The Cleveland Barons were a professional American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

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 ...

. They played in Cleveland, Ohio, at

Gund Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also serv ...

between 2001 and 2006.

History

The team was named in honor of the popular Barons team that played in the AHL and its forerunners from 1929 to 1973 and 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 ...

(NHL) team of the same name. The Barons name was revived in 2001 when the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

purchased their AHL affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades, and relocated them to Cleveland, where they would play at the arena which was owned and operated by Sharks owners George and Gordon Gund. The Gunds had also owned the NHL Barons, who played in the NHL in the late 1970s before being merged with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors fo ...

in 1978. The franchise relocated to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

, for the 2006–07 season and became the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played ...

. Dan Gilbert, owner of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA), purchased the inactive

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

AHL franchise and moved it to Cleveland. Renamed the Lake Erie Monsters, the club resumed play in 2007 and then rebranded as the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National H ...

in 2016. The team logo, a

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

holding a hockey stick, was originally designed as an alternate logo for the San Jose Sharks before being modified with a top hat, a monocle, and formal wear for the Barons. This market was previously served by: *

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

/ Falcons/

Barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

(1929–1973) IHL/ IAHL/AHL * Cleveland Crusaders (1972–1976) WHA *

Cleveland Barons (NHL) The Cleveland Barons was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the t ...

(1976–1978) * Cleveland Lumberjacks (1992–2001) IHL This market is now the home to: * Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters (2007–present) Affiliates *

(2001-2006)

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

Team records

Single Season

:Goals: 35 Mike Craig (2001–02),

Miroslav Zalesak Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic ...

(2003–04) :Assists: 48 Jeff Nelson (2002–03) :Points: 75 Miroslav Zalesak (2003–04) :Points, Defenseman: 46 Garrett Stafford (2003-04) :Penalty Minutes: 335 Matt Carkner (2001–02) :Wins: 19 Vesa Toskala (2001–02) :GAA: 2.34 Nolan Schaefer (2003–04) :SV%: .925 Seamus Kotyk (2003–04), Nolan Schaefer (2003–04)

Career

:Career Goals: 84 Miroslav Zalesak :Career Assists: 117 Patrick Rissmiller :Career Points: 181 Patrick Rissmiller :Career Penalty Minutes: 948 Matt Carkner :Career Goaltending Wins: 34 Vesa Toskala :Career Shutouts: 7 Nolan Schaefer :Career Games: 315 Matt Carkner

External links

The Internet Hockey Database - Cleveland Barons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland Barons (2001-2006) San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 2001 Ice hockey teams in Ohio Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2006 2001 establishments in Ohio 2006 disestablishments in Ohio