THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 1, 1995 TAG: 9506010564
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
The Greensboro Monarchs, archrivals of the Hampton Roads Admirals for the last six seasons, will announce next week that they have signed a working agreement with the NHL's Florida Panthers and are moving to the American Hockey League.
Six other East Coast Hockey League teams - Hampton Roads, Charlotte, Richmond, Roanoke, Raleigh and South Carolina - also considered a move to the AHL earlier this year before determining that the costs were too high. The AHL is charging Greensboro a $1 million entry fee.
The Monarchs announced in March that they were applying for an AHL franchise, and they were booted out of the ECHL on May 9. However, Greensboro officials acknowledged last week that they were worried they might not have anywhere to play because a deal with Florida hadn't been consummated. The AHL requires a working agreement for expansion franchises.
But the deal apparently was worked out recently, and officials have called a press conference for next Wednesday at the Greensboro Coliseum. AHL commissioner Dave Andrews is expected to attend.
Florida is expected to continue its working agreement with Cincinnati of the International Hockey League but will also provide Greensboro with several players.
It isn't known whether coach Jeff Brubaker will remain with the team. NHL teams generally name coaches for their affiliates, but Greensboro chief executive officer Ron Davis recently said, ``We'll try to convince them that he (Brubaker) should be our coach.'' by CNB