Your favorite defunct team (for whatever reason)?

[Boxscore]

I have always been fascinated by the defunct teams that burst onto the scenes in the late-60s, 70s, 80s, etc. To me, there is something neat about those colorful, sometimes corny, teams that failed or had to relocate for various reasons. I think some of them had some of the most colorful and neatest uniforms, and stories about them were just as colorful.

And, I think the cornier the better lol. When I think of teams like the Seals, Barons, North Stars, Scouts, Flames (Atlanta), Whalers, Nords, Rockies, etc., I think of the crazy 70s, bench clearing brawls, white skates, cheesy arenas and funky uniforms.

So, which one is your favorite? For any reason. They could have been a team in your city as a kid, or you just liked them for whatever reason.

After really thinking about this, I've decided mine is the Atlanta Flames.

I just just they are extremely funky and neat. They were named after the fires in Atlanta, which is ludicrous from the get go. I think their uniforms are one of the greatest ever (aesthetically, I like the "A" so much better than Calgary's "C" for some reason).

I am also fascinated by their arena - the Omni Coliseum. It reminds me of the Brady Bunch house of NHL arenas - very 70's, retro and rickety in ways. Mostly bright red seats with random gold colored seats sprinkled in with no plan (kind of like, "let's replace this red broken seat with this yellow one...") and even had some maroon seats in randoms places, with no uniformity whatsoever. In addition, they had grungy blue railings throughout the arena that looked like they were painted over 50 different times.

What I also find neat is the way their logo was presented at center ice. In the 70's, most teams had two of their logos at center ice, facing each other across the red line. The leafs were always neat because they had the small leaf at center ice, but most teams had two logos. The flames had one BIG A (the way most teams have now) with "The OMNI" logo next to it on both corners.

In addition to the sweet looking colors, uniforms, logo, and funky arena, I liked the flames because they were never great... at all. But they were never God awful. They had promise. I also like that they never really had a mega star, but had a bunch of neat players - Bouchard, Nilsson, Quinn, Myre, Marsh, Lysiak, Vail, Craig, Plett, MacMillan, Pronovost, Belanger, Chouinard, Clement... and IVAN BOLDIREV!!!

I really liked Daniel Bouchard, specifically. I think he has one of the greatest hockey masks of all-time and he was just neat.

So, my vote for the best (not talent or accomplishments wise) defunct NHL club goes to the...

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[Canadiens1958]

Quebec Nordiques. Never saw a greater rivalry than the Canadiens and the Nordiques.

 

[Boxscore]

Quebec Nordiques. Never saw a greater rivalry than the Canadiens and the Nordiques.

Yeah, the Nords were right up there for me too... and actually SHOULD have gotten my vote. But they were actually too good lol. I never considered them cheesy, except for their ironed-on numbers. And I still rank their uniform as #1 greatest all-time. Their powder blue jerseys were gorgeous.

 

[McGarnagle]

Never Forget the Whale

Best uniforms in sports

 

[Killion]

1) Nordiques / Whalers
2) Seals / Flames
3) Scouts / Rockies

 

[Boxscore]

Never Forget the Whale

Best uniforms in sports

The Whale green was beautiful!! Never been to the Mall though to see them. I wish I have.

 

[Boxscore]

1) Nordiques / Whalers
2) Seals / Flames
3) Scouts / Rockies

Haha, I love it - the Scouts. Hey, can't be worse than my Atlanta Flames! Killion, care to elaborate on why you liked the Scouts? I'd love to hear the story.

 

[Killion]

Haha, I love it - the Scouts. Hey, can't be worse than my Atlanta Flames! Killion, care to elaborate on why you liked the Scouts? I'd love to hear the story.

