The New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League (AHL) had been established in Moncton in 1978, and were jointly owned and operated by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Black Hawks as their farm team.[1][2][3][4][5][6] In the summer of 1982, with Chicago having already pulled out of New Brunswick in favour of affiliating with the Springfield Indians on their own,[2][7][8][9] the Maple Leafs announced that they would not operate the team in Moncton the following year after they couldn't come to terms with the city on a new arena lease,[2][8][9] even though the team had the fifth-highest attendance in the league.[10] At the same AHL Board of Governors meeting that the franchise's relocation to become the St. Catharines Saints was approved,[11][12][13][14][15] the Edmonton Oilers received approval to purchase a new AHL franchise to replace the departed Hawks in Moncton,[11][12][14][15] leading to establishment of the Moncton Alpines as their affiliate that fall.[15][16] The team played for two seasons until 1984, coached by Doug Messier both seasons. Following 1984, the team was bought by the Calgary Flames and renamed the Moncton Golden Flames. The franchise folded in 1987, and was replaced by the Winnipeg Jets' affiliate, the Moncton Hawks.
