International Hockey League (1996–2001) Following the departure of the
original Winnipeg Jets franchise to
Phoenix in 1996, a group of local businessmen, including
Mark Chipman, purchased the
Minnesota Moose of the IHL. The team was relocated to Winnipeg to provide a new tenant for the
Winnipeg Arena and keep professional hockey in the city. The team's first season in Winnipeg was a disaster. Former
Montreal Canadiens coach
Jean Perron was brought in to replace
Frank Serratore as head coach and general manager. The Moose won only 16 of 50 games under Perron before he was fired from both positions on January 4, 1997. Upon his dismissal, Perron lashed out at
team ownership, the media, and the players, including a personal attack on team captain
Randy Gilhen. Perron threatened legal action against the organization though no lawsuit was ever filed. Assistant coach
Randy Carlyle took over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season and led the team to a winning record in their final 32 games of the season, but it was not enough to qualify for the playoffs. Carlyle served as the head coach and general manager for team's final four seasons in the IHL. The Moose had moderate regular season success and qualified for the
Turner Cup playoffs three times, making it as far as the second round. Carlyle was named the league's General Manager of the Year for the 1998–99 season. The Moose remained an independent club while playing in the IHL, electing not to affiliate with an NHL team. Following the departure of Smyl, Carlyle returned as head coach for the 2004–05 season. It was a season of big changes and new heights of success for the organization. The Manitoba Moose Hockey Club, now owned by
True North Sports & Entertainment, played its final game at the old Winnipeg Arena and moved into the brand new MTS Centre (since renamed Bell MTS Place and now
Canada Life Centre). The Moose advanced as far as the conference final for the first time in team history but were swept in four games by their old IHL rivals, the
Chicago Wolves. Arniel was awarded the
Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL Coach of the Year, while general manager
Craig Heisinger became the second member of the Moose front office staff to win the James C. Hendy Memorial Award. Arniel became the third Moose coach in six years to make the jump to the NHL when he was hired by the
Columbus Blue Jackets as their new head coach in 2010. Ironically, Arniel was replaced by the person he replaced in Columbus,
Claude Noël. During the same off-season, Keane's contract was not renewed and his #12 jersey was later retired on Mike Keane Tribute Night, February 12, 2011. During the
2011 playoffs, the Moose came back from a three games to one deficit to the
Lake Erie Monsters in the first round to advance. They fell behind three games to one again in round two, this time to the Hamilton Bulldogs, and came back to force a seventh game. However, the Bulldogs took the series with a 2–1 win in triple overtime in the longest Game 7 in AHL history. During their first tenure in the AHL, the Moose were one of the league's most successful franchises. Home game attendance was consistently among the best in the league, including an average of 8,404 per game during the 2010–2011 season. The organization was also popular with the players, as the Moose "had the reputation of being run like an NHL club". League president and CEO
David Andrews called the Moose "a flagship franchise for the AHL".
2011–2015: St. John's IceCaps On May 31, 2011, Mark Chipman announced
True North Sports and Entertainment's acquisition of the NHL's
Atlanta Thrashers with the intent of relocating the team to Winnipeg for the 2011–12 season. The return of NHL hockey to the city prompted the organization to find a new home for the AHL franchise. A deal with former
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Danny Williams was quickly negotiated to relocate the team to
St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador and swiftly approved by the AHL Board of Governors. The Moose brand was dropped in consideration of
Newfoundland's history of fatal vehicle collisions involving the titanical animal; instead, the team was renamed the
St. John's IceCaps. The IceCaps were then named new AHL affiliate of the
Winnipeg Jets, ending the AHL team's ten-year affiliation with the Vancouver Canucks. The success of the franchise continued in St. John's. Attendance at
Mile One Centre was strong; the IceCaps enjoyed the second longest home sellout streak in league history at 120 games between 2011 and 2014. In
2011–12, the IceCaps won their division and advanced as far as the
conference final. In
2013–14, the IceCaps advanced to the
Calder Cup finals for the second time in franchise history, but lost to the
Texas Stars in five games.
2015–present: Return to Manitoba As early as January 2014, True North Sports and Entertainment confirmed intentions to move its AHL franchise closer to Winnipeg, with
Thunder Bay,
Ontario as the preferred destination. Although the agreement with Williams' group had been extended through 2016, the two sides terminated the deal after Williams negotiated an agreement to bring the
Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate,
Hamilton Bulldogs, to St. John's for the
2015–16 season. The IceCaps' trademarks were retained by Williams' group and transferred to the incoming franchise. As a new arena in Thunder Bay was not forthcoming, True North Sports and Entertainment's AHL franchise returned to Winnipeg for the 2015–16 season and once again became the Manitoba Moose Hockey Club. Slight changes to the former logo were unveiled, as well as a new colour scheme similar to that of the Jets.
Keith McCambridge, who had been with the franchise since 2009, remained as head coach. After one season in Manitoba and missing the playoffs for the second straight season, McCambridge was released by the organization and replaced by Jets assistant coach
Pascal Vincent. The Moose missed the playoffs again in Vincent's first season, but a much improved performance during the
2017–18 season returned the Moose to playoffs again. Vincent was awarded the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL coach of the year, while players
Sami Niku and
Mason Appleton also captured major awards. Vincent stepped down as head coach following the shortened
2020–21 season and was replaced by
Mark Morrison, who was previously an assistant coach with the team from 2011 to 2017. ==Team information==