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Report: After losing farm team, Blues land new one for next season

Martin Brodeur Retirement Press Conference

ST. LOUIS, MO - JANUARY 29: Doug Armstrong general manager of the St. Louis Blues talks at Martin Brodeurs retirement press conference at Scottrade Center on January 29, 2015 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jeff Curry/Getty Images)

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After losing their minor league affiliate to Vegas and being forced into playing next season without one of their own, the Blues are back in the AHL business.

Per the Post-Dispatch, St. Louis is set to announce a five-year agreement with the San Antonio Rampage, the current American League affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

More:

The Blues’ alignment with San Antonio will end a two-year search for a new AHL affiliate after a relationship with the Chicago Wolves turned sour and efforts to place an expansion club in Kansas City or Indianapolis came up short.

The Blues will operate without an affiliate in 2017-18 because the addition of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights will give the NHL one more franchise than the AHL, and with the Knights collaborating with the Wolves, it will leave the Blues as the odd team out.

But that will change the following year when the AHL expands.

The Post-Dispatch then goes on to report that, following next season, the Avs are likely to align with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles, who would become the AHL’s 31st team for the ’18-19 campaign.

This development has to be a major relief for the Blues, as their current situation isn’t tenable. This season, they will “associate” with Vegas to have some farmhands play in Chicago, while loaning out others to various AHL teams.