The Manchester Monarchs 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

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

which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, and affiliated with 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 ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

, the team played its home games at the

SNHU Arena The SNHU Arena (Southern New Hampshire University Arena) is an indoor events arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, and seats 9,852 for ice hockey, 11,140 for basketball and up to 11,770 for concerts. The facility was originally known during con ...

. The Monarchs replaced 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 ...

team of the same name, which played from

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

until

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, after which they moved to

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

, and became the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

. After four seasons in the ECHL, the Monarchs ceased operations when the organization failed to find new ownership.

History

On January 29, 2015, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate, the

Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to: *Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015) *Manchester Monarchs (ECHL) The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 ECHL season, 2015–16 season. Bas ...

, to

, as one of five charter members of the AHL's new Pacific Division. The next day, they announced that their ECHL affiliate, the current

, would move to Manchester and take on the Monarchs name in what is essentially a "franchise swap". Prior to their second season, the

Anschutz Entertainment Group Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports ...

(AEG) sold the Monarchs to PPI Sports, LLC on August 2, 2016. AEG also owns the AHL Ontario Reign and a stake in the Los Angeles Kings. Kings president

Luc Robitaille Luc Jean-Marie Robitaille (born February 17, 1966) is a Canadian-American professional ice hockey executive and former player who serves as president of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his 19-season NHL career, ...

stated that the Monarchs would continue to be affiliated with the Kings and Reign despite the team no longer being under the same ownership as their NHL and AHL teams. On January 18, 2019, the Monarchs were announced as seeking new owners. At the end of the

2018–19 ECHL season The 2018–19 ECHL season was the 31st season of the ECHL. The regular season was scheduled to run from October 12, 2018, to April 7, 2019, with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-seven teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces each p ...

, the team was unable to find new ownership and ceased operations. The league then revoked the franchise license.

Season-by-season records

References

{{ECHLdefunct Defunct ECHL teams Defunct ice hockey teams in New Hampshire Ice hockey clubs established in 2015 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2019 Los Angeles Kings minor league affiliates Sports in Manchester, New Hampshire 2015 establishments in New Hampshire 2019 disestablishments in New Hampshire