)
Picking up where the Wanderers left off, the Montreal Maroons entered competitive play as the English-speaking community’s team to faceoff against the Habs.
Playing at the legendary Montreal Forum, the Maroons would offer raucous competition to the Canadiens, even making it to the playoffs in ten of their 14 campaigns.
With two Stanley Cups in the bag – one prior to it becoming the NHL’s exclusive trophy and one after – the Maroons were one of the stronger Canadian hockey teams to go defunct.
Like the Sens, the Great Depression is cited as the catalyst for the extinction of the Montreal Maroons.
Québec Nordiques (1979-1995)
Initially members of the rival WHA, the Québec Nordiques would call Quebec City home for 23 years, but struggled to make much of an impact.
Over the course of 16 seasons in the NHL, the Nordiques only made it to the playoffs nine times, finishing as the last team in Quebec City with a .459 win percentage.
The second sports team to set up shop in the city earned its fair share of top picks, but is famed for being snubbed by the 1991 consensus first-overall pick, Eric Lindros.
Lindros had already informed the organization that he didn’t want to play for Québec, but he was taken at the top of the draft by the Nordiques regardless.
The eventual Hall of Famer refused to pose with the jersey on draft night and held out on signing a contract, which led to his eventual trade to the Philadelphia Flyers for Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, and Peter Forsberg.
Despite Lindros’ holdout, the Nordiques were rarely without top talents, with Guy Lafleur, Joe Sakic, Michel Goulet, Mats Sundin, and Peter Stastny all donning the blue, red, and white for extended spells.
Still, the oft-bottom-dwelling team finally drowned under financial pressures at the conclusion of the 1994/95 season, which saw them top the conference but fall in the first round.
The team would be moved to Denver that offseason. In Colorado as the Avalanche, the team continued to improve and build towards the Stanley Cup, taking the crown in 1996 and 2001.
In 2022, the Avs did it again, were the favourites to win the Stanley Cup coming into last season, and currently hold as the second-favourites at +850 in sport betting futures markets.
Winnipeg Jets (1979-1996)
This isn’t the same franchise as the Winnipeg Jets that we have in the NHL today; rather, this Winnipeg Jets team is now the Arizona Coyotes – which may not even remain in Arizona for much longer.
The original Jets came over from the WHA, which essentially folded in the 1978/79 season, but were forced to give up the core of their once-competitive team.
The Reclamation Draft saw Kent Nilsson, Bobby Hull, and Terry Ruskowski, who were all WHA top scorers, leave for the Atlanta Flames and Chicago Black Hawks.
Decimated by these entry rules, the Jets struggled for the first two seasons, but made it to the playoffs in 11 of their following 15 campaigns in the NHL. However, they only achieved a series win twice.
In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers franchise relocated to Winnipeg, taking on the old name of the Winnipeg Jets.
Most of the extinct Canadian NHL teams have a replacement franchise in the city now, but if there’s one that continues to crave a franchise, it’s Quebec City.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
