The only National Hockey League team to ever call Kansas City home did not last long.

In 1972, Kansas City was awarded an expansion franchise, competing against three other bid cities. The Scouts were formed alongside the Washington Capitals as the two NHL expansion franchises.

For two seasons, the Kansas City Scouts underwhelmed the Kemper Arena crowds from 1974 until 1976.

After losing the Stanley Cup Finals as coach of the Boston Bruins, Bep Guidolin was hired as the franchise’s first head coach. Fresh off winning a Stanley Cup with the Philadelphia Flyers, 32-year-old Simon Nolet moved to Kansas City and was named captain of the Scouts. Nolet was one of 35 Canadians on the 37-man roster.

With 15 wins in 80 games, the first season was tough for the Scouts. Only the eight-win Capitals were worse. Nolet had a team-leading 58 points from 26 goals and 32 assists.

The Scouts also struggled to keep up with the rest of the league in attendance. An attendance average of 7,356 was the second-worst in the league.

The second season didn’t start badly for the Scouts. They were in playoff contention after Christmas but won just one of their last 44 games.

KC ended the season with just 12 wins with Guy Charron leading the team with 71 points from 27 goals and 44 assists.

In two seasons, Kansas City won just 27 of 160 contests. With a struggling team and not nearly enough revenue for an ownership group that wasn’t extremely wealthy, the team was sold and moved to Colorado.

Nowadays, the KC Scouts franchise still exists in the form of the three-time Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.

Minor league hockey thrives in KC