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Manitoba Moose
Manitoba Moose logo.svg
City Winnipeg, Manitoba
League American Hockey League
Conference Western
Division Central
Founded 1994 (In the IHL)
Home arena Canada Life Centre
Colours Polar Night blue, aviator blue, silver, white
                   
Owner(s) True North Sports & Entertainment
General manager Craig Heisinger
Head coach Mark Morrison
Captain Jimmy Oligny
Media TSN
680 CJOB
AHLTV (Internet)
Affiliates Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
Franchise history
1994–1996 Minnesota Moose
1996–2011 Manitoba Moose
2011–2015 St. John's IceCaps
2015–present Manitoba Moose
Championships
Regular season titles 1 (2008–09)
Division Championships 2 (2006–07), (2008–09)
Conference Championships 1 (2008–09)

The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

The franchise was founded in 1994 as the Minnesota Moose, then playing in the International Hockey League (IHL). The Moose played fifteen seasons—five in the IHL (1996–2001) and ten in the AHL (2001–2011)—during their first tenure in Winnipeg. This was followed by four seasons in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, (2011–2015) during which the team was known as the St. John's IceCaps. The team returned to Winnipeg prior to the 2015–16 season.

History

International Hockey League (1996–2001)

Following the departure of the original Winnipeg Jets franchise to Phoenix in 1996, a group of local businessmen, including Mark Chipman, purchased the Minnesota Moose of the IHL. The team was relocated to Winnipeg 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 of 50 games under Perron before he was fired from both positions 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 organization though no lawsuit was ever filed. Assistant coach Randy Carlyle took over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season and led the team to a winning record in their final 32 games of the season, but it was not enough to qualify for the playoffs.

Carlyle served as the head coach and general manager for team's final four seasons in the IHL. The Moose had moderate regular season success and qualified for the Turner Cup playoffs three times, making it as far as the second round. Carlyle was named the league's General Manager of the Year for the 1998–99 season. The Moose remained an independent club while playing in the IHL, electing not to affiliate with an NHL team.

American Hockey League (2001–present)

2001–2011: Move to the AHL

The Moose and five other IHL clubs were accepted into the AHL upon the former's demise in 2001, and the team became the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. This partnership lasted until the NHL's return to Winnipeg in 2011. Former Canucks star Stan Smyl was chosen by the Canucks as the new head coach of the Moose while Carlyle stayed on 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 head coach for the 2004–05 season. It was a season of big changes and new heights of success for the organization. The Manitoba Moose Hockey Club, now owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, played its final game at the old Winnipeg Arena and moved into the brand new MTS Centre (since renamed Bell MTS Place and now Canada Life Centre). The Moose advanced as far as 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 hired by the Vancouver Canucks as the new Moose head coach for the 2005–06 season. Winnipeg native and three-time Stanley Cup champion Mike Keane also joined the club as their new team captain. Keane quickly became a fan favourite 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 dismissed.

Manitobamoosegame
A Moose game at the then-MTS Centre in 2006

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. In the second round of the 2009 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, but lost the championship series in six games to the Hershey Bears. Arniel was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL Coach of the Year, while general manager Craig 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 the person he replaced in Columbus, Claude Noël. 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 a three games to one deficit to the Lake Erie Monsters in the first round to advance. They fell behind three games to one again in round two, this time to the Hamilton Bulldogs, and came back to force a seventh game. However, the Bulldogs took 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. Home game attendance was consistently among the best in the league, including an average of 8,404 per game during 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 David Andrews called the Moose "a flagship franchise for the AHL".

2011–2015: St. John's IceCaps

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 NHL hockey to the city prompted the organization to find a new home for the AHL franchise. 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 and swiftly approved by the AHL Board of Governors. The Moose brand was dropped in consideration of Newfoundland's history of fatal vehicle collisions involving the titanical animal; instead, the team was renamed the St. John's IceCaps. The IceCaps were then named new AHL affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, ending the AHL team's ten-year affiliation with the Vancouver Canucks.

The success of the franchise continued in St. John's. Attendance at Mile One Centre was strong; the IceCaps 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.

