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The Binghamton Devils were a professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team in the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL) that played from 2017 to 2021 as the top minor league affiliate of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL)'s
New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...
. During the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons, the Devils played home games at Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in
Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...
. Amid the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the team played home games at the New Jersey Devils' practice arena in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
for the 2020–21 season. Following this, the team ultimately did not return to Binghamton, and instead relocated to
Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...
to become the second incarnation of the
Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...
beginning with the 2021–22 season.


History

On September 26, 2016, shortly after it was announced that the
Binghamton Senators The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
were being purchased by their parent club and would move to
Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...
, for the 2017–18 season as the Belleville Senators, the Senators' management said they were working hard to keep AHL hockey in Binghamton for 2017–18 and beyond. On January 25, 2017, the ''Times Union'' reported that the Albany Devils would move to Binghamton for 2017–18, citing the Devils' average per-game attendance of 2,888 being last in the AHL, although the Binghamton Senators' attendance had been second-to-last at 3,666. The official announcement of the team's move (and the Binghamton Devils name) was made on January 31, and noted that the organization had signed a five-year operating agreement. Over their first two seasons in Binghamton, the Devils' attendance increased to 3,896 and 3,471 per game. Due to the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the New Jersey Devils moved their AHL affiliate to their practice rink for home games in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, for the 2020–21 season. In April 2021, it was reported there was an ongoing dispute between the local operators of the Binghamton Devils and the New Jersey Devils over moving the team to Newark for the season and demanding affiliation fees that Binghamton could not pay as a result of the pandemic. On April 5, a trademark was filed for the brand " Utica Devils" by Robert Esche, the operator of the
Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...
, with the Comets' franchise license owned by the
Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
. According to the B-Devils vice president of operations Tom Mitchell, on April 14, 2021, he was informed by the New Jersey Devils that they planned to move the franchise for the 2021–22 season. On May 6, the AHL approved the move to Utica, but retained the Comets branding already used by Esche with his current AHL club.


Season-by-season results


References

{{David Blitzer Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates Defunct ice hockey teams in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 2017 Sports in Binghamton, New York 2017 establishments in New York (state) 2021 disestablishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2021