The Vancouver Blazers 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 ...

team that played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the

Pacific Coliseum Pacific Coliseum, known to locals as "The Coliseum" or the "Rink on Renfrew," is an indoor arena located at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its main use has been for ice hockey and the arena has been the home for several ice hock ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

, sharing the facility with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

of the

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

. The Blazers were owned by local businessman

Jim Pattison James Allen Pattison (born October 1, 1928) is a Canadian business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he holds the position of chief executive officer, chairman and sole owner of the Jim Pa ...

. The franchise moved to Vancouver after a single season in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Unable to establish a strong fan base in Vancouver, the team was moved again in 1975 to become the

Calgary Cowboys The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, ...

History

The Blazers were one of the founding members of the

. Originally the team, called the

Miami Screaming Eagles The Miami Screaming Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that had intended to play in Miami, Florida, US. The Screaming Eagles were charter members of the World Hockey Association, but never played a game in Miami due to the only availabl ...

, was to be based in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, but due to financial problems and a lack of a suitable arena, the franchise was moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and debuted as the

Philadelphia Blazers The Philadelphia Blazers were an ice hockey franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the 1972–73 WHA season based in Philadelphia. The team's home ice was the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center. The franchise was origina ...

. After only one season in Philadelphia, the team relocated to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and became the Vancouver Blazers in 1973–74. After two seasons, the team was again relocated to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

as the

for 1975–76. Two years later, the franchise folded.

Vancouver Blazers

After the

1972–73 WHA season The 1972–73 WHA season was the first season of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Twelve teams played 78 games each. The league was officially incorporated in June of 1971 by Gary Davidson and Dennis A. Murphy and promised to ice twelve teams ...

ended, the Philadelphia Blazers' owners sold the team to

who moved the team north of the border to

where it was named ''Vancouver Blazers''. Pattison knew that in order to compete with the

of the NHL, who shared the same arena, he needed to attract a major star to the team, as Andre Lacroix, who had led the league in scoring the previous year, left to join the

New York Golden Blades The New York Raiders were an ice hockey team in New York City, and founding member of the World Hockey Association. Intended to be the WHA's flagship franchise, the team was unable to compete with the National Hockey League's established New Yo ...

, while the team's (and league's) highest-paid player, Derek Sanderson, had been forced out at the end of the season in a major embarrassment to the team and league. Pattison tried to sign Boston star

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...

, offering him $2.5 million over five years. Esposito decided to stay with the Bruins for less money. The team performed poorly in their first year, finishing with a record of 27-50-1; despite this, Vancouver was such a strong hockey town that the Blazers actually led the WHA in attendance, drawing 9,356 a night, more than 50% above the average of the other eleven clubs in the league. The next season, 1974–75, the club improved to only two games below .500, only to see attendance slip to 8,014 a game, sixth in the 14-team WHA. The Blazers' (and WHA's) efforts to attract fans were certainly not helped by the machinations of the NHL, which was aggressively expanding to try and keep its rival out of premium arenas and markets. Prior to the WHA's arrival, the Canucks had consistently finished well out of playoff contention. However after the Blazers' first season in the Pacific Coliseum, the NHL not only expanded again but also dissolved the Canucks' tough East Division and placed the team in the much weaker

Smythe Division The NHL's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the leagu ...

. The Canucks won the new Smythe Division, and consistently played to at or near capacity at Pacific Coliseum while the Blazers struggled to fill the building to half capacity. Under such circumstances, it was evident that Vancouver was not large enough to support both the NHL and WHA; thus after only two seasons on the west coast the team made its third franchise shift in three years, this time to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, where they were renamed ''Calgary Cowboys''. The Cowboys would be the WHA's second attempt in Calgary, as the

Calgary Broncos The Calgary Broncos were an original World Hockey Association franchise, founded November 1, 1971. In the first WHA draft, the Broncos chose Barry Gibbs, Jim Harrison, Dale Hoganson and Jack Norris. The team relocated prior to the start of the f ...

were slated to start playing there for the inaugural WHA season. However, after Broncos' owner Bob Brownridge died, the franchise was placed in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

instead.The

Alberta Oilers Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...

were then mooted as a "regional" franchise that would play in both Edmonton and Calgary, but that first season the Oilers played only one game in Calgary: a one-game playoff against Minnesota, which they lost. The franchise was renamed the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in 1973, which has been their identity ever since. The last active Vancouver Blazers player was Pat Price who retired in the NHL during the 1987-88 NHL season.

Season-by-season record

:''See

1973–74 Vancouver Blazers season The 1973–74 Vancouver Blazers season was the second season of operation for the World Hockey Association (WHA) franchise. The team had operated in Philadelphia the previous season before moving to Vancouver. The Blazers did not qualify for the ...

'' :''See 1974–75 Vancouver Blazers season'' ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes''

References

External links

Philadelphia Blazers HistoryUnofficial Home of the Philadelphia BlazersNHL.com article about the Philadelphia Blazers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vancouver Blazers Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in British Columbia Bla Ice hockey clubs established in 1972 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1975 World Hockey Association teams

History

Vancouver Blazers

Season-by-season record

See also

References

External links