The Albany Devils were a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL). The top affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), the A-Devils played their home games at the

Times Union Center The MVP Arena (originally Knickerbocker Arena, and then the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacit ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. The franchise started in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

as the expansion

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

and played their home games in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. In 2006, the Devils purchased the Lock Monsters and rebranded the franchise as the Lowell Devils for the 2006–07 AHL season. Citing low attendance, the franchise was moved to Albany in 2010 and began play as the Albany Devils. This would mark the second time the New Jersey Devils have been affiliated with an AHL team in Albany; from

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

to 2006, the Devils used the Albany River Rats as their top minor league team. Ahead of the

2017–18 AHL season The 2017–18 AHL season was the 82nd season of the American Hockey League. The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 15, 2018. The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Toronto Marlies won their ...

, the Devils relocated to Binghamton, New York, and became the

Binghamton Devils The Binghamton Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2017 to 2021 as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils. Based in Binghamton, New Y ...

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

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

. It was then announced that the River Rats would play the 2010–11 season as the

, 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. 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. New Jersey Devils General Manager

Lou Lamoriello Louis P. Lamoriello (born October 21, 1942) is an American professional ice hockey executive who is the president of hockey operations and general manager for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also the former ge ...

, 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. 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. 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, playing 36 of their 40 home games in Albany. The other four home games were to be played in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at

Boardwalk Hall Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlant ...

. Soon after that, 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. In August, Rick Kowalsky was named head coach of the Albany team, with former New Jersey Devils defenseman

Tommy Albelin Tommy Albelin (born 21 May 1964) is a Swedish former ice hockey defenceman who is currently an assistant coach for Switzerland's national team. He also was world champion in 1987 and competed in the men's tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics ...

being named the assistant coach. On January 13, 2016, the Devils won their 11th consecutive home win to set a new franchise record. 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. 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 2018–19 season. However, on January 25, 2017, it was reported that the Albany Devils would relocate to replace the departing Binghamton Senators in Binghamton, New York, in the 2017–18 season. The

were announced on January 31. At the time of the announcement, the Albany Devils were drawing the lowest average attendance in the league.

Season-by-season results

Records as of the end of the 2016–17 AHL season.

Players

Team captains

* Stephen Gionta, 2010–2012 * Jay Leach, 2012–2013 *

Rod Pelley Rod Pelley (born September 1, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. After his collegiate career, Pelley signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils, and was with the organization from 2006 to 2011. He was traded to the ...

, 2013–2017

References

External links

Albany Devils Official Website
{{Defunct AHL New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates Sports in Albany, New York Ice hockey teams in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 2010 2010 establishments in New York (state) 2017 disestablishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2017