2015–present: Return to Manitoba

As early as January 2014, True North Sports and Entertainment confirmed intentions to move its AHL franchise closer to Winnipeg, with Thunder Bay, Ontario as the preferred destination. Although the agreement with Williams' group had been extended through 2016, the two sides terminated the deal after Williams negotiated an agreement to bring the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, Hamilton Bulldogs, to St. John's for the 2015–16 season. The IceCaps' trademarks were retained by Williams' group and transferred to the incoming franchise.

As a new arena in Thunder Bay was not forthcoming, True North Sports and Entertainment's AHL franchise returned to Winnipeg for the 2015–16 season and once again became the Manitoba Moose Hockey Club. Slight changes to the former logo were unveiled, as well as a new colour scheme similar to that of the Jets. Keith McCambridge, who had been with the franchise since 2009, remained as head coach.

After one season in Manitoba and missing the playoffs for the second straight season, McCambridge was released by the organization and replaced by Jets assistant coach Pascal Vincent. The Moose missed the playoffs again in Vincent's first season, but a much improved performance during the 2017–18 season returned the Moose to playoffs again. Vincent was awarded the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL coach of the year, while players Sami Niku and Mason Appleton also captured major awards. Vincent stepped down as head coach following the shortened 2020–21 season and was replaced by Mark Morrison, who was previously an assistant coach with the team from 2011 to 2017.

Team information

Logos and uniforms

Manitoba Moose
Logo from 2004-2011

The current Manitoba Moose uniforms are similar to those of the Winnipeg Jets, whose colours are polar night blue, aviator blue, silver, and white. However, unlike the Jets, the Moose wear their white uniforms for home games in accordance with AHL rules. During their IHL days, the Moose colours were purple, green, and copper. The team switched to teal, copper, and black after joining the AHL.

The original Minnesota Moose logo, depicting a Moose holding a hockey stick, was carried over when the team moved from Minnesota in 1996. The logo was slightly altered in 2001 to match the team's new colour scheme. A new logo created by Milwaukee-based graphic designer David Mann was introduced in 2004 (coinciding with the team's move from Winnipeg Arena to MTS Centre), which the team used until 2011. The Moose returned to a similar logo upon returning to the AHL in 2015, albeit with an altered colour scheme and other slight changes in order to conform with the Winnipeg Jets brand.

Mascot

Mick E. Moose debuted as the mascot of the Manitoba Moose in 1996. The Winnipeg Jets "recalled" him from the AHL in 2011 to become their mascot following the departure of the Moose to St. John's. He has served as the official mascot for both teams since 2015. Aside from hockey games, Mick E. Moose makes approximately 100 public appearances each year at various community events.

Media

680 CJOB airs select Moose games on radio and streams all games on the internet. Daniel Fink is the team's Manager of Hockey Communications and play-by-play broadcaster. Fink began calling Moose games in 2019, taking over from Mitch Peacock (2015-2019). TSN Radio 1290 (CFRW) held broadcasting rights from 2015 to 2020. CJOB previously held radio broadcast rights from 1996 to 2011, with Kelly Moore (1996–2006) and Brian Munz (2006–2011) as play-by-play announcers.

CKY-TV previously televised select Moose games from 1996 to 1999, and A-Channel aired select games during the 2000-01 season. For the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs, home playoff games were televised on TSN.

Venue

The Manitoba Moose play their home games at Canada Life Centre (previously the MTS Centre and Bell MTS Place), which they share with the Winnipeg Jets, and are currently one of two AHL clubs (the other being the Calgary Wranglers) to share a home arena with its NHL parent club. Although the arena seats 15,321 for hockey, only the lower bowl (which seats 8,812) is open for most Moose games. Practices and training sessions are usually held at Bell MTS Iceplex. The Moose briefly relocated to the Iceplex from March to May 2021 when COVID-19 pandemic protocols made the regular home arena unsuitable for hosting multiple clubs.

The team played at the Winnipeg Arena prior to the opening of Canada Life Centre in November 2004.

