Eagles at Barons preview: Cuda from the Cleve

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY SportsFrom 2001 to 2006, the San Jose Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate played in the city of Cleveland as the Cleveland Barons, playing out of then-Gund Arena (now the Quicken Loans Center). The Sharks owned the franchise, and the Gund family owned and operated the arena in an amicable arrangement.

The Barons moved to Cleveland in a time of much restructuring for the American Hockey League, which closed the 2000-2001 season with 20 teams and opened the 2001-2002 season with 27 teams. Six teams were admitted to the AHL from the folded International Hockey League, one AHL team suspended operations and two additional clubs were admitted as expansion teams. The move…