Portland Pirates

Portland Pirates
City	Portland, Maine
League	American Hockey League
Founded	1975 (In the NAHL)
Operated	1993–2016
Home arena	Cross Insurance Arena
Colors	Black, red, silver, white
Franchise history
1975–1982	Erie Blades
1982–1993	Baltimore Skipjacks
1993–2016	Portland Pirates
2016–present	Springfield Thunderbirds
Championships
Division titles	2: (2005–06, 2010–11)
Conference titles	1: (1995–96)
Calder Cups	1: (1993–94)

The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks from 1982 to 1993.

The Pirates were affiliated with the Washington Capitals (1993–2005), the Anaheim Ducks (2005–2008), the Buffalo Sabres (2008–2011), Arizona Coyotes (2011–2015), and the Florida Panthers (2015–2016). The organization hosted the AHL All-Star Classic in 2003 and 2010.

On May 4, 2016, the Pirates announced it had signed a letter of intent with an outside buyer to sell and relocate the franchise for the 2016–17 season.^[1] It was reported that the team would be relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts following the pending sale and relocation of the Springfield Falcons franchise to Tucson, Arizona.^[2] The transaction was approved by the AHL on May 23, 2016,^[3] and the franchise became the Springfield Thunderbirds.