Albany Devils
| Albany Devils | |
|---|---|
 2016–17 AHL season | |
 | |
| City | Albany, New York |
| League | American Hockey League |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | North |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Home arena | Times Union Center |
| Colors |
Red, black, white |
| Owner(s) | New Jersey Devils |
| General manager | Tom Fitzgerald |
| Head coach | Rick Kowalsky |
| Captain | Rod Pelley |
| Media |
Albany Times Union MSG Network ESPN 104.5 The Team |
| Affiliates | New Jersey Devils (NHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 1998–2006 | Lowell Lock Monsters |
| 2006–2010 | Lowell Devils |
| 2010–present | Albany Devils |
The Albany Devils are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The top AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils, the team has as its home the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. This is the second time the New Jersey Devils have been affiliated with an Albany-based AHL team; from 1993 to 2006, the Devils used the Albany River Rats as their top minor league team. Unlike the River Rats, the Devils own their Albany affiliate outright.
The current Albany franchise was originally located in Lowell, Massachusetts from its founding in 1998. It took on the Devils name when the franchise purchased the then-Lowell Lock Monsters in 2006 and retained it when the parent club moved them to Albany in 2010.
History
On February 10, 2010, Albany River Rats owner Walter L. Robb sold his team to MAK Hockey LLC, led by Charlotte beer distributor Michael Kahn, owner of the ECHL Charlotte Checkers. It was then announced that the River Rats would play the 2010–11 season as the Charlotte Checkers, and the ECHL franchise was relinquished to the league. Meanwhile, Robb, as well as members of the River Rats and Times Union Center's front office, had already begun looking for an American Hockey League team to replace the River Rats.[1][2]
On April 26, 2010, the New Jersey Devils sent Albany County a letter of intent to relocate their AHL affiliate to Albany, with a five-year commitment, on the grounds that the arena have specific renovations made.[3][4] New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello, in a letter to the members of the Lowell Devils Booster Club, stated that changes presented in the lease with Lowell made it "financially impossible" to stay.[5]
On May 10, 2010, the county legislature voted 35–2 in favor of a $1.6 million upgrade to the facility to be spent on a new scoreboard, ribbon board advertising, and exterior lighting.[6]
On June 10, 2010, the New Jersey Devils officially announced on their website that they were moving the Lowell Devils to the Times Union Center in Albany, New York beginning with the 2010–11 AHL season to play as the Albany Devils.,[7] playing 36 of their 40 home games in Albany. The other four home games will be played in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at Boardwalk Hall.
Soon after that, on June 17, 2010, the New Jersey Devils announced they had promoted John MacLean to fill their head coaching vacancy. MacLean had been the head coach of the Lowell Devils during the 2009–10 season.[8]
On August 10, 2010, it was announced that Rick Kowalsky was named head coach of the team, with former New Jersey Devils defenseman Tommy Albelin being named the assistant coach.[9]
On December 28, 2013, the Devils achieved six consecutive wins at home, a franchise record, in front of a crowd of 4,566.[10]
On May 8, 2015, the Albany Devils announced that they had renewed their lease at Times Union Center.
On January 13, 2016, the Devils won their 11th consecutive home win to set a new franchise record. [11]
On April 1, 2016, the Devils broke the franchise's previous wins record, set in 2013-14, with their 41st win: an overtime victory over the Binghamton Senators.[12][13]
On April 4, 2016, the Times Union Center and its managing group SMG announced they had reached an agreement with the New Jersey Devils to extend the lease of its AHL affiliate through the 2018-2019 season.[14]
Season-by-season results
| Calder Cup Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | League Leader |
Records as of the end of the 2015–16 AHL season.[15]
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | OTL | SOL | Points | PCT | Goals for |
Goals against |
Standing | Year | 1st round |
2nd round |
3rd round |
Finals |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 32 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 70 | .438 | 217 | 283 | 8th, East | 2011 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2011–12 | 76 | 31 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 73 | .480 | 190 | 226 | 5th, Northeast | 2012 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2012–13 | 76 | 31 | 32 | 1 | 12 | 75 | .493 | 193 | 225 | 4th, Northeast | 2013 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2013–14 | 76 | 40 | 23 | 5 | 8 | 93 | .612 | 220 | 193 | 2nd, Northeast | 2014 | L, 1–3, STJ | — | — | — |
| 2014–15 | 76 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 85 | .559 | 199 | 201 | 4th, Northeast | 2015 | Out of playoffs | |||
| 2015–16 | 76 | 46 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 102 | .671 | 212 | 167 | 2nd, North | 2016 | W, 3–1, UTI | L, 3–4, TOR | — | — |
| Totals | 460 | 217 | 179 | 26 | 38 | 498 | .541 | 1231 | 1295 | 2 Playoff Appearances | |||||
Players
Current roster
Updated November 28, 2016.[16]
Team Captains
- Stephen Gionta, 2010–12
- Jay Leach, 2012–13
- Rod Pelley, 2013–present
References
- ↑ "River Rats on the way out of town". www.TheSaratogian.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ Sichko, Adam (2010-02-10). "River Rats sold, relocating to N.C.". American City Business Journals. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
- ↑ D'Errico, Richard A. (2010-04-30). "The Albany Devils? Times Union Center receives letter of intent". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
- ↑ "AHL hockey back in Albany". Times Union. 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ↑ "Lou Lamoriello told Lowell booster club it was 'financially impossible' to stay". NJ.com. 2010-06-01. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
- ↑ "Finances, scoreboard top county's agenda". Times Union. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ↑ "Devils shift AHL operations to Albany". New Jersey Devils. 2010-06-10. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ↑ "Devils name MacLean as new head coach". New Jersey Devils. 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ↑ "Albany Devils announce coaching staff". Albany Devils. 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ↑ Doughrty, Pete (28 December 2013). "Devils set franchise record with sixth straight home victory". Times Union. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ↑ "Wedgewood Posts Shutout; Devils Extend Home Streak | Albany Devils". www.thealbanydevils.com. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ↑ "Albany Devils hockey team statistics and history". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "The American Hockey League". www.theAHL.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ "The Albany Devils". www.TheAlbanyDevils.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
- ↑ Hockeydb.com, Albany Devils season statistics and records.
- ↑ "Albany Devils – Team roster". Albany Devils. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