... ah.... I wasnt finished.... had to run off & take care of something..... altered your quotes of my posts to include the Whalers, Flames & Rockies as 1A, 2A & 3A.... I miss both the Nordiques & Whalers enormously, would like nothing more than to see their return to the League though the latter, the Whalers, rather a forlorn hope & mores the pity... I liked the Seals & the Flames as they both had extremely interesting rosters, very eclectic rosters, the Seals in particular along with one of the more colorful owners in the history of the game. In both cases, their demises' avoidable & a loss to the League & game, though obviously with San Jose made up for the loss; the Thrashers another sad story, illustrative of how important ownership is to the success of any franchise in any market as it was ownership & the NHL that failed, not the market, certainly not the fans.... Kansas City & Colorado I loved because... they were absolutely hopeless. The team a collection of oddballs & goof off's, career minor leaguers, they were almost all Charlie Brown's kicking the ball with inept Management & a rotating door of Ownership, their Lucy, taking the ball away at the last minute... but every once in a while actually connecting & sending it through the goalposts. Absolute Underdogs & I love Underdogs. Who doesnt?

 

[Boxscore]

... ah.... I wasnt finished.... had to run off & take care of something..... altered your quotes of my posts to include the Whalers, Flames & Rockies as 1A, 2A & 3A.... I miss both the Nordiques & Whalers enormously, would like nothing more than to see their return to the League though the latter, the Whalers, rather a forlorn hope & mores the pity... I liked the Seals & the Flames as they both had extremely interesting rosters, very eclectic rosters, the Seals in particular along with one of the more colorful owners in the history of the game. In both cases, their demises' avoidable & a loss to the League & game, though obviously with San Jose made up for the loss; the Thrashers another sad story, illustrative of how important ownership is to the success of any franchise in any market as it was ownership & the NHL that failed, not the market, certainly not the fans.... Kansas City & Colorado I loved because... they were absolutely hopeless. The team a collection of oddballs & goof off's, career minor leaguers, they were almost all Charlie Brown's kicking the ball with inept Management & a rotating door of Ownership, their Lucy, taking the ball away at the last minute... but every once in a while actually connecting & sending it through the goalposts. Absolute Underdogs & I love Underdogs. Who doesnt?

Killion, great take! And you are so right about the Scouts and Rockies. I feel the same way about the Barons... my God were they AWFUL!!! haha. There was nothing romantic about them whatsoever IMO, except for Meloche. Their uniforms were neat though. But they were hopeless! The Seals were so much fun - recently got a book on them - and there is a documentary about them on itunes.

As for the Scouts - when I think of them, I immediate think of... THE HEADBAND!!!!

 

[Howie Hodge]

NY Americans; those cats had some groovy uniforms baby!!

 

[Howie Hodge]

Henry Boucha could have had a nice career; certainly had the size and talent. Didn't help when Dave Forbes but ended him the the eye though...

He and Rick Dudley, best headbands in the NHL!!

 

[Killion]

Killion, great take! And you are so right about the Scouts and Rockies. I feel the same way about the Barons... my God were they AWFUL!!! haha. There was nothing romantic about them whatsoever IMO, except for Meloche. Their uniforms were neat though. But they were hopeless! The Seals were so much fun - recently got a book on them - and there is a documentary about them on itunes.

As for the Scouts - when I think of them, I immediate think of... THE HEADBAND!!!!

.... Bingo! Henry Boucha. Bart Crashley. Steve Durbano. My God. Talk about a pack of Junkyard Dogs. The very mention of the name, "Kansas City Scouts" screams 70's.... conjures up everything that was cheesy about the 1970's but at the same time, everything that was fun about that early through mid decade... vinyl, platform shoes, baggies, shag haircuts and ya, headbands... these guys were like the Ford Pinto's of the league... lime green with vinyl "wood grain" paneling on the sides...

Absolutely no hopers... Peter McDuffe.... Doug Horbul..... seriously, Dudes actual last name was Horbul. Youd wanna change that maybe huh Dougie? Doesnt cost much..... oh sure, they did have some talent, respectable players but there was just something about that franchise... well, pretty much everything about it top to bottom including the jerseys.... and all due respect to Kansas City Kansas & Missouri.... but Man.... were no longer actually in Kansas Toto.... ask me if I even care.... now pass me that bottle & some rolling papers...

... and as a postscript.... bizarre as it may be, seems some of the Gangbangers in KC & East LA really digging retro defunct NHL jerseys.... KC Scouts one of their favorites... So if your ever down there, go into a 7/11, see some shady looking guy with the ass of his jeans down around his knees, Scouts snapback and a #4 Crashley or 17 Nolet Jersey on.... some serious chit might be about to go down & mebbe you should go buy your Dorito's & Big Gulp elsewhere....

