Detroit Vipers

In their first five seasons, the Vipers were highly successful, achieving 100 points each year and making two appearances in the Turner Cup Finals, winning the championship in 1997.

[2] During said lockout, the Vipers took on the Ninety-Nines, an all-star team of locked-out National Hockey League players led by Wayne Gretzky.

[2][3] The team won the IHL's Central Division but were eliminated by the Kansas City Blades in five games in the first round of the playoffs.

[2][3][12] This off-season also saw the arrival of Russian phenom Sergei Samsonov and IHL All-Star Stan Drulia to the Vipers.

[24][25] During the off-season, Palace Sports & Entertainment purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning and made the Vipers their top minor league affiliate.

[26][27] As a result, Steve Ludzik was promoted as Lightning head coach in an effort by ownership to rebuild the struggling NHL club.

It also led to a swift, sudden and near-total collapse; the Vipers plummeted from having the second-best record a season prior to being dead last in the league.

[2][3][23][29] The Vipers' woes were nothing, however, compared to the worsening health of the IHL as the league was experiencing high travel costs, salary issues, and an inability to establish a sustainable relationship with the NHL.

[2][32] The impending demise of the IHL, combined with the plummeting attendance, led Palace Sports to find a new affiliate for the Lightning.