On April 16, 2009, the
Central Hockey League announced an expansion team for Independence, to begin play in the 2009–10 season. The new organization teamed up with local newspaper
The Examiner to hold a name-the-team contest until May 11. The Missouri Mavericks' name, logo, and colors were unveiled on June 24. On May 29, 2009, it was reported that
Scott Hillman would be the Mavericks' first head coach, resigning from his same position with the
Southern Professional Hockey League's
Knoxville Ice Bears to do so. In his time with the Ice Bears, Hillman led them to two consecutive SPHL President's Cup championships and Coffey Trophies (awarded for the most regular-season points). On November 13, 2009, the team played their home opener before a crowd of 5,760 people at the Independence Events Center. On September 17, 2011, the Mavericks announced an affiliation agreement with the
Chicago Wolves of the
American Hockey League for the
2011–12 season. This agreement would be renewed in one-year contracts until 2015. On May 24, 2012, the Mavericks extended head coach
Scott Hillman's contract for two additional years through the
2013–14 season. On July 31, 2012, the Mavericks announced an agreement with
Entercom to have all 66 games for the
2012–13 season broadcast on the radio on
1660 KUDL. On May 21, 2014, Hillman announced his resignation from the Mavericks and soon after was named as the first head coach for the expansion
Indy Fuel of the
ECHL. In June, the Mavericks hired
Richard Matvichuk as the organization's new coach. On October 7, 2014, shortly before the 2014–15 Central Hockey League season was set to begin, it was announced that the CHL had ceased operations and the Mavericks, along with the
Allen Americans,
Brampton Beast,
Quad City Mallards,
Rapid City Rush,
Tulsa Oilers and
Wichita Thunder, were all approved for expansion membership application into the ECHL for the
2014–15 season. On February 5, 2015, Lamar Hunt Jr., son of
Kansas City Chiefs' founder
Lamar Hunt, bought a 100 percent ownership stake in the Missouri Mavericks. On June 11, 2015, the Mavericks announced they had signed a two-year affiliation deal with the
New York Islanders. The Mavericks then served as the Islanders' secondary minor league affiliate, behind the
Bridgeport Islanders of the
American Hockey League. On June 2, 2016, head coach
Richard Matvichuk resigned after leading the Mavericks for two seasons, a regular season championship, and named ECHL coach of the year in
2015–16. He left the organization to become the head coach of the
Western Hockey League's
Prince George Cougars. He was replaced by John-Scott Dickson, who had played for the team from 2011 to 2015 before joining the coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2015–16. Also, beginning with the 2016–17 season, the Mavericks and
St. Louis Blues entered into a working agreement for cross-promoting hockey in Missouri and Kansas. However, the Islanders/Tigers organization still remained the Mavericks affiliate for player development. On March 11, 2017, the Missouri Mavericks announced the team would be renamed the Kansas City Mavericks beginning in the
2017–18 season. Also prior to the 2017–18 season, their affiliation with the Islanders ended when that organization affiliated with the expansion
Worcester Railers. On June 8, 2017, Kansas City affiliated with the
Calgary Flames (NHL) and the
Stockton Heat (AHL). In his fourth season as head coach, Dickson was fired on January 30, 2020, while the team was in last place in their division. After the season ended, the Mavericks hired
Florida Everblades' assistant Tad O'Had as the head coach. On July 28, 2022, the Mavericks announced a new affiliation with the
Seattle Kraken and Seattle's AHL affiliate, the
Coachella Valley Firebirds. On May 27, 2024, the Mavericks won the western conference and advanced to the
2024 Kelly Cup finals for the first time in club history. ==Season-by-season records==