The Cleveland Barons were a professional American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

. They played in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, at Gund Arena between 2001 and 2006.

History

The team was named in honor of the popular Barons team that played in the AHL and its forerunners from 1929 to 1973 and the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) team of the same name. The Barons name was revived in 2001 when the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

purchased their AHL affiliate, the

Kentucky Thoroughblades The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena. The Thoroughblades were ...

, and relocated them to Cleveland, where they would play at the arena which was owned and operated by Sharks owners

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

Gordon Gund Gordon Gund (born October 15, 1939) is an American businessman and professional sports owner. He is the CEO of Gund Investment Corporation. He is the former co-owner of the San Jose Sharks (National Hockey League) from 1992–2002, former princip ...

. The Gunds had also owned the NHL Barons, who played in the NHL in the late 1970s before being merged with the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

in 1978. The franchise relocated to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, for the 2006–07 season and became the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachu ...

. Dan Gilbert, owner of the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), purchased the inactive

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars ...

AHL franchise and moved it to Cleveland. Renamed the Lake Erie Monsters, the club resumed play in 2007 and then rebranded as the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

in 2016. The team logo, a

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

holding a hockey stick, was originally designed as an alternate logo for the San Jose Sharks before being modified with a top hat, a monocle, and formal wear for the Barons. This market was previously served by: *

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

Barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

(1929–1973) IHL/ IAHL/AHL *

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. T ...

(1972–1976) WHA *

Cleveland Barons (NHL) The Cleveland Barons was a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the tea ...

(1976–1978) *

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

(1992–2001) IHL This market is now the home to: * Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters (2007–present) Affiliates *

(2001-2006)

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Playoffs

Team records

Single Season

:Goals: 35 Mike Craig (2001–02), Miroslav Zalesak (2003–04) :Assists: 48 Jeff Nelson (2002–03) :Points: 75 Miroslav Zalesak (2003–04) :Points, Defenseman: 46

Garrett Stafford Garrett Stafford (born January 28, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes. Playing career As a youth, Stafford ...

(2003-04) :Penalty Minutes: 335

Matt Carkner Matthew "Matt" Carkner (born November 3, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 58th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San J ...

(2001–02) :Wins: 19

Vesa Toskala Vesa Tapani Toskala (born May 20, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. After initially playing for his hometown team Ilves of the SM-liiga, Toskala played the majority of his professional career in the National Hockey Le ...

(2001–02) :GAA: 2.34

Nolan Schaefer Nolan Schaefer (born January 15, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently an unrestricted free agent who was last under contract to HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League A (NLA). Playing career Schaefer began a f ...

(2003–04) :SV%: .925

Seamus Kotyk Seamus Kotyk (born October 7, 1980) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional goaltender. Kotyk played professionally for the Cleveland Barons, Milwaukee Admirals and Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL). He also played ...

(2003–04), Nolan Schaefer (2003–04)

Career

:Career Goals: 84 Miroslav Zalesak :Career Assists: 117

Patrick Rissmiller Patrick Rissmiller (born October 26, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and the Florida Panthers. He joined the Anah ...

:Career Points: 181 Patrick Rissmiller :Career Penalty Minutes: 948 Matt Carkner :Career Goaltending Wins: 34 Vesa Toskala :Career Shutouts: 7 Nolan Schaefer :Career Games: 315 Matt Carkner

External links

The Internet Hockey Database - Cleveland Barons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland Barons (2001-2006) San Jose Sharks minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs established in 2001 Ice hockey teams in Ohio Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2006 2001 establishments in Ohio 2006 disestablishments in Ohio