The American Hockey League hasn’t always been the easiest sell during it’s history and in this current financial climate, teams still have to work incredibly hard to bring patrons through the door.

Many franchises have been sold or relocated and without the help and co-operation of their NHL club, many an AHL affiliate has sunk without trace with the result being professional hockey often lost to the local community.

Binghamton, New York has hosted professional hockey (well AHL at least) since 1977 but in recent times the fans of the local team have had very little to cheer about.

The Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators affiliate) finished their tenure by failing to make the playoffs in the final three seasons and a 28-44-2-2 record in 2016/17 saw the team finished second from bottom in the standings.
Crowds understandably dwindled with an average of just 3,666 patrons per game during that campaign, contrasting three previous years where attendance was closer to 4,000 than 3,500 and higher before that.

Ottawa moved the Senators to Belleville (for locality) and were replaced by the Binghamton Devils as the New Jersey Devils moved their franchise from Albany, citing poor attendance (under 3,000) as a major part of the reasoning behind the relocation.

The ‘new team’ created a little hype for the 2017-18 season and crowds were back up to an average of 3,896.
Finishing 26th in the standings having posted just 25 wins (13 at home) not what the doctor ordered and attendance fell to 3,471 during the 2018-19 season as the Devils once again finished at the bottom of the standings having lost 41 of 76 games.

However much excellent promotion you’re able to deliver as an AHL club, the product on the ice will always be your greatest selling point and for a long time Binghamton has not enjoyed that ‘luxury.’

Having relocated the Devils from Albany to Binghamton, the New Jersey organisation has a responsibility to provide their fledgling American League affiliate with a better on-ice product.
Understandably that might not include your best prospects for a plethora of reasons but more effort, time and commitment must go into building the team with higher-end AHL veterans who can provide the backbone for your AHL club and in doing so help the fortunes of the team.

The dollar of the average Joe public (not the hardcore hockey fan) has never been more in demand and if crowds continue to dwindle in Binghamton then NJ may well be faced with the situation that saw them make the decision to relocate from Albany.

A recent Q&A by Binghamton Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald https://www.binghamtondevils.com/qa-with-binghamton-general-manager-tom-fitzgerald/ indicates that he believes many of the concerns I’ve highlighted have been addressed but time shall tell if he’s right – the proof is always in the pudding.

Binghamton hockey fans deserve better and I hope for the sake of the hockey community in that city that results take an up-turn and the crowds return.