After the
2003–04 season, the
Columbus Cottonmouths,
Greensboro Generals, and
Roanoke Express franchises all ceased operations as their franchises were revoked. The Columbus organization joined the
Southern Professional Hockey League for 2004–05 as one of its inaugural members. Their ECHL franchise had planned to be in
Bradenton, Florida, as the
Gulf Coast Swords but eventually had its franchise revoked in the September 2006 ECHL Board of Governors meeting after several issues led to them never completing their arena. The
Cincinnati Cyclones requested a voluntary suspension of franchise, which was lifted for the 2006–07 season, when the crosstown
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks ownership failed to secure an
American Hockey League franchise. The league added one team for the season, their first Canadian franchise, the
Victoria Salmon Kings. The Salmon Kings purchased the defunct
Baton Rouge Kingfish franchise and relocated its home territory to Victoria.
Realignment The league also adopted a "Mason-Dixon" format, as the conferences were split on the
Mason–Dixon line, with the National Conference teams being north of the line and American Conference teams south of the line creating a "North vs South" format.
All-Star Game The
ECHL All-Star Game was held at the
Sovereign Center in
Reading, Pennsylvania, and was hosted by the
Reading Royals. The National Conference All-Stars defeated the American Conference All-Stars 6–2, with
Idaho's Frank Doyle named Most Valuable Player. ==Regular season==