2019–20 AHL season
Sports season
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The 2019–20 AHL season was the 84th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began October 4, 2019, and was officially cancelled on May 11, 2020.[1][2] The 2020 Calder Cup playoffs, which was also cancelled, would have followed the conclusion of the regular season. The league suspended play on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and was not able to resume play.[3] The Milwaukee Admirals claimed the league's regular-season trophy, the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, their second regular-season championship.
| 2019–20 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 4, 2019 – March 12, 2020 |
| Regular season | |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy | Milwaukee Admirals (2nd overall) |
| Season MVP | Gerald Mayhew (Iowa) |
| Top scorer | Sam Anas (Iowa) |
This was the final season under David Andrews' 26-year tenure as the president of the league. He was succeeded by Scott Howson.
League changes
For the first time since 2012, there were no team changes in the offseason. The league also retained the same four division alignment of 31 teams, with teams in each division playing 76 games except for the seven-team Pacific Division with 68 games each.[1] The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the regular season champion was awarded based on points percentage.
Coaching changes
| Off–season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 2018–19 coach | 2019–20 coach | Notes |
| Charlotte Checkers | Mike Vellucci | Ryan Warsofsky | Vellucci left for the WBS Penguins head coaching position after leading the Checkers to the 2019 Calder Cup. Warsofsky was promoted from the assistant coaching position. |
| Cleveland Monsters | John Madden | Mike Eaves | Madden resigned after three seasons and one playoff appearance. He was replaced by Eaves, a longtime Wisconsin Badgers head coach, but most recently with Div. III St. Olaf College. |
| Hartford Wolf Pack | Keith McCambridge | Kris Knoblauch | McCambridge was fired after two seasons and never making the playoffs. Knoblauch was hired after serving as a Philadelphia Flyers assistant following several seasons as a head coach in major juniors. |
| Rochester Americans | Chris Taylor | Gord Dineen[a] | Taylor was called up to the Buffalo Sabres as an interim assistant coach when Don Granato had to take a medical leave of absence days before the season was to start. Dineen was named interim head coach of the Americans.[4] |
| San Diego Gulls | Dallas Eakins | Kevin Dineen | Eakins was promoted to head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. Dineen was hired on July 15, 2019, after serving as an assistant with the Chicago Blackhawks. Dineen had previously been the head coach of the Portland Pirates in the AHL and the Florida Panthers in the NHL. |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | Clark Donatelli | Mike Vellucci | The Penguins hired Vellucci after his successful stint with the Charlotte Checkers and Donatelli resigned. |
| In-season | |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach | Notes |
| Rochester Americans | Gord Dineen | Chris Taylor | Following Don Granato's return to his assistant coach position with the Buffalo Sabres, Taylor returned to his head coach position with the Americans. Dineen had a record of 11–3–1–2 as interim head coach of the Americans. |
| San Jose Barracuda | Roy Sommer | Jimmy Bonneau Michael Chiasson | The San Jose Sharks fired head coach Peter DeBoer on December 11, 2019, promoted assistant coach Bob Boughner to the position of head coach, and brought up Sommer as an associate coach for the Sharks. Sommer had been head coach of the Sharks' AHL affiliate since first being named to the position with the Kentucky Thoroughblades on May 28, 1998, and had a record of 772–743–122. Assistant coaches Bonneau and Chiasson were named as co-coaches of the Barracuda.[5] |
| Texas Stars | Derek Laxdal | Neil Graham | The Dallas Stars fired head coach Jim Montgomery on December 10, 2019 due to unprofessional conduct, which resulted in the promotion of assistant coach Rick Bowness to interim head coach. This move resulted in Laxdal being promoted to the assistant coach role that was vacated by Bowness. Laxdal had a record of 198–152–55 as head coach of the Texas Stars since being hired in 2014. Texas Stars assistant coach and former Idaho Steelheads head coach Neil Graham was named as Laxdal's replacement on December 10.[6] |
| Toronto Marlies | Sheldon Keefe | Greg Moore | On November 20, 2019, Keefe was promoted to the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs after Mike Babcock was fired. Moore was named the next head coach of the Marlies on December 1. |
- Interim
Final standings
Eastern Conference
Final standings as of March 11, 2020[7]
| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 62 | 38 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 82 | .661 | 197 | 154 |
| Hershey Bears (WSH) | 62 | 37 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 81 | .653 | 187 | 157 |
| Charlotte Checkers (CAR) | 61 | 34 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 73 | .598 | 202 | 172 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 62 | 31 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 73 | .589 | 171 | 173 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 63 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 66 | .524 | 164 | 193 |
| Springfield Thunderbirds (FLA) | 61 | 31 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 65 | .533 | 190 | 186 |
| Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI) | 62 | 24 | 28 | 3 | 7 | 58 | .468 | 161 | 186 |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 63 | 23 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 53 | .421 | 152 | 206 |
