The New York Islanders were affiliated with Bridgeport for 25 years but the two will split after this season. A move that doesn't make sense at first glance but is understandable considering the history between the team and the city.
The New York Islanders announced that they will relocate their American Hockey League team to Hamilton, Ontario, for the start of next season. This move needs government approval and isn’t finalized. However, the move was the worst-kept secret in the AHL. The surprise is that the announcement is coming now and didn’t happen earlier.
For many hockey fans, this move doesn’t make sense. Why would a team move its AHL affiliate further from its NHL team, especially with the new rules involving call-ups and the focus on prospect development? To understand the move, it’s important to look at the history and how all sides got here, plus a look at what this move means for the AHL and the hockey world at large.
Bridgeport’s Murky Relationship With The Islanders
From an outsider’s perspective, Bridgeport is an ideal fit for the Islanders. The Port Jefferson Ferry connects Connecticut to Long Island, and it’s near both the NHL team and the three AHL New England teams. Since 2001, Bridgeport has been a staple of the league, and since 2004, when the Islanders officially purchased the team, it's been vital in developing the prospects. Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and Ryan Pulock are among the many veterans on the team who were developed in Bridgeport and are big names on the NHL team.
The first issue they encountered was playing in enemy territory. The Islanders have historically claimed Long Island as their home, giving them a niche but passionate fanbase. Bridgeport and Fairfield County are the New York Rangers’ country. On top of that, Connecticut has a strong Boston Bruins fan base. So, the Islanders never gained traction in Bridgeport or the surrounding areas.
Then came the issues both on and off the ice. Harbor Yard hosted the minor league baseball Bridgeport Bluefish in the summer months from 1998 until 2017. The ballpark was adjacent to Total Mortgage Arena and a good draw for sports fans in the offseason. When the baseball team relocated, the park was turned into a concert venue and is now known as the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater.
It's easy to see how this would rub the Islanders the wrong way. AHL teams love to use their arenas for concerts and other events in the offseason. The Islanders, at the very least, wanted to have the space for their benefit, and instead, the city took a ballpark that attracted sports fans to the area and turned it into an amphitheater that would cost them. For many, this was the beginning of the end.
It also didn’t help that the team was terrible. In 24 years, they made the playoffs 10 times, and last season was one of the worst in AHL history. The Islanders went 15-50-4-3 and only won four games at home. They were a mess by the end of last season, and the hope was that a new GM would come in and clean it up. Unfortunately, that new GM had different plans.
Darche’s Vision for a Successful Hamilton Team
Mathieu Darche was hired as the Islanders GM in the offseason. The new NHL GM comes from an AHL background, starting his front office career with the Syracuse Crunch and working his way up the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. Darche saw firsthand how a long-distance AHL affiliate can not only work but also how a market like Syracuse can build a winning culture for the team in Tampa.
It’s no coincidence that the Lightning became a model franchise shortly after their AHL team became affiliated with Syracuse in the early half of the 2010s. It’s a hockey-loving market that’s made the Crunch their team, and where the players focus on development.
The Lightning built Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2020 and 2021 with the help of their development plan, a plan that added depth pieces to the NHL team. Darche saw what the Lightning built and wants to do the same with the Islanders.
Hamilton is the market to do so. It’s between Buffalo and Toronto, with a population of over half a million. While they had the Bulldogs, who relocated to Brantford and never returned, something that is seen as a strike against the market, there are two things to consider. The Bulldogs are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Islanders will bring an AHL team (with a handful of prospects at that). Plus, the absence of a team has fueled the urge to bring hockey back. Hamilton has waited years for an AHL team, and they finally got one.
What Comes Next?
The short-term question is, how does this affect the 2025-26 Islanders? There are a few cases of teams rallying to win the Calder Cup before relocating. The Manchester Monarchs won in 2015 before moving to Ontario, California. However, relocation rumors and the news hanging over the team rarely help and often hurt by the end of the season.
The rumor was already on everyone’s mind, and without question, it weighed on the players. Now it’s public information. The Cleveland Browns collapsed in 1995 when the relocation to Baltimore was announced, and the Arizona Coyotes unraveled in 2023-24 when the Utah rumors started circulating. The Islanders are in a fight for a playoff spot and might miss it despite playing promising hockey under Rocky Thompson.
The broader question is, what happens with Bridgeport? It’s a market that deserves an AHL and has the facilities to do so. Multiple veterans on the Islanders who have been around the AHL have noted how the facilities are right up there with the NHL and some of the best in the league.
The Rangers might look at moving their AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack, to Bridgeport. The move would bring their prospects closer to the NHL team’s practice facilities in Westchester, New York, making it an ideal move from a development standpoint. If the Rangers don’t move from Hartford, the New Jersey Devils might consider moving their team from Utica to Bridgeport, a move that also brings the prospects closer and makes travel easier on the AHL team.
Otherwise, the AHL will keep Bridgeport in mind for the next team. Inevitably, the NHL will expand, and with that, the AHL will add markets as well. Bridgeport will be on the shortlist.