The St. Louis Blues will continue to develop their future stars at the AHL level in the historic hockey market of Springfield, Mass. The AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and NHL’s Blues announced a seven-year extension of their affiliation agreement during a news conference Friday morning. The professional clubs will be linked through the 2030-31 as a result of the extension.

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Though Springfield has had professional hockey for decades, the Thunderbirds have been the local pro team since 2016, when the Portland Pirates were relocated. At that time, the T-Birds were affiliated with the Florida Panthers.

Since the 2020-21 season, Springfield has been the AHL affiliate of the Blues and have enjoyed early success. 

BREAKING NEWS: The Springfield Thunderbirds and @StLouisBlues have announced the extension of their affiliation through the end of the 2030-31 season!

🔗: https://t.co/lItIf5qf9g pic.twitter.com/RvM99F5vJm

— Springfield Thunderbirds (@ThunderbirdsAHL) October 4, 2024

Under the Blues affiliation, the Thunderbirds made a deep playoff run in 2021-22, winning the Eastern Conference title before falling to the Chicago Wolves in five games in the 2022 Calder Cup Finals. 

Several current St. Louis Blues spent time previously with the Springfield Thunderbirds including Joel Hofer, Nikita Alexandrov, Alexei Toropchenko and Jake Neighbours, just to name a few.

This season, Springfield is expected to house a number of the Blues’ best prospects at least to start the season, highlighted by 2023 top-10 pick Dalibor Dvorsky.

Springfield has been home to an AHL team since 1936 and its professional hockey history dates back even further.

“The city of Springfield has been a cornerstone of the American Hockey League for more than 80 years,” said AHL President and CEO Scott Howson in a statement. “Hockey in Springfield has experienced a renaissance since the arrival of the Thunderbirds. Stability with an NHL affiliate is very important for AHL clubs, and we’re pleased that Springfield’s partnership with the St. Louis Blues will continue to bring excitement and entertainment to the fans of Western Massachusetts.” 

In addition to extending the affiliation agreement with Springfield, the Blues also forged a new ECHL affiliation agreement with the defending three-time defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades earlier in the summer. That should allow for more fluid player movement between the AHL and ECHL, bolstering the Thunderbirds' roster when needed.

The Thunderbirds will open their season on home ice Oct. 12 when they play host to the Laval Rocket at 7:05 p.m. ET. You can catch that game, and every T-Birds game home and away, right here on FloHockey.

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