Ottawa Civics

The Ottawa Civics lasted for only two weeks in World Hockey Association (WHA. They started the 1975-76 season as the Denver Spurs, who were a bit of an oddity. The Spurs actually began four years earlier as members of the Western Hockey League. When that league folded in 1974, the Spurs joined the Central Hockey League. An opportunity for the Spurs' ownership group to acquire a franchise in the National Hockey League in 1975 fell through, so the Spurs instead joined the WHA for the 1975-76 season. In January of 1976, convinced the NHL was about to move the Kansas City Scouts to Denver (which eventually happened that fall), the Spurs moved to Ottawa, Ontario and became the Ottawa Civics. Players first learned about the move while standing on the ice in Cincinnati and hearing "O, Canada" being played. In Ottawa they played to two sell out crowds in the old Civic Centre. However, the new ownership group could not raise the funds to complete the purchase of the team and the league subsequently folded it.