American Hockey League Will Not Conduct Playoffs This Season
For the second consecutive season there will be no American Hockey League (AHL) champion. League President and CEO Scott Howson made the announcement that due to ongoing travel and border restrictions between the US and Canada it would not be possible to hold a ‘traditional playoff’ or to award the league’s championship trophy, the Calder Cup.
The five AHL divisions have been playing independently this season similar to what has been done in the NHL. The league gave each division the opportunity to determine their own postseason formats. Four of the five divisions have opted against any postseason play. The Pacific Division, however, will compete in a playoff tournament later this year to determine the divisional winner. The format for the tournament will be announced at a later date.
Here’s the rundown of the four divisions from the AHL’s press release announcing the playoff situation:
In the Pacific Division, a postseason tournament will be held to determine the division championship. The format for the tournament will be announced at a later date. The tournament winner will be awarded the John D. Chick Trophy as champions of the Pacific Division; the Chick Trophy has been presented to an AHL division champion annually since 1961-62.
In the Atlantic Division, the team finishing in first place during the regular season (ranked by points percentage) will be awarded the Emile Francis Trophy as division champions; the Francis Trophy has been presented to an AHL division champion annually since 2001-02.
In the North Division, the team finishing in first place during the regular season (ranked by points percentage) will be awarded the F.G. (Teddy) Oke Trophy as division champions; the Oke Trophy is one of the oldest trophies in North American sports, first presented in 1927 to the London Panthers of the Canadian Professional Hockey League.
In the Canadian Division, the team finishing in first place during the regular season (ranked by points percentage) will be awarded the Frank S. Mathers Trophy as division champions; the Mathers Trophy has been presented to an AHL division or conference champion annually since 1995-96.
In the Central Division, the team finishing in first place during the regular season (ranked by points percentage) will be awarded the Sam Pollock Trophy as division champions; the Pollock Trophy has been presented to an AHL division champion annually since 1995-96.
Perhaps desiring to temper the bad news with some good news the AHL also released plans for next season, the league’s 86th campaign:
The AHL Board of Governors has also approved the calendar for the 2021-22 season.
The AHL’s 86th season, with 31 clubs expected to be active, will begin October 15, 2021 and conclude April 24, 2022.
Division alignments and schedule information will be announced during the offseason.
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
CEO Scott Howson also made this statement about the playoffs:
“While we are disappointed that we will not be able to award the Calder Cup this spring, we are grateful to have been able to provide a safe and competitive environment for more than 1,000 players to play AHL hockey and continue their development. We’re especially thankful for the work done by our athletic trainers, COVID-19 officers and other front-line workers to ensure the health and safety of all of our players and staff throughout the league.”
The AHL depends much more on gameday revenues from live ticket sales and concessions than their NHL counterparts. So far, however, there have not been any teams that have been unable to continue due to financial issues.