Manitoba Moose

The Manitoba Moose are a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that played in the International Hockey League from 1996–2001 and the American Hockey League from 2001–2011 and are scheduled to return for the 2015–16 season. The team, founded as the Minnesota Moose in 1994, relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1996, and then to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 to become the St. John's IceCaps. In 2015, True North Sports & Entertainment relocated the team back to Winnipeg to decrease travel time for prospect call-ups to the team's parent club, the Winnipeg Jets.

International Hockey League (1996–2001)
After the departure of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, Arizona in 1996, a group of local businessmen, including Mark Chipman, purchased the Minnesota Moose of the IHL. The team was relocated to Winnipeg in order to provide a new tenant for the Winnipeg Arena and keep professional hockey in the city.

The team's first season in Winnipeg was a disaster. Former Montreal Canadiens coach Jean Perron was brought in to replace Frank Serratore as head coach and general manager. The Moose won only 16 games of 50 games under Perron before he was fired on January 4, 1997. Upon his dismissal, Perron lashed out at team ownership, the media, and the players, including a personal attack on team captain Randy Gilhen. Perron threatened legal action against the team, but nothing came of it. Assistant coach Randy Carlyle, a former Jets defenceman, took over as head coach and led the team to a winning record in their final 32 games of the season, but the team did not qualify for the playoffs.

Carlyle went on to serve as head coach and general manager for remainder of the team's tenure in the IHL. The Moose had moderate regular season success and qualified for the Turner Cup playoffs three out of the next four seasons, making it as far as the second round. Carlyle was named the league's General Manager of the Year for the 1998–99 season. During their five seasons in the IHL, the Moose remained independent and did not affiliate with any NHL teams, although several did loan players to the Moose.

American Hockey League (2001–2011)
The Moose and five other IHL teams were accepted into the AHL after the IHL's demise in 2001. The Moose were required to affiliate with an NHL club and became the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, a partnership that would last ten seasons. Former Canucks star Stan Smyl was chosen by the Canucks as the new head coach of the Moose while Carlyle remained as general manager for one season before leaving to join the Washington Capitals coaching staff. In 2002–03, Smyl led the team to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, but lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs in seven games. After the team missed the playoffs the following season, Smyl was reassigned within the Canucks organization.

Following the departure of Smyl, Carlyle returned as Moose head coach for the 2004-05 season. It was a season of big changes and new highs for the organization, as the Moose, now owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, played their final game at the old Winnipeg Arena and moved into the brand new MTS Centre in downtown Winnipeg. The Moose made it to the conference final for the first time in team history, but were swept in four games by their old IHL rivals, the Chicago Wolves. Mark Chipman was awarded the James C. Hendy Memorial Award for AHL Executive of the Year. After the season, Carlyle was hired by the Anaheim Ducks as their new head coach, becoming the first of four consecutive Moose head coaches to leave the team for head coaching positions in the NHL.

Former Canadiens head coach Alain Vigneault was brought in as the new head coach for the 2005–06 season. The Moose signed Winnipeg native and three-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Keane and named him captain. Keane quickly became a fan favorite and the team had another great year, but again lost in the second round of the playoffs. After the season, Vigneault was promoted by the Canucks to fill their vacant head coaching position when Marc Crawford was let go.

Former Moose captain and assistant coach Scott Arniel was selected to replace Vigneault. Arniel coached the team for four seasons and, in 2008–09, led them to their best season in franchise history when the team finished with 107 points, the best record in the league. The Moose went all the way to the Calder Cup Finals, losing the final to the Hershey Bears. Arniel was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL Coach of the Year, while general manager Heisinger became the second member of the Moose front office staff to win the James C. Hendy Memorial Award.

Arniel became the third Moose coach in six years to make the jump to the NHL when he was hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets as their new head coach in 2010. Ironically, Arniel was replaced by former Blue Jackets interim head coach Claude Noel, whose contract had not renewed by the club. During the same off-season, Keane's contract was not renewed and his #12 jersey was later retired on Mike Keane Tribute Night, February 12, 2011. During the 2011 playoffs, the Moose came back from 3 game to 1 deficit to the Lake Erie Monsters in the first round to advance. They fell behind 3 games to 1 again in round two, this time to the Bulldogs, and came back to force a seventh game. However, the Bulldogs won Game 7 and the series with a 2–1 win in triple overtime in the longest Game 7 in AHL history.

During their first tenure in the AHL, the Moose were one of the league's most successful franchises. Moose attendance was among the best in the league every season, including an average of 8,404 per game in the 2010-2011 season. The organization was also popular with the players, as the Moose "had the reputation of being run like an NHL club". League president and CEO Dave Andrews called the Moose "a flagship franchise for the AHL".

2008–09 Calder Cup Finals
The Moose finished the 2008–09 season with the best record in the AHL. In the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Moose completed their first playoff sweep in franchise history, defeating the Grand Rapids Griffins. After beating the Houston Aeros in six games to win the Western Conference final, the Moose advanced to the Calder Cup finals for the first time. Their opponent was the Hershey Bears, the defending champions.

