The Oklahoma City Barons have announced the team will end operations at the end of the current American Hockey League season.
The team said in a statement Thursday that the decision was made after it was unable to complete an affiliation agreement with the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.
Bob Funk Jr., the chairman of Prodigal, which manages the Barons, praised the Edmonton organization — but said a better financial agreement the company can no longer justify investing in the hockey team.
The Oilers issued a statement praising the Barons and said the decision to move on from Oklahoma City wasn't easy, but will open new opportunities for the Oilers organization.
Earlier this week, Edmonton fired head coach Dallas Eakins and named Oklahoma City coach Todd Nelson as interim coach of the NHL team.
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