The larger teams formed the IHL, which was one step below the National Hockey League.
The smaller teams kept the CPHL name, and served as a farm system for the IHL for one season.
Three teams folded and two others merged after the 1935–36 season, leaving the IHL with only four teams—the minimum required for the league to be viable.
The Buffalo Bisons, a charter IHL member, suspended operations due to an arena collapse and subsequent financial problems after only 11 games, and the IAHL played as a seven-team unit for the rest of the season and all of the 1938–39 season.
The Eastern Amateur Hockey League's Hershey Bears were added as an expansion team, replacing the Bisons.