 

[Boxscore]

.... Bingo! Henry Boucha. Bart Crashley. Steve Durbano. My God. Talk about a pack of Junkyard Dogs. The very mention of the name, "Kansas City Scouts" screams 70's.... conjures up everything that was cheesy about the 1970's but at the same time, everything that was fun about that early through mid decade... vinyl, platform shoes, baggies, shag haircuts and ya, headbands... these guys were like the Ford Pinto's of the league... lime green with vinyl "wood grain" paneling on the sides...

Absolutely no hopers... Peter McDuffe.... Doug Horbul..... seriously, Dudes actual last name was Horbul. Youd wanna change that maybe huh Dougie? Doesnt cost much..... oh sure, they did have some talent, respectable players but there was just something about that franchise... well, pretty much everything about it top to bottom including the jerseys.... and all due respect to Kansas City Kansas & Missouri.... but Man.... were no longer actually in Kansas Toto.... ask me if I even care.... now pass me that bottle & some rolling papers...

... and as a postscript.... bizarre as it may be, seems some of the Gangbangers in KC & East LA really digging retro defunct NHL jerseys.... KC Scouts one of their favorites... So if your ever down there, go into a 7/11, see some shady looking guy with the ass of his jeans down around his knees, Scouts snapback and a #4 Crashley or 17 Nolet Jersey on.... some serious chit might be about to go down & mebbe you should go buy your Dorito's & Big Gulp elsewhere....

My goodness lol. I will say, if I'm ever taken out by a gangbanger's stray bullet, I hope he's wearing a Scouts Nolet jersey!

 

[Killion]

My goodness lol. I will say, if I'm ever taken out by a gangbanger's stray bullet, I hope he's wearing a Scouts Nolet jersey!

Indeed not..... and bad idea for a franchise in the first place, only dropped in there as a result of the ongoing WHA Wars. Kemper Arena opening, NHL blocking the market. incredibly something like 37 individuals owning a piece of the Scouts before selling to Vickers who moved the team to Colorado after 2 sorry seasons where they averaged about 8000 fans per game. They originally wanted to call the team the MO-Hawks, however Chicago objected so they went instead with Scouts... really I always thought a great name & I did like the logo, colors, whole rig really. That at least very nicely done.

 

[Howie Hodge]

No Colorado conversation can be complete without mention of Don Cherry's whipping boy, The Swedish Sieve, Hardy Astrom!!

He did have a penchant for letting in howlers from outside the blue line........

Wrong guy at the wrong time also...

 

[FerrisRox]

No Colorado conversation can be complete without mention of Don Cherry's whipping boy, The Swedish Sieve, Hardy Astrom!!

He did have a penchant for letting in howlers from outside the blue line........

I always thought Hardy Astrom was unfairly maligned and I really don't recall him getting beaten from far out frequently. The poor guy, even his wikipedia page says he had a penchant for being beaten from outside the blue line. I always felt like it was more of a Don Cherry "alternative fact" though I must admit, i didn't get to watch a lot of Colorado games.

 

[Killion]

I always thought Hardy Astrom was unfairly maligned and I really don't recall him getting beaten from far out frequently. The poor guy, even his wikipedia page says he had a penchant for being beaten from outside the blue line. I always felt like it was more of a Don Cherry "alternative fact" though I must admit, i didn't get to watch a lot of Colorado games.

I'm not really recalling him letting any long shots, drifters or speedballs in either but then if he even lets in one or couple, a few, like Cloutier in Vancouver its what he's remembered for. And ya, his game, abilities definitely maligned. Real bad luck for him that he winds up in Colorado with Don Cherry... who made the poor guy feel about as welcome in the dressing room as a Skunk on a bus. Of all the Coaches to have wound up with....Astrom not a guy who shouldve been just thrown into the deep end like that.... pro game though. No real time for coddling.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Since the OP does not specify the defunct team must be from the NHL only, I will pick the Houston Aeros of the WHA as my choice. The Aeros had a great rivalry with my hometown Winnipeg Jets and I always looked forward to the games between the 2 teams as Houston had Gordie Howe and Winnipeg had Bobby Hull. Although the Jets were my favorite team, I always held a high regard for Houston.