Season-by-season results

Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for
Goals
against
Standing Year Prelim 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
1996–97 82 32 40 10 74 262 300 5th, Midwest 1997 Did not qualify
1997–98 82 39 36 7 85 269 254 4th, Northwest 1998 L, 0–3, CHI
1998–99 82 47 21 14 108 269 236 2nd, Midwest 1999 W, 2–0, MIL L, 0–3, CHI
1999–00 82 37 31 14 88 227 237 5th, West 2000 L, 0–2, LB
2000–01 82 39 31 12 90 222 230 3rd, West 2001 W, 4–3, HOU L, 2–4, CHI
2001–02 80 39 33 4 4 86 270 260 4th, Canadian 2002 W, 2–1, WOR L, 1–3, BRI
2002–03 80 37 33 8 2 84 229 228 2nd, Canadian 2003 W, 2–1, POR W, 3–1, PRO L, 3–4, HAM
2003–04 80 32 35 11 2 77 214 232 6th, North 2004 Did not qualify
2004–05 80 44 26 7 3 98 243 210 3rd, North 2005 W, 4–1, STJ W, 4–1, RCH L, 0–4, CHI
2005–06 80 44 24 7 5 100 243 217 3rd, North 2006 W, 4–2, SYR L, 3–4, GR
2006–07 80 45 23 7 5 102 232 201 1st, North 2007 W, 4–3, GR L, 2–4, HAM
2007–08 80 46 27 3 4 99 236 197 3rd, North 2008 L, 2–4, SYR
2008–09 80 50 23 1 6 107 230 177 1st, League 2009 W, 4–2, TOR W, 4–0, GR W, 4–2, HOU L, 2–4, HER
2009–10 80 40 33 5 2 87 204 232 4th North 2010 L, 2–4, HAM
2010–11 80 43 30 1 6 93 220 210 3rd, North 2011 W, 4–3, LEM L, 3–4, HAM
2011–2015 Played as St. John's IceCaps
2015–16 76 26 41 4 5 61 180 250 7th, Central 2016 Did not qualify
2016–17 76 29 37 5 5 68 197 242 7th, Central 2017 Did not qualify
2017–18 76 42 26 4 4 92 253 198 3rd, Central 2018 W, 3–2, GR L, 0–4, RFD
2018–19 76 39 30 5 2 85 197 219 5th, Central 2019 Did not qualify
2019–20 61 27 33 1 0 55 160 190 8th, Central 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 36 18 13 3 2 41 109 102 2nd, Canadian 2021 No playoffs were held
2021–22 72 41 24 5 2 89 228 204 2nd, Central 2022 BYE L, 2–3, MIL
2022–23 72 37 25 6 4 84 227 226 3rd, Central 2023 BYE L, 2–3, MIL

Players

Current roster

Updated February 17, 2024.