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belleville Senators (OTT) | 63 | 38 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 81 | .643 | 234 | 197 |
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 62 | 33 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 75 | .605 | 181 | 173 |
| Utica Comets (VAN) | 61 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 73 | .598 | 210 | 186 |
| Binghamton Devils (NJD) | 62 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 0 | 72 | .581 | 189 | 182 |
| Syracuse Crunch (TBL) | 62 | 30 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 69 | .556 | 202 | 210 |
| Laval Rocket (MTL) | 62 | 30 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 68 | .548 | 183 | 182 |
| Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 61 | 29 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 63 | .516 | 206 | 212 |
| Cleveland Monsters (CBJ) | 62 | 24 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 55 | .444 | 159 | 192 |
Western Conference
Final standings as of March 11, 2020[7]
| Central Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | 63 | 41 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 90 | .714 | 211 | 141 |
| Iowa Wild (MIN) | 63 | 37 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 82 | .651 | 194 | 171 |
| Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 63 | 29 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 65 | .516 | 177 | 193 |
| Chicago Wolves (VGK) | 61 | 27 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 62 | .508 | 155 | 175 |
| Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | 63 | 29 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 62 | .492 | 156 | 187 |
| Texas Stars (DAL) | 62 | 27 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 61 | .492 | 171 | 192 |
| San Antonio Rampage (STL) | 61 | 24 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 60 | .492 | 161 | 184 |
| Manitoba Moose (WPG) | 61 | 27 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 55 | .451 | 160 | 190 |
| Pacific Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pts% | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tucson Roadrunners (ARI) | 58 | 36 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 75 | .647 | 198 | 163 |
| Colorado Eagles (COL) | 56 | 34 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 72 | .643 | 188 | 162 |
| Stockton Heat (CGY) | 55 | 30 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 68 | .618 | 194 | 170 |
| San Diego Gulls (ANA) | 57 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 68 | .596 | 185 | 164 |
| Ontario Reign (LAK) | 57 | 29 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 64 | .561 | 166 | 198 |
| Bakersfield Condors (EDM) | 56 | 21 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 50 | .446 | 162 | 202 |
| San Jose Barracuda (SJS) | 55 | 21 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 49 | .445 | 179 | 192 |
Statistical leaders
Leading skaters
The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Final as of March 11, 2020.[8]
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Anas | Iowa Wild | 63 | 20 | 50 | 70 | 10 |
| Reid Boucher | Utica Comets | 53 | 34 | 33 | 67 | 45 |
| Gerald Mayhew | Iowa Wild | 49 | 39 | 22 | 61 | 68 |
| Josh Norris | Belleville Senators | 56 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 21 |
| Alex Barre-Boulet | Syracuse Crunch | 60 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 22 |
| Drake Batherson | Belleville Senators | 44 | 16 | 38 | 54 | 24 |
| Alex Formenton | Belleville Senators | 61 | 27 | 26 | 53 | 65 |
| Brayden Burke | Tucson Roadrunners | 51 | 21 | 31 | 52 | 34 |
| Chris Terry | Grand Rapids Griffins | 57 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 32 |
| Daniel Carr | Milwaukee Admirals | 47 | 23 | 27 | 50 | 20 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders with a minimum 1200 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Final as of March 11, 2020.[9]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Vladar | Providence Bruins | 25 | 1407:08 | 656 | 42 | 3 | 1.79 | .936 | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| Igor Shesterkin | Hartford Wolf Pack | 25 | 1454:37 | 698 | 46 | 3 | 1.90 | .934 | 17 | 4 | 3 |
| Connor Ingram | Milwaukee Admirals | 33 | 1905:41 | 913 | 61 | 2 | 1.92 | .933 | 21 | 5 | 5 |
| Kaapo Kahkonen | Iowa Wild | 34 | 2058:20 | 972 | 71 | 7 | 2.07 | .927 | 25 | 6 | 3 |
| Vitek Vanecek | Hershey Bears | 31 | 1832:11 | 827 | 69 | 2 | 2.26 | .917 | 19 | 10 | 1 |
Calder Cup playoffs
The 2020 Calder Cup playoffs was a planned playoff tournament following the conclusion of the regular season to determine the champions of the American Hockey League. On May 11, 2020, American Hockey League President and Chief Executive Officer David Andrews cancelled the remainder of the season and the Calder Cup playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] It is the first time in league history that the Calder Cup was not awarded.
AHL awards
All-Star teams
First All-Star Team[10]
- Kaapo Kahkonen (G) – Iowa
- Jake Bean (D) – Charlotte
- Brennan Menell (D) – Iowa
- Reid Boucher (F) – Utica
- Josh Norris (F) – Belleville
- Sam Anas (F) – Iowa
Second All-Star Team[10]
- Connor Ingram (G) – Milwaukee
- Jacob MacDonald (D) – Colorado
- Brogan Rafferty (D) – Utica
- Gerald Mayhew (F) – Iowa
- Alex Barre-Boulet (F) – Syracuse
- Drake Batherson (F) – Belleville
All-Rookie Team[11]
- Cayden Primeau (G) – Laval
- Joey Keane (D) – Hartford/Charlotte
- Brogan Rafferty (D) – Utica
- Alex Formenton (F) – Belleville
- Josh Norris (F) – Belleville
- Jack Studnicka (F) – Providence