The Aeros held the advantage in the early years of the rivalry as they were the dominant team in the WHA winning the Avco Cup in years 2 & 3. As the Hot Line of Hull, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson grew in stature, the Jets then began to dominate the league and the tide turned in the rivalry with the Aeros as Winnipeg became the stronger team in games between the two. In year 4, the Jets and Aeros met in the Avco Cup final with Winnipeg winning in 4 games straight and clinching the series on home ice with a 9-1 victory.

I always thought Houston had great looking uniforms and as a Jets fan I was envious of the new building the Aeros played in – The Summit. I was a little disappointed when Gordie Howe along with sons Mark and Marty left the Aeros following the 1976-77 season to join the New England Whalers. I always thought that Houston should have been included in the merger between the WHA and NHL but unfortunately the team ceased operations one year too early and missed out on the opportunity to join the NHL.

 

[ICM1970]

New York/Brooklyn Americans-The first tenants of Madison Square Garden and owned (for it's first few years at least) by a bootlegger. Have their 1938 and 1942 sweaters in my collection that I wear for skates on the Rideau Canal.
Montreal Maroons-Have their sweater as well. Had some of the most immortal names in hockey like Nels Stewart, Hooley Smith, Baldy Northcott, and Cyclone Wentworth, in addition to being the last defunct club to win a Stanley Cup in 1934-35.
Oakland Seals-One of the greatest "if only" stories in professional sports and that doesn't begin to mention the white skates saga, lol.
Kansas City Scouts-A team that had Tanya Tucker give an intermission concert in order to boost paltry ticket sales and also had some of pro hockey's greatest names like Buster Harvey, Simon Nolet, Germain Gagnon, Bart Crashley, Randy Rota, and Butch Deadmarsh. Have theirs and Oakland's jerseys in my collection as well.

 

[Howie Hodge]

I always thought Hardy Astrom was unfairly maligned and I really don't recall him getting beaten from far out frequently. The poor guy, even his wikipedia page says he had a penchant for being beaten from outside the blue line. I always felt like it was more of a Don Cherry "alternative fact" though I must admit, i didn't get to watch a lot of Colorado games.

You are correct; he was largely maligned by Don Cherry.

Tough to be a goalie when you know your coach has little or no faith in you.

There are those who swear he was horrible; but his numbers, given the team and circumstance, don't correlate to worst
goalie ever, either.

I can't say I saw him play much, 1979 - 1981 was an era I was very committed to supporting the WNY economy's bar business.

 

[Thenameless]

Quebec Nordiques. Nice uniforms. And they've actually had quite the all-star cast of players too from when they came in from the WHA, all the way to when they left for Colorado.

 

[ICM1970]

Quebec Nordiques. Nice uniforms. And they've actually had quite the all-star cast of players too from when they came in from the WHA, all the way to when they left for Colorado.

Particularly the first year ones in the WHA. Also liked the home whites during the NHL years and the few helmetless guys they carried (Jacques Richard, Wally Weir, Guy Lafleur, etc) looked especially good in them.

 

[Thenameless]

Absolutely no hopers... Peter McDuffe.... Doug Horbul..... seriously, Dudes actual last name was Horbul. Youd wanna change that maybe huh Dougie? Doesnt cost much..... .

You had me laughing pretty hard with this one. Such a good name for a guy on a s****y team. Makes me think of that NASCAR driver Lake Speed.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Nordiques.I don't like them, but I liked their existence.

 

[Staniowski]

I didn't have a favourite among these teams, but I enjoyed watching the Nordiques. The Stastny/Battle of Quebec years were great, but I especially liked their final years when they had 3 of the best young centres in hockey - Sakic, Sundin, Forsberg.

The Seals always make me think of Danny Gallivan and his coining of the now-well-known hockey term "spinerama". One day, while the Canadiens were in town, Danny was walking around somewhere in the Bay Area and he saw a sign that said "Bowlerama", so that night during the broadcast, he referred to a spin move by Serge Savard as a "spinerama".