Talks between the ECHL and CHL, set to play with just seven teams after the St. Charles Chill folded and franchises in Denver and Arizona suspended operations, were rumored to be taking place last summer.

The East Coast Hockey League started 27 years ago with five teams, all on the eastern seaboard. The league became known simply as the ECHL in 2003 after expanding to both coasts and Alaska.

Tuesday's announcement brings the league to 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province.

“The ECHL is very pleased to welcome these new members to the league,” ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna said in a news release. “These additions strengthen our base in the center of the country and give the ECHL, for the first time, a true national presence. It expands our ability to act as a development league and more closely aligns our number of teams with both the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League.

“There will be logistical challenges in the short term, however, in the long term, it is certainly in the best interest of the ECHL, the new members and minor-league hockey in general,” McKenna added.

At the top of that list is getting a 72-game schedule assembled for a season set to begin in less than 10 days.