Four of the CHL's initial franchises were, in fact, relocations of the previous year's EPHL teams, while the fifth came from the International Hockey League.

Ray Miron was hired as president in August 1976, but resigned less than three weeks later to accept the job as general manager of the Colorado Rockies.

For the 1974–75 season, the CHL absorbed three teams, the Denver Spurs, Salt Lake Golden Eagles, and Seattle Totems, from the folding Western Hockey League.

Denver and Seattle were admitted to the CHL as a steppingstone for their eventual admission to the NHL in 1976; however, the league never followed through on the expansion, and both teams folded after 1975.

For 1979–80, the CHL added the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls, the two teams from the World Hockey Association that were not admitted to the NHL that year.