Games 1 and 2 of the final series were played at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The Bears took the first game 5–4 in overtime in front of a sold out crowd of 15,003. In Game 2, the Moose were led by Jason Jaffray's hat trick and tied the series with a 3–1 victory.

After the teams split the first two games in Winnipeg, the series shifted to the Giant Center in Hershey for Games 3, 4, and 5. Hershey won Games 3 and 4 by scores of 3–0 and 2–1 to take a 3 to 1 series lead. However, the Moose came back to win Game 5 and send the series back to Winnipeg for Game 6 and hopefully a Game 7.

In Game 6, in front of another sold crowd at the MTS Centre, the Bears scored three first period goals en route to a 4–1 win over the Moose and their team's tenth Calder Cup.

St. John's IceCaps (2011–2015)
On May 31, 2011, Mark Chipman announced True North Sports and Entertainment's acquisition of the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers with the intent of relocating the team to Winnipeg for the 2011–12 season. The return of the NHL to Winnipeg prompted True North to find a new home for its AHL franchise, thus ending the team's 15-year tenure in Manitoba. A deal with former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Danny Williams was quickly negotiated to relocate the team to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, which was swiftly approved by the AHL Board of Governors. Upon relocation to St. John's, the team was renamed the St. John's IceCaps and became the AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets.

The success of the AHL franchise continued during its tenure in St. John's. Attendance at Mile One Centre was strong, as the team enjoyed the second longest home sellout streak in league history at 120 games between 2011 and 2014. In 2011–12, the IceCaps won their division and advanced as far as the conference final. In 2013–14, the IceCaps advanced to the Calder Cup finals for the second time in franchise history, but lost to the Texas Stars in five games.

Return to Manitoba
As early as January 2014, Chipman confirmed that True North was looking to move its AHL franchise closer to Winnipeg, with Thunder Bay, Ontario being cited as a preferred destination. Although True North and Danny Williams' group had extended their agreement through 2016, Williams was able to negotiate a deal to relocate the Hamilton Bulldogs to St. John's for the 2015–16 season.

On March 12, 2015, the AHL approved the relocation and Winnipeg Jets subsequently announced that they would be moving their AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps, to Winnipeg for the 2015–16 season. The team will play at the MTS Centre, being one of two of the current AHL teams to share a home arena with its parent club (along with the San Jose Sharks' affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, to play at the SAP Center at San Jose).

On May 4, 2015, True North Sports & Entertainment announced the return of the Manitoba Moose name and introduced slight improvements on the Moose Logo and introduced a new colour scheme which matched its parent club, the Winnipeg Jets. This also makes the Moose one of three AHL franchises to share a market with their parent club, the others being the aforementioned San Jose Barracuda and the Toronto Marlies.

Single season

 * Goals: 45 Scott Thomas (1998–99)
 * Assists: 81 Stephane Morin (1994–95)
 * Points: 114 Stephane Morin (1994–95)
 * Penalty minutes: 285 Wade Brookbank (2004–05)
 * Wins: 35 Cory Schneider (2009–10)
 * GAA: 2.04 Cory Schneider (2008–09)
 * SV%: .928 Cory Schneider (2008–09)

Career

 * Career goals: 102 Jimmy Roy
 * Career assists: 193 Brett Hauer
 * Career points: 251 Brett Hauer
 * Career penalty minutes: 1434 Jimmy Roy
 * Career goaltending wins: 84 Cory Schneider
 * Career shutouts: 12 Cory Schneider
 * Career games: 603 Jimmy Roy

Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed AHL regular season.

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Reference: Internet Hockey Database

Updated to 2014–15 inclusive.

Team captains

 * Randy Gilhen, 1996–97
 * Scott Arniel, 1997–99
 * Brian Chapman, 1999–2003
 * Dallas Eakins, 2003–04
 * Nolan Baumgartner, 2004–05, 2010–2011
 * Mike Keane, 2005–10

IHL

 * Jean Perron, 1996–97 (fired 50 games into first season)
 * Randy Carlyle, 1997–2001 (replaced by Stan Smyl)

AHL

 * Stan Smyl, 2001–04 (returned to Canucks as director of player development)
 * Randy Carlyle, 2004–05 (became Anaheim Ducks head coach)
 * Alain Vigneault, 2005–06 (became Vancouver Canucks head coach)
 * Scott Arniel, 2006–10 (became Columbus Blue Jackets head coach)
 * Claude Noël, 2010–11 (became Winnipeg Jets head coach)
 * Keith McCambridge (held position with franchise in St. John's from 2011–2015), 2015–Present

Team general managers

 * Jean Perron, 1996–97 (fired 50 games into first season)
 * Randy Carlyle, 1997–2002 (became Washington Capitals assistant coach)
 * Craig Heisinger, 2002–2011 (held position with franchise in St. John's from 2011–2015), 2015–Present

Retired numbers

 * 12 – Mike Keane