e Newfoundland Growlers membership has been terminated as of April 2, 2024, effective immediately.
The decision was made by the ECHL Board of Directors after the Growlers ownership group failed to fulfil obligations under the ECHL bylaws.
The owners of the Growlers, Deacon Sports and Entertainment were reportedly bankrupt and given a deadline of April 2nd to sell the team. Deacon managed to sell their majority stake in their other ECHL team, the Trois-Rivieres Lions, but were unable to find a buyer for the Growlers. The ECHL cut all ties with the Growlers, and all players have become free agents.
The Growlers were founded in 2018 and became the ECHL affiliate to the NHLs Toronto Maple Leafs and AHLs Toronto Marlies. The Growlers won the Kelly Cup in their inaugural season and reached the Eastern Conference finals twice in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The Growlers were one of the first organizations to focus on using their team as a development team for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Up until the Growlers, the ECHL was known as a fighting league, and not many “skilled players” were in the league.
Maple Leafs players Bobby McMann, Timothy Liljegren and Mikko Kokkonen all played for the Growlers at one point in their careers. Now, McMann and Liljegren are significantly impacting the Maple Leafs roster. Many other teams have started to value using the ECHL as a development for prospects in their system.
So, with the termination of the membership, the Maple Leafs are left with no ECHL affiliate and may be forced to share a team like the Winnipeg Jets and Carolina Hurricanes.
Newfoundland sports fans are also very upset with the termination of the team as they have now seen four teams come and go in the past two decades – St. John’s (AHL), Fog Devils (QMJHL), IceCaps (AHL) and now the Growlers (ECHL).
On top of the impact on the Maple Leafs and local Newfoundland hockey fans, the loss of the Growlers will also affect local businesses, such as restaurants and bars that would host fans before and after games.
But this is not the first time an ECHL team has had financial issues and ceased operations. Over the past two decades, 31 teams have had to do the same or similar reasons such as absorptions by other leagues.
Teams such as the Bakersfield Condors, Colorado Eagles and Ontario Reign have been absorbed by the AHL; while teams such as Quad City Mallards and Brampton Beasts joined the CHL.
