As of the 2001-2002 season, the Cleveland Barons are back again, this time as an AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. At the close of the 2000-01 season, San Jose purchased the rights to their Lexington, Kentucky-based affiliates, the Lexington Thoroughblades, citing the franchise's financial problems and declining attendance. Prior to being moved, the Thoroughblades were one of the top teams in the AHL, winning back-to-back division championships in 2000 and 2001. Unfortunately, disputes with Lexington's Rupp Arena and declining attendance (due to rising ticket prices and a period of poor performance from the team) led the Sharks to relocate the franchise to Cleveland. The new Barons' logo—a shark in top hat, jacket, and monacle wielding a hockey stick—is a reminder of the Barons' current NHL affiliate, but bears little resemblance to the Barons' logo of the 1970s (a large red C bearing the words 'Cleveland Barons' surrounding a red, vaguely shield shaped image of the state of Ohio with a script 'B' in its center). San Jose is known for having a strong minor league system, producing fine goalies like Evgeni Nabokov, Miikka Kipprusoff, and Vesa Toskala, and players like Jonathan Cheechoo and Jeff Jillson, many of whom played in the Barons/Thoroughblades system.
Team Info:
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Established: June, 2001
Arena: Gund Arena
League: AHL
Conference: Western
Division: Central