The Maine Mariners and Boston Bruins agreed to a three-year extension on their affiliation agreement Monday morning.
But for Mariners owner/governor Dexter Paine, the hope is the continued partnership with the National Hockey League’s storied franchise goes far beyond the terms of the new deal, which extends through the 2027-28 season.
“We feel we’ve greatly improved our affiliation with the Bruins,” said Paine, who bought the Mariners from Comcast Spectacor in July 2024. “We really felt like everyone involved (in the agreement) was focused on producing a championship team in Portland. This extension was really a certification of all the work we’ve done in the last year. This was a really easy discussion. They were excited and we were excited to continue working together.”
Maine Mariners extend affiliation with Boston Bruins through 2024-25
“It has been a pleasure getting to know and collaborate with Dexter Paine over the past year-plus of his ownership tenure, and we are confident that his and the entire Mariner staff’s dedication to developing players and competing for championships fully align with our organizational model,” Boston Bruins assistant general manager Evan Gold said in a press release issued Monday morning. “The Bruins are excited to continue working with the Mariners to prepare our prospects for the next levels.”
The Mariners, who play in the ECHL, are the second-tier affiliate of the Bruins behind the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. Maine began its partnership with the Bruins on June 30, 2021. Prior to that, the Mariners were an affiliate of the New York Rangers.
The Mariners averaged 4,521 fans per game last season, which has continued a steady rise in attendance in recent seasons for the franchise, which played its first season in 2018. According to the website HockeyDB.com, Maine’s average attendance has risen from 2,998 in 2018-19 to 4,521 last season.
“I’ve been here since the beginning and the Bruins affiliation wasn’t available when we first started back in 2017,” said Mariners CEO/alternate governor Adam Goldberg. “Our first affiliation was with the Rangers and it was perfectly fine, it was a good working relationship. But you quickly find out that it’s Bruins country, and it was very evident that the Bruins affiliation would mean so much more to this fan base. (The partnership) has been amazing. It’s really greased the gears for this business performance that we’ve had over the last few years.”
The original Maine Mariners — who had two incarnations in the AHL, the first as an affiliate with the Philadelphia Flyers from 1977-87 — were an affiliate with the Bruins from 1987-92 before the team moved to Providence, Rhode Island.
“From a personal perspective, I think it was really important, I grew up a Bruins fan,” said Paine, of North Conway, New Hampshire, who is co-founder of the private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners.
The extension is part of a series of moves by the Mariners. In August, the team announced the hiring of Rick Kowalsky as the new head coach and general manager, replacing Terrance Wallin, who stepped down as head coach on July 14 to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Kowalsky, who most recently was head coach with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders, has experience in Maine, playing for the Portland Pirates from 1996-99.
Goldberg said the Bruins helped in the hiring of Kowalsky, who was previously a head coach for the ECHL’s Trenton Titans (later the Trenton Devils) for eight seasons and was named the ECHL Coach of the Year in 2009. He also served as an assistant coach with the NHL’s New Jersey Devils from 2018-21.
“I think they have even more buy-in with Maine now (after Kowalsky’s hiring),” Goldberg said. “I’m really excited about the prospects of not only working with (the Bruins) on the business side but also working on the trust of Boston sending their prospects down to Maine.”
The Mariners finished last season 33-35-4-0, missing the playoffs after three straight seasons. Maine’s regular season begins Oct. 18 at the Worcester Railers.
