BenchClearers Blog | Hockey Apparel Guides & Gear Reviews – Tagged "retro hockey"– Bench Clearers

Oct 09, 2026

From the Quebec Nordiques to the Colorado Avalanche: The Full Story

The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver, with a coach, a GM and two stars who had been Quebec Nordiques a year earlier. This is the full story of one franchise: a two-game coach, a pay phone in Austria, a 12-61-7 season, the Lindros trade, the 1995 sale and the night Patrick Roy walked out on Montreal.

Oct 02, 2026

AHL History: How the American Hockey League Became Hockey's Proving Ground

The NHL shows you the finished product. The AHL is where it gets forged. Look at any NHL roster this season and most of the names rode an AHL bus first. In 2024-25, 87% of all NHL players were AHL...

Sep 06, 2026

Hartford Whalers to Carolina Hurricanes: The Full History

The Hartford Whalers never truly went away! They simply transformed into the Carolina Hurricanes and have even celebrated two Stanley Cup victories along the way. How cool is that?

Sep 03, 2026

Did You Know the Pittsburgh Penguins Owned a Russian Hockey Team?

In 1993, the Pittsburgh Penguins bought a broke, empty Soviet hockey club and renamed it the Russian Penguins. This is the wildest road trip in hockey history.

Aug 26, 2026

Before the NHL, There Were the Metropolitans

Before the NHL existed, Seattle won the Stanley Cup. The true story is weirder than you think — a coach on stilts, a scorer sent to Alcatraz, and a Final that ended with no champion at all.