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
4 Canada Barteaux, DawsonDawson Barteaux D R 24 2023 Foxwarren, Manitoba Moose
2 Canada Bauer, TyrelTyrel Bauer D R 22 2022 Cochrane, Alberta Jets
5 United States Bongiovanni, WyattWyatt Bongiovanni C L 25 2022 Birmingham, Michigan Jets
22 Canada Capobianco, KyleKyle Capobianco D L 27 2023 Mississauga, Ontario Jets
19 Russia Chibrikov, NikitaNikita Chibrikov RW L 21 2023 Moscow, Russia Jets
60 United States Delia, CollinCollin Delia G L 30 2023 Rancho Cucamonga, California Jets
25 United States Ford, ParkerParker Ford C R 24 2023 Wakefield, Rhode Island Jets
19 Sweden Gustafsson, DavidDavid Gustafsson C L 24 2019 Tingsryd, Sweden Jets
34 Finland Heinola, VilleVille Heinola D L 23 2019 Honkajoki, Finland Jets
8 Canada Jones, NickNick Jones C R 28 2021 Edmonton, Alberta Moose
41 Sweden Jonsson-Fjallby, AxelAxel Jonsson-Fjallby LW L 26 2022 Stockholm, Sweden Jets
13 Finland Lambert, BradBrad Lambert C R 20 2022 Lahti, Finland Jets
16 United States Lucius, ChazChaz Lucius C R 21 2022 Lawrence, Kansas Jets
7 Sweden Lundmark, SimonSimon Lundmark D R 24 2021 Stockholm, Sweden Jets
39 Canada Malott, JeffJeff Malott LW L 28 2021 Burlington, Ontario Jets
32 Canada Milic, ThomasThomas Milic G L 21 2023 New Westminster, British Columbia Moose
37 Finland Nikkanen, HenriHenri Nikkanen C L 23 2022 Mikkeli, Finland Jets
14 Canada Oligny, JimmyJimmy Oligny (C) D L 31 2019 Saint-Michel, Quebec Moose
20 Czech Republic Reichel, KristianKristian Reichel C R 26 2018 Litvinov, Czech Republic Jets
6 Canada Sautner, AshtonAshton Sautner (A) D L 30 2022 Flin Flon, Manitoba Jets
18 Canada Stewart, DeanDean Stewart D R 26 2021 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Moose
27 United States Suess, C.J.C.J. Suess (A) LW/C L 30 2023 Forest Lake, Minnesota Moose
45 United States Toninato, DominicDominic Toninato (A) C L 30 2020 Duluth, Minnesota Jets
40 Sweden Torgersson, DanielDaniel Torgersson LW L 22 2022 Hönö, Sweden Jets
28 Canada Viel, JeffreyJeffrey Viel LW L 27 2023 Rimouski, Quebec Jets
17 Canada Zhilkin, DaniilDaniil Zhilkin C L 20 2023 Moscow, Russia Jets

Team captains

  • Randy Gilhen, 1996–1997
  • Scott Arniel, 1997–1999
  • Brian Chapman, 1999–2003
  • Dallas Eakins, 2003–2004
  • Nolan Baumgartner, 2004–2005, 2010–2011
  • Mike Keane, 2005–2010
  • John Albert, 2015–2016
  • Patrice Cormier, 2016–2018
  • Peter Stoykewych, 2018–2020
  • Jimmy Oligny, 2021–present

Retired numbers

Manitoba Moose retired numbers
No. Player Position Career No. retirement
12 Mike Keane RW 2005–2010 February 12, 2011
21 Jimmy Roy LW 1997–2006 February 7, 2020

Although not officially retired, the team has not issued jersey number 11 since 2012 in honour of former player Rick Rypien, who died shortly after signing with the Winnipeg Jets in 2011. The Moose and Jets also wear #11 decals on their helmets as part of the organization's Project11 campaign for mental health awareness.

Head coaches

  • Jean Perron, 1996–1997
  • Randy Carlyle, 1997–2001, 2004–2005
  • Stan Smyl, 2001–2004
  • Alain Vigneault, 2005–2006
  • Scott Arniel, 2006–2010
  • Claude Noel, 2010–2011
  • Keith McCambridge, 2015–2016
  • Pascal Vincent, 2016–2021
  • Mark Morrison, 2021–present

Notable alumni

The following players have played both 100 games for the Moose and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

Team records

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%: .935 Michael Hutchinson (2017–18)
Career
Career goals: 158 Jason Jaffray
Career assists: 244 Jason Jaffray
Career points: 402 Jason Jaffray
Career penalty minutes: 1434 Jimmy Roy
Career goaltending wins: 84 Cory Schneider
Career shutouts: 12 Cory Schneider
Career games: 603 Jimmy Roy

Team scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in team history. Figures are updated after each completed regular season.

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

Points
Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Jason Jaffray LW 493 158 244 402 0.82
Brett Hauer D 322 58 193 251 0.78
JC Lipon RW 452 80 142 222 0.49
Nolan Baumgartner D 451 45 169 214 0.47
Jimmy Roy LW 603 101 111 212 0.35
Stephane Morin F 173 63 138 201 1.16
Bill Bowler C 187 55 134 189 1.01
Brandon Reid C 259 70 111 181 0.70
Lee Goren RW 193 80 91 171 0.89
Scott Arniel F 222 67 104 171 0.77

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–present (held position with franchise in St. John's from 2011 to 2015)

See also

  • List of ice hockey teams in Manitoba
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