Home arena Pacific Coliseum 1972–1973 Philadelphia Blazers Arena Pacific Coliseum | 1972 Miami Screaming Eagles 1973–1975 Vancouver Blazers Location Vancouver, Canada | |
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City Vancouver, British Columbia Colours Yellow and burnt orange | ||
The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973–75. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League. The Blazers were owned by local businessman Jim Pattison. The franchise moved to Vancouver after a single season in Philadelphia. Unable to establish a strong fan base in Vancouver, the team was moved again in 1975 to become the Calgary Cowboys.
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History
The Blazers were one of the founding members of the World Hockey Association. Originally the franchise was to be based out of Miami, Florida, called the Miami Screaming Eagles. But due to financial problems and a lack of a suitable arena, the franchise was moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and debuted as the Philadelphia Blazers. After only one season in Philadelphia, the team relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and became the Vancouver Blazers in 1973–74. After two seasons, the team was again relocated to Calgary, Alberta as the Calgary Cowboys for 1975–76. Two years later, the franchise folded.
Vancouver Blazers
After the 1972–73 WHA season ended, the Philadelphia Blazers' owners sold the team to Jim Pattison who moved the team north of the border to Vancouver, British Columbia where it was named Vancouver Blazers.
Pattison knew that in order to compete with the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL, who shared the same arena, he needed to attract a major star to the team, as André Lacroix, who had led the league in scoring the previous year, left to join the New York Golden Blades. Pattison tried to sign Boston star Phil Esposito, offering him $2.5 million over five years. Esposito decided to stay with the Bruins for less money.
The team performed poorly in their first year, finishing with a record of 27-50-1. The next season, 1974–75, brought back some respectability as they finished only two games below .500. But that wasn't enough to keep the team in Vancouver. After only two seasons in Vancouver, the team once again packed up and was moved to Calgary, Alberta, where they were renamed Calgary Cowboys. The Cowboys would be the WHA's second attempt at Calgary, as the Calgary Broncos were slated to start playing there for the inaugural WHA season. After the Broncos' owner died, the franchise was instead placed in Cleveland.
Season-by-season record
See 1973–74 Vancouver Blazers season See 1974–75 Vancouver Blazers seasonNote: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes