| 2020–21 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | February 5 – May 20, 2021 |
| Regular season | |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy | Hershey Bears |
| SeasonMVP | T. J. Tynan (Colorado) |
| Top scorer | Andrew Poturalski (San Diego) |
| AHL seasons | |
The2020–21 AHL season was the85thseason of theAmerican Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in theCOVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021,[1] and the league's playoff tournament championshipCalder Cup was not awarded for the second consecutive season. The AHL's regular-seasonMacgregor Kilpatrick Trophy would become the league's primary trophy, which was theHershey Bears's eighth regular-season championship. This was the first season underScott Howson as the league's president afterDavid Andrews announced his retirement after 26 years in the position.
After theprevious season was curtailed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, there was no certainty for the AHL's 2020–21 season due to continuing limitations on arena capacities and traveling during the pandemic.[2] The league had originally hoped to start play by December 4, 2020,[3] but was later pushed back to at least February 5, 2021.[1] Similar to theNational Hockey League, the league was reportedly exploring the option of playing with an all-Canada division due to increased border travel restrictions between the United States and Canada.[4]
On January 4, 2021, the league announced its plans and divisional alignment for the shortened season. The four Canadian teams were placed in their own division with a season start date still pending provincial approval.[5] Three teams opted out of the season entirely: theCharlotte Checkers,Milwaukee Admirals, and theSpringfield Thunderbirds. Seven teams temporarily relocated to be closer to their parent teams or due to venue availability during the pandemic: theBelleville Senators toOttawa;[6] theBinghamton Devils toNewark, New Jersey; theLaval Rocket toMontreal;[7] theOntario Reign toEl Segundo, California; theProvidence Bruins toMarlborough, Massachusetts; theSan Diego Gulls toIrvine, California; and theStockton Heat toCalgary.[8] TheSan Jose Barracuda also opened their season with home games inTucson before returning to San Jose.
The schedule for the American divisions was released on January 22; however, the Canadian teams had not yet received provincial clearance.[9] Stockton then moved from the Pacific to the Canadian Division on January 28 causing scheduling changes to the Pacific Division.[10] On February 1, the league announced a revised schedule and that the start of the season for the Canadian Division had been postponed.[11] The beginning of the Canadian schedule was released on February 9 with a February 12 start date, but the two Ontario teams still did not have approval to play at home.[12]
The league allowed each division the choice to hold a divisional postseason. On April 29, it was announced that only the Pacific Division had elected to hold a postseason tournament to name a division champion, with the other four divisions awarding their champions via regular season records. Consequently, the league would not award theCalder Cup for a second consecutive season.[13]
Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, three teams chose to not participate in the season.
| AHL team | New affiliate | Previous affiliate |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Checkers[a] | Florida Panthers | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Chicago Wolves | Carolina Hurricanes | Vegas Golden Knights |
| Henderson Silver Knights[b] | Vegas Golden Knights | St. Louis Blues |
| Springfield Thunderbirds[a] | St. Louis Blues | Florida Panthers |
| AHL team | Primary affiliate | New secondary affiliate[c] |
| Chicago Wolves | Carolina Hurricanes | Nashville Predators[14] |
| Syracuse Crunch | Tampa Bay Lightning | Florida Panthers[15] |
| Utica Comets | Vancouver Canucks | St. Louis Blues[16] |
| Off–season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 2019–20 coach | 2020–21 coach | Notes |
| Charlotte Checkers | Ryan Warsofsky | Geordie Kinnear | Warsofsky left the Checkers for theChicago Wolves when theCarolina Hurricanes switched affiliations. Warsofsky had coached the Checkers for one season and 34–22–5–0 record after coming from theECHL'sSouth Carolina Stingrays.[17] After the Checkers affiliated with theFlorida Panthers, Kinnear was named the new head coach on September 28, 2020, after serving in the same position with the Panthers' previous affiliate, theSpringfield Thunderbirds. Kinnear had previously served as an assistant coach in Charlotte from 2010 to 2016.[18] |
| Chicago Wolves | Rocky Thompson | Ryan Warsofsky | Thompson left the Wolves on July 18, 2020, after three seasons and a 113–71–18–11 record to join theSan Jose Sharks coaching staff.[19] Warsofsky was brought to the Wolves by their new NHL affiliate, theCarolina Hurricanes in September 2020. |
| Henderson Silver Knights | Drew Bannister | Emanuel Viveiros | Bannister stayed with the Blues' organization when the Rampage franchise was relocated by the Vegas Golden Knights to Henderson. Viveiros was named the Silver Knights' first head coach on August 31, 2020, after serving as the head coach of theSpokane Chiefs in theWestern Hockey League with a 41–18–4–1 record.[20] |
| Ontario Reign | Mike Stothers | John Wroblewski | On May 30, 2020, theLos Angeles Kings announced that they would not renew Stothers' contract as head coach of the Reign.[21] Wroblewski was hired on August 17, 2020.[22] |
| Rochester Americans | Chris Taylor | Seth Appert | On June 16, 2020, theBuffalo Sabres fired the entire Americans' coaching staff including Taylor.[23] Appert was hired on August 14, 2020.[24] |
| San Jose Barracuda | Jimmy Bonneau Michael Chiasson | Roy Sommer | Sommer was called up as an associate coach for theSan Jose Sharks during the previous season after serving as the head coach of the Sharks' AHL affiliate since first being named to the position with theKentucky Thoroughblades on May 28, 1998. Assistant coaches Bonneau and Chiasson were named as co-coaches of the Barracuda until the end of the season[25] when Sommer was sent back to the Barracuda.[26] |
| Springfield Thunderbirds | Geordie Kinnear | Drew Bannister | Kinnear left the Thunderbirds after their affiliate, theFlorida Panthers, changed their affiliation to theCharlotte Checkers. Kinnear had led the Thunderbirds since 2016 and a 128–126–26–9 record. Bannister was brought on as the new head coach from theSan Antonio Rampage, the formerSt. Louis Blues' affiliate that was sold and relocated as theHenderson Silver Knights. |
| Tucson Roadrunners | Jay Varady | Steve Potvin | Prior to the postponed start of the season, Roadrunners' head coachJay Varady was brought up to theArizona Coyotes' staff as an assistant coach[27] and Roadrunners' assistant coach Steve Potvin was promoted as the head coach.[28] |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | Mike Vellucci | J. D. Forrest | On September 2, 2020, Vellucci was promoted to an assistant coach position with thePittsburgh Penguins.[29] On September 11, Forrest was named head coach after serving as an assistant coach for the WBS Penguins since August 2016.[30] |
y– indicates team clinched regular season division title
Final standings as of May 20, 2021[31]
| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Providence Bruins (BOS) | 25 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 32 | .680 | 78 | 60 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .604 | 82 | 74 |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 24 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 18 | .375 | 59 | 81 |
| Canadian Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Laval Rocket (MTL) | 36 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 50 | .694 | 113 | 87 |
| Manitoba Moose (WPG) | 36 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 41 | .569 | 109 | 102 |
| Belleville Senators (OTT) | 35 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 37 | .529 | 102 | 111 |
| Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 35 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 34 | .486 | 111 | 119 |
| Stockton Heat (CGY) | 30 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 24 | .400 | 79 | 95 |
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Hershey Bears (WSH) | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 50 | .758 | 110 | 77 |
| Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI) | 32 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 43[a] | .672 | 96 | 92 |
| Syracuse Crunch (FLA/TBL) | 32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 41 | .641 | 120 | 93 |
| Utica Comets (STL/VAN) | 28 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 33 | .589 | 89 | 88 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 32 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 32 | .500 | 92 | 107 |
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 29 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 25 | .431 | 89 | 116 |
| Binghamton Devils (NJD) | 35 | 7 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 22[a] | .314 | 89 | 127 |
| Central Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Chicago Wolves (CAR/NSH) | 33 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 45 | .682 | 132 | 94 |
| Cleveland Monsters (CBJ) | 29 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 35 | .603 | 101 | 86 |
| Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 32 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 36 | .563 | 96 | 97 |
| Iowa Wild (MIN) | 34 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 38 | .559 | 107 | 113 |
| Texas Stars (DAL) | 38 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 37 | .487 | 117 | 124 |
| Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | 32 | 12 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 25 | .391 | 89 | 115 |
