“You gotta sleep before you have nightmares.” —Bep Guidolin Seasons: 1974-1976 League: National Hockey League Home: Kemper Arena Championships: None Team Colors: Yellow, Blue, Red, White

KANSAS CITY SCOUTS RECORD

SEASON	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	FINISH	COACH
1974-1975	15	54	11	41	5th / Smythe	Bep Guidolin
1975-1976	12	56	12	36	5th / Smythe	Guidolin, Sid Abel, Eddie Bush
OVERALL	27	110	23	77

The Scouts are the only NHL team to call KC home, having been awarded a franchise on June 8, 1972. Washington DC was the other city awarded a team. Both spent $6 million in expansion fees. Cities like Cincinnati, Miami, and Dallas were disappointed they weren’t included. Cincinnati went on to get a WHA team. Miami is now home to the Panthers, while Dallas is home to the Stars. The nickname “MO-Hawks” was chosen to reflect a Missouri-Kansas union, but that was rejected by the Chicago Blackhawks. The second choice was Scouts. This name was chosen in honor of the Scout statue in Penn Valley Park that overlooks downtown.
This NHL expansion led to the biggest change in the league since 1967-68. The league was split into four divisions named after NHL icons Lester Patrick, Conn Smythe, Jim Norris, and Jack Adams. The league expanded to 18 teams. The Scouts were owned by Edwin Thompson, a KC area resident involved in commercial real estate. There were also numerous investors involved. Two of the investors included Chiefs head coach Hank Stram and Gene Novor of Michael’s Clothier. The Scouts played their first game on October 9, 1974, losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. The team played the first 8 games on the road due to the American Royal. The first home game was a 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks. In the first season, they had the second to worst record. The team at the bottom was the Capitals. The Scouts could boast of beating the best. They managed to go into Boston Gardens and beat Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, and the rest of the Bruins 3-2.
The Scouts stayed in KC for two years. They never really created much excitement. Their greatest accomplishment as far as the records go was having the league’s penalty minutes leader Steve Durbano. He accumulated 370 minutes during the 1975-76 season, having come to KC from Pittsburgh (209 with Scouts). During the 1975-76 season there had been talk about making the playoffs, but that was stifled by a winless streak of 27 games. As the season dwindled away, the team was rumored to be moving. The 37 owner/investors went on a drive to sell 8,000 season tickets to keep the team, but failed. They sold 2,000. In the end, the ownership group was $900,000 in debt.
Due to poor teams, management, and attendance, the Scouts fled to Denver. They became the Colorado Rockies and played under that moniker until 1982. It was the first time since 1934-35 a franchise changed towns. The movement signaled a change in the league’s demographic and need for stronger ownership. Another NHL franchise moved that year, the California Seals moved to Cleveland and became the Barons. The Rockies didn’t have much luck in the Mile High City. The highlight was one playoff appearance in 1978 against the Flyers.
The franchise changed hands and moved East, becoming the New Jersey Devils. The Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000, and 2003.