Historical Moments:
1974/75: The NHL completed its first 8-year expansion cycle by adding teams in Washington
and Kansas City. Kansas City which had been a home to several minor league teams
was getting its first crack at NHL level hockey. Initially they chose Mohawks
as their nickname to reflect a Missouri-Kansas union, but the name was rejected
by the Chicago Black Hawks. So, the team chose its 2nd choice Scouts, named after
a famous statue overlooking the city. The arrival of the Scouts and Capitals
led the NHL into creating 4 divisions; the Scouts would be placed in the Smythe
Division. Taking the ice for the first time on October 9th the Scouts would
be buried by the Maple Leafs in Toronto. While Kemper Arena was hosting the American
Royal Rodeo and Livestock Show the Scouts were forced to play their first
9 games on the road losing 8 and tying 1. On November 2nd the finally made their
home debut losing 4-3 to the Black Hawks. However the following day they would
get their first win beating the Capitals in Washington 5-4. The highlight of
the seasons would come on January 23rd when the Scouts stunned the Bruins 3-2
in Boston. However, the Scouts who were led in scoring by Captain Simon Nolet
were a typical expansion team finishing in last place with a 15-54-11 record.
1975/76: Going into their 2nd season the Scouts hoped to challenge for a playoff spot. However,
a16-game winless streak from December 28th to February 7th would end all
hopes for a playoff run. Things would only get worse after their February 7th win
over the Washington Capitals as the Scouts failed to win another game the rest
of the season losing 21 and tying 6 to finish in last place with an awful 12-56-12,
which included just 1 win in their final 44 games. Not surprisingly the
Scouts struggled to draw fans forcing their 37 inventors who were almost a million
dollars in debt to initiate a ticket drive. However, when the Scouts sold
only 2,000 of their 8,000 season tickets sold goal they were forced to conclude
that hockey would not work in Kansas City so the team was moved to Denver after
just 2 seasons in Kansas City.
1976-2006: Following the departure of the Scouts Kansas City became a minor league hockey town
again affiliating with a number of teams until the IHL folded in 2001, taking
the Kansas City Blades with them. Within a few years of the Blades departure,
plans started for a new arena in Kansas City, which has led them to actively perusing
a return to the NHL, speaking with several teams about possible relocation.
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