| Pacific Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y–Henderson Silver Knights (VGK) | 39 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 51 | .654 | 125 | 102 |
| Bakersfield Condors (EDM) | 39 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 49 | .628 | 129 | 104 |
| San Diego Gulls (ANA) | 44 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 53 | .602 | 153 | 142 |
| San Jose Barracuda (SJS) | 36 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 36 | .500 | 105 | 127 |
| Colorado Eagles (COL) | 34 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 34 | .500 | 101 | 104 |
| Ontario Reign (LAK) | 40 | 17 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 38 | .475 | 136 | 149 |
| Tucson Roadrunners (ARI) | 36 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 29 | .403 | 103 | 126 |
The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Final as of May 20, 2021.[33]
GP = Games played; G =Goals; A =Assists; Pts =Points; +/– = PPlus–minus; PIM =Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Poturalski | San Diego Gulls | 44 | 9 | 34 | 43 | 10 |
| Cooper Marody | Bakersfield Condors | 39 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 18 |
| Danny O'Regan | Henderson Silver Knights | 37 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 4 |
| Riley Damiani | Texas Stars | 36 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 18 |
| Tyler Benson | Bakersfield Condors | 36 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 30 |
| Chase De Leo | San Diego Gulls | 37 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 18 |
| T. J. Tynan | Colorado Eagles | 27 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 12 |
| Riley Barber | Grand Rapids Griffins | 32 | 20 | 14 | 34 | 22 |
| Adam Mascherin | Texas Stars | 37 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 14 |
| Boris Katchouk | Syracuse Crunch | 29 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 18 |
The following goaltenders with a minimum 660 minutes played lead the league ingoals against average. Final as of May 20, 2021.[34]
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO =Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% =Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT =Overtime/shootout loss
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | SA | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | W | L | OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zachary Fucale | Hershey Bears | 11 | 665:36 | 294 | 20 | 1 | 1.80 | .932 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Logan Thompson | Henderson Silver Knights | 23 | 1349:37 | 768 | 44 | 2 | 1.96 | .943 | 16 | 6 | 1 |
| Cayden Primeau | Laval Rocket | 16 | 914:03 | 350 | 32 | 2 | 2.10 | .909 | 11 | 4 | 0 |
| Alex D'Orio | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 11 | 661:06 | 281 | 24 | 0 | 2.18 | .915 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Zane McIntyre | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | 19 | 1079:45 | 505 | 42 | 1 | 2.33 | .917 | 11 | 3 | 3 |
For the second consecutive season, there was noCalder Cup playoffs. The teams in the Pacific Division held a postseason tournament to name a division champion.[13] All seven Pacific teams participated, with the bottom four teams participating in a single-elimination play-in series to face the top seed in the division semifinal. The semifinals and finals were both best-of-three series.[35]
Final results:[36]
| Play-in games (May 18) | Play-in final game (May 19) | Semifinals (best-of-3) | Finals (best-of-3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Henderson Silver Knights | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Jose Barracuda | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Jose Barracuda | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Tucson Roadrunners | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Jose Barracuda | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Colorado Eagles | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Colorado Eagles | 5(OT) | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Ontario Reign | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Henderson Silver Knights | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Bakersfield Condors | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Bakersfield Condors | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Diego Gulls | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| May 18 | San Jose Barracuda | 2 – 1 | Tucson Roadrunners | Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 11:24 -Evan Weinger (1) | Second period | Jan Jenik (1) - 3:01 | ||||||
| 9:18 -Jake McGrew (1) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Josef Korenar (19 saves / 20 shots) | Goalie stats | Ivan Prosvetov (18 saves / 20 shots) | ||||||
| May 18 | Colorado Eagles | 5 – 4 | OT | Ontario Reign | Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena | |||
| 1:38 -Keaton Middleton (1) | First period | Akil Thomas (1) - 3:22 Lias Andersson (1) -pp - 7:58 | ||||||
