The Cross Country Evolution Of The Scouts: From Kansas City To New Jersey

[TMC]

From the struggling rinks of Missouri to the thin air of the Rockies, and finally to the championship ice of the Meadowlands, this is the definitive 3,000-mile evolution of an NHL franchise.

In this documentary, we trace the incredible journey of a team that started with zero hope. We explore the short-lived era of the Kansas City Scouts, the transition to the Colorado Rockies, and the eventual birth of a dynasty: the New Jersey Devils. Most fans know the three Stanley Cups, but few remember the winless streaks and financial collapses that almost ended the story before it truly began.

Time Stamps

• 0:00 Intro - Birth Of The Scouts
• 4:35 Pitstop In Denver
• 6:14 The Don Cherry Circus
• 7:45 Final Stop: New Jersey
• 9:07 Becoming A Powerhouse
• 10:30 Final Thoughts

The Story of the NHL’s Kansas City Scouts | Forgotten NHL Franchise History

In this video, we dive into one of the most overlooked and short-lived franchises in NHL history — the Kansas City Scouts. As part of the NHL’s ambitious 1974 expansion, the Scouts were introduced with high hopes but faced numerous challenges both on and off the ice. From poor attendance to financial instability and lackluster performance, this team’s short NHL existence is a fascinating chapter in the story of NHL expansion history. This video will explain how the Scouts entered the league, what went wrong, and how the franchise eventually relocated to become the Colorado Rockies, and later, the New Jersey Devils. Like and subscribe for more!

I know there isn’t much footage with the Scouts. To be completely honest, finding footage of the Kansas City Scouts is like seeing Halley’s Comet. For those of you who know me and want to know who the Kansas City Scouts are or why I want an NHL team in Kansas City, this is why. 2 seasons and a Japan tour into an almost 20-minute video. See you in the next video.

With just two years played and no winning streak I could find longer than two games, it wasn't much of a team handed to the Kansas City market.

Since the Barons did so well, here's the Scouts.

Their two-year NHL journey in the mid-1970s helped kill the franchise before it even got off the ground, as a lack of talent, mediocre coaching, and a tough schedule kicked them to the curb by 1975-76.

Though they do not really like to mention it, back before the Devils landed in New Jersey they resided in Denver, Colorado. But again, that was only after they moved there from their original home in Kansas City, Missouri, where in the mid '70s they debuted as the Scouts.

Before they were a multi-cup winning powerhouse in New Jersey, this NHL franchise survived a disastrous and short-lived beginning in the heart of the Midwest.

In this video, we explore the Kansas City Scouts. You will understand the real story behind this brief expansion franchise, based on factual events.

In this video you will discover:

• Why the team only lasted two seasons at Kemper Arena before being forced to relocate.
• The connection between the Scouts and their evolution into the Colorado Rockies and finally the New Jersey Devils.
• How the team struggled with low attendance and financial instability despite being named after a historic local landmark.

Though the Kansas City Scouts are often forgotten in NHL history, their DNA lives on in one of the most successful franchises on the East Coast today.

With the St. Louis Blues making their annual preseason stop at Sprint Center on Thursday, curiosity continues to revolve around Kansas City possibly being an NHL expansion market in the future.

The NHL expanded to two cities for the 1974-75 season: Kansas City and Washington. Washington, of course, has turned into one of the National Hockey League’s marquee teams having won the 2017-18 Stanley Cup Championship. Kansas City, however, is one of the least-known teams in the history of sports. The Scouts, a team that lasted just two years, were moved to Colorado and played six years as the Rockies before moving again to New Jersey where, as the Devils, they have won three Stanley Cup Championships.

But long before they were the Devils, the Scouts played in Kansas City – and they played to an empty house almost every night they took the ice at the Kemper Arena. The Scouts, as managing general partner Ed Thompson noted, were virtually doomed from the beginning. The NHL expansion draft was not set up like it is today, where a new team like the Vegas Golden Knights could be competitive right from the start, the Scouts had to play their first eight games on the road because their building wasn’t ready, ownership did not have deep pockets and tragedy struck very early.

There was some good, like two victories against the Boston Bruins, a win over the Montreal Canadiens, but the good was too few and too far between as Kansas City won just 15 games in its first year and 12 in its final year. The Scouts endured winless streaks of 16 games and 27 games … and there were too few stars, but the ones they did have were pretty good: Simon Nolet, Guy Charron (via trade), Wilf Paiemont, Dennis Herron (via trade), Gary Croteau … but there just wasn’t enough depth to help them sustain any sort of consistent attack. Troy Treasure who recently released the book, “Icing on the Plains – The Rough Ride of Kansas City’s NHL Scouts,” joins the podcast to discuss the Scouts and brings along some terrific and unreal stories about their two-year existence.

[TMC]

In this All Sports History video, we dive into the complete rise and fall of one of the NHL’s most forgotten franchises. The Scouts entered the league during the NHL’s massive expansion era of the 1970s, but after only two seasons in Missouri, the franchise was already on the verge of collapse.

We break down how rapid NHL expansion, competition from the WHA, weak attendance, financial instability, and growing player salaries created the perfect storm for failure. From their early struggles at Kemper Arena in Kansas City to their eventual relocation to Denver as the Colorado Rockies, the Scouts became a cautionary tale during one of the most chaotic periods in hockey history.

The story doesn’t end there either. We also explore how the franchise eventually became the New Jersey Devils, and how traces of the Scouts still survive today through retro jerseys, franchise history references, and artwork inside Prudential Center.

Along the way, we cover the NHL landscape of the 1970s and 1980s, including the influence of teams like the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, the pressure of the expanding hockey market, and how league decisions helped shape the modern NHL. We also discuss Hallmark Cards’ role in designing the Scouts logo, the team’s connection to Kansas and Missouri, and memorable moments against teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs.

If you enjoy videos about hockey history, NHL expansion history, classic ice hockey stories, forgotten franchises, relocations, and the evolution of the NHL, this is the video for you.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and let me know in the comments if Kansas City deserves another NHL team someday.