Coyotes enter into AHL agreement with Portland

The Phoenix Coyotes have a new American Hockey League affiliate, as they signed a multi-year agreement Monday with the Portland Pirates.

"We are very pleased to announce our new AHL affiliation with the Portland Pirates," Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney said. "Brian Petrovek and the Pirates are a well-run, first class organization with a great history of success and we are looking forward to a strong and long-lasting partnership."

Coyotes Assistant General Manager Brad Treliving will be named General Manager of the Pirates and will make all decisions related to hockey operations. The Coyotes will also provide the Pirates with the team's players as well as the coaching staff.

"We are very excited about our new partnership with Brian Petrovek and the Pirates," Treliving said. "We look forward to providing fans with a talented, hard-working and competitive team that will play an exciting brand of hockey."

Ray Edwards will be the seventh head coach in the history of the Pirates. Edwards served in the same capacity for the San Antonio Rampage over the past two seasons, compiling a record of 70-56-7-9. Edwards originally joined the organization prior to the 2007-08 campaign as an assistant coach for the Rampage.

The Portland Pirates franchise was founded in 1993, winning the AHL's Calder Cup in its inaugural season (1993-94). The team has compiled a 689-528-116-107 record over 18 seasons, while qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs in 14 out of 18 seasons.

"We are looking forward, with a great deal of excitement and optimism, to our new affiliation with the Phoenix Coyotes," Portland Pirates Managing owner/CEO Brian Petrovek said. "When Don Maloney, Brad Treliving and I began our discussions about a relationship months ago, it was clear to me from the start that our objectives and philosophies matched and that the Coyotes would deliver to our fans an entertaining, consistent and competitive team with players and coaches of strong character and work ethic in a winning environment. Furthermore, their genuine desire to be in Portland for the long term far exceeded any other team we considered, which I know our fans will appreciate from this day forward."

Portland has been affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres for the past three seasons. In 2010-11, the Pirates went 47-24-7-2 (103 points), securing an Atlantic Division title. The Pirates have produced the past three winners of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award given to the AHL's outstanding rookie (Nathan Gerbe in 2009, Tyler Ennis in 2010 and Luke Adam in 2011).

The Pirates compete in the Atlantic Division of the AHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, ME.