| 14:36 -T.J. Tynan (1) 18:57 -pp -Riley Woods (1) | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 11:13 -sh - Keaton Middleton (2) | Third period | Mikey Eyssimont (1) -sh - 3:16 Martin Frk (1) -pp - 5:05 | ||||||
| 9:00 -Justin Barron (1) | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Adam Werner (27 saves / 31 shots) | Goalie stats | Matt Villalta (24 saves / 29 shots) | ||||||
| May 19 | San Jose Barracuda | 5 – 1 | Colorado Eagles | Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena | ||||
| 14:10 -Maxim Letunov (1) | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 9:25 -Zach Gallant (1) 12:36 -Krystof Hrabik (1) | Second period | Sampo Ranta (1) -pp - 17:47 | ||||||
| 17:20 -en -Nicolas Meloche (1) 18:58 -en - Krystof Hrabik (2) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Josef Korenar (32 saves / 33 shots) | Goalie stats | Justus Annunen (30 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| May 21 | Henderson Silver Knights | 4 – 1 | San Jose Barracuda | Orleans Arena | ||||
| 8:20 -Jack Dugan (1) | First period | Jayden Halbgewachs (1) - 15:02 | ||||||
| 10:19 -Pavel Dorofeyev (1) | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 18:32 -en - Jack Dugan (2) 19:39 -en - Jack Dugan (3) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Logan Thompson (22 saves / 23 shots) | Goalie stats | Josef Korenar (30 saves / 32 shots) | ||||||
| May 22 | San Jose Barracuda | 2 – 4 | Henderson Silver Knights | Orleans Arena | ||||
| Jake McGrew (2) - 0:40 | First period | 12:26 -sh -Gage Quinney (1) | ||||||
| Maxim Letunov (2) -pp - 6:24 | Second period | 1:59 -Tomas Jurco (1) 4:47 -sh -Danny O'Regan (1) 9:06 -pp - Danny O’Regan (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Josef Korenar (24 saves / 28 shots) | Goalie stats | Logan Thompson (30 saves / 32 shots) | ||||||
| Henderson won series 2–0 | |
| May 21 | Bakersfield Condors | 3 – 5 | San Diego Gulls | Mechanics Bank Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Sam Carrick (1) -pp - 15:24 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Sam Carrick (2) -pp - 3:10 Vinni Lettieri (1) -pp - 18:43 | ||||||
| 9:34 -pp -Brad Malone (1) 10:26 -pp -Seth Griffith (1) 17:29 -Tyler Benson (1) | Third period | Andrew Agozzino (1) - 14:58 Trevor Zegras (1) -en - 19:56 | ||||||
| Stuart Skinner (26 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Lukas Dostal (39 saves / 42 shots) | ||||||
| May 23 | San Diego Gulls | 2 – 3 | OT | Bakersfield Condors | Mechanics Bank Arena | |||
| Benoit-Olivier Groulx (1) - 8:21 | First period | 11:39 -Cooper Marody (1) 15:07 -Trevor Carrick (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 12:40 -Luke Esposito (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 0:49 -Seth Griffith (2) | ||||||
| Lukas Dostal (34 saves / 37 shots) | Goalie stats | Stuart Skinner (31 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| May 22 | Bakersfield Condors | 2 – 1 | OT | San Diego Gulls | Mechanics Bank Arena | |||
| No scoring | First period | 7:42 -Andrew Agozzino (2) | ||||||
| Adam Cracknell (1) - 12:18 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Brad Malone (2) - 7:36 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Stuart Skinner (20 saves / 21 shots) | Goalie stats | Lukas Dostal (43 saves / 45 shots) | ||||||
| Bakersfield won series 2–1 | |
| May 26 | Henderson Silver Knights | 2 – 3 | OT | Bakersfield Condors | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| No scoring | First period | Adam Cracknell (2) - 9:23 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 6:54 -Ben Jones (1) 13:12 -Pavel Dorofeyev (2) | Third period | Seth Griffith (3) - 8:17 | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | Adam Cracknell (3) - 11:21 | ||||||
| Logan Thompson (35 saves / 38 shots) | Goalie stats | Stuart Skinner (25 saves / 27 shots) | ||||||
| May 27 | Bakersfield Condors | 3 – 6 | Henderson Silver Knights | T-Mobile Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | 7:50 -Dylan Sikura (1) 10:19 -Jonas Rondbjerg (1) 15:57 - Dylan Sikura (2) 19:24 -sh - Jonas Rondbjerg (2) | ||||||
| Raphael Lavoie (1) - 12:45 | Second period | 14:56 -Maxim Marushev (1) 15:36 -Ostap Safin (1) | ||||||
| Tyler Benson (2) -pp - 17:43 | Third period | 19:08 -pp -en -Danny O'Regan (3) | ||||||
| Stuart Skinner (11 saves / 15 shots) Olivier Rodrigue (13 saves / 14 shots) | Goalie stats | Logan Thompson (21 saves / 24 shots) | ||||||
| May 29 | Henderson Silver Knights | 2 – 3 | Bakersfield Condors | T-Mobile Arena | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Dylan Sikura (3) - 3:37 | Second period | 12:31 -Jakob Stukel (1) 15:09 -Phil Kemp (1) | ||||||
| Kaedan Korczak (1) - 5:40 | Third period | 8:51 -Tyler Benson (3) | ||||||
| Logan Thompson (29 saves / 32 shots) | Goalie stats | Stuart Skinner (33 saves / 35 shots) | ||||||
| Bakersfield won series 2–1 | |
Instead of the traditional first and second all-star teams, the league named an all-star team for each division in addition to the annual all-rookie team.[50][51]
| Preceded by | AHL seasons | Succeeded by |