OPINION: A Proposed AHL Divisional Alignment

On February 7, AHL Commissioner Scott Howson made a declaration about the growing Pacific Division. The Coachella Valley Firebirds would be entering the league in 2022-23, bloating the division to 10 teams (as opposed to seven or eight like the other three divisions).

“The [current Pacific Division teams are] pretty entrenched. They all want to stay there together, so I don’t see in the immediate future any divisional realignment. I think we’ll be very similar to what we are right now with the addition of Coachella Valley to the Pacific.”

Howson was also asked about every team staying in its current market come the 2022-23 season.

“I expect adding Coachella Valley, we’re going to have 32 teams, and they’re all going to be in the same location. That’s my expectation as we speak today.”

Welp, 15 weeks later, those expectations have certainly changed.

On Monday, May 23, the AHL officially announced the relocation of the Stockton Heat to Calgary, Alberta, Canada beginning with the 2022-23 campaign. The release stated:

Details relating to the transfer are in progress and the AHL and the Flames will provide more information when finalized. Division alignment for the 2022-23 AHL season, which will begin October 14, will also be finalized at a later date.

But why wait until a later date to start shifting things around? A 10-team Pacific was already bursting at the seams with nine teams in 2021-22. Now, moving Calgary’s AHL affiliate to Alberta pushes the need to realign to critical mass. By the power vested in me by the website of Full Press Hockey, I now pronounce a new AHL divisional alignment!

ATLANTIC DIVISION

We’re going to go east to west, because that’s how we preview things on The Calder Farmstead: An AHL Podcast. And with over 100 episodes under our collective belt, old habits die hard.

So, per the norm on TCF, we’ll begin with the Atlantic Division. There won’t be much change here; we’re keeping Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Providence, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton all in the Atlantic. So instead of the eight teams from 2021-22, we shrink down to seven.

Where did the eighth team – Springfield – go? Well, the only place it could go…

NORTH DIVISION

Yep, Springfield jumps back to the North Division. Back, you say? Yes, back. The Springfield Falcons and Indians spent a combined 18 seasons in the North Division. The division they return to looks nothing like the one it left after 2001-02, but I digress.

We’re only two divisions in and it’s time for some bigger changes. We’ve already established that Springfield has relocated to the North. Cleveland and all three New York teams – Rochester, Syracuse, and Utica – will stand pat. The second external addition (and sixth total team) to grace the division will be Grand Rapids. Another team alongside Springfield that has a slight return, the Griffins played in the AHL’s North Division from 2005-2012.

So, that’s it for the North. Six teams – four returning with two newcomers. This also means that the Griffins jump over to the Eastern Conference. This gives seven teams to the Atlantic and six teams to the North for 13 teams total in the east.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Now, over to the Western Conference and the Central Division. Grand Rapids has departed from the Central in our theoretical exercise of divisional realignment. Chicago, Iowa, Milwaukee, Rockford, and Texas are the five remaining teams from the Central Division that will stay put for the 2022-23 what-if campaign. Divisional rivalries remain intact between the Illinois teams (Chicago vs. Rockford) and the old Dallas AHL affiliate market vs. the current one (Iowa vs. Texas). 

Who joins the fray as the Central’s sixth team? None other than the Rocky Mountain squad itself, the Colorado Eagles. The Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate has the benefit of a centralized location (pun sort of intended). Denver International Airport can fly the Eagles out (pun very much intended) to either California to take on the Pacific teams, or to the Central where they will now call home.

PACIFIC DIVISION

Speaking of the Best Coast, we wrap up the existing AHL divisions with the Pacific. The remaining California teams – Bakersfield, Ontario, San Diego, and San Jose – stay put, of course. Same with the Nevada and Arizona teams, Henderson and Tucson.

Oh, and let’s not forget the aforementioned newcomer to the AHL. The 32nd franchise to grace the American Hockey League, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, begin the season playing out of Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA while its new digs are finished up in Palm Desert, CA.

So, there we are! Six teams make up the Central Division, and seven teams populate the Pacific Division. 13 teams in the Western Conference, and 13 teams in the Eastern Conference…with six teams left over.

Oh yes, you know what’s coming next…

CANADIAN DIVISION

It’s time to revisit the idea of an all-Canadian Division in the AHL.

Having 10 teams in the Pacific Division in 2022-23 is asinine. With Stockton’s move to Calgary next season, we should essentially throw it back to 2021’s divisional alignment – Belleville, Laval, Manitoba, Toronto, and the Stockton Heat of Calgary. Now, with a team in Abbotsford, we have six teams north of the border and a greater semblance of competitiveness.

Aside from the pandemic season last year, there have been only four other AHL campaigns (all within a seven-year span) that boasted a Canadian Division by name: 1996-97, 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03. However, starting in 1991-92, the Atlantic served as an all-Canadian division before, during, and after the proper “Canadian Division” designation (minus a few seasons that included the Portland Pirates).

The only remaining team from those days? The Manitoba Moose. The Moose joined the Canadian Division for the 2001-02 AHL season after essentially jumping from the folding International Hockey League (IHL). Welcome back to your rightful home, Manitoba (where every night is Meese night).

Okay, let’s review (yes, we have an odd number of divisions, but we’ll figure it out).

• ATLANTIC (7): Bridgeport, Charlotte, Hartford, Hershey, Lehigh Valley, Providence, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
• NORTH (6): Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Rochester, Springfield, Syracuse, Utica
• CENTRAL (6): Colorado, Chicago, Iowa, Milwaukee, Rockford, Texas
• PACIFIC (7): Bakersfield, Coachella Valley, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose, Tucson
• CANADIAN (6): Abbotsford, Belleville, Calgary, Laval, Manitoba, Toronto

And, for those who like maps:

PLAYOFFS?! WE’RE TALKING…PLAYOFFS?!

Okay, five divisions does not an equal break make when it comes to an even postseason format. The four-division format is clean and clear-cut, but breaking off a fifth for a Canadian subset complicates things. So, we’re going to have to get a little creative here to divvy up 16 playoff positions between the 32 AHL franchises.

Or 20 playoff positions. Simply because we can.

Four teams will make the postseason from each division, a la pre-pandemic AHL playoff structure. The teams will play best-of-three series in the divisional semifinals and a best-of-five series in the divisional finals. Five division champions will be crowned from the Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific, and Canadian.

Each of the five divisional champs will be reseeded by regular season records. For example, if each of the top teams this season won their respective divisions under this proposed format, Chicago (Central) would claim the number one seed, the Stockton Heat of Calgary (Canadian) would be second, Ontario (Pacific) would hold third, Utica (North) would be fourth, and Charlotte (Atlantic) would round out the group as the five seed.

A best-of-five series between the fourth and the fifth seed would have the winner facing off against the one seed in the best-of-seven Calder Cup Semifinals. The second and third seeds would make up the other side of the semis bracket. Then, after the winners of each semifinal emerge, the 2023 Calder Cup Champion would be crowned in the best-of-seven finals.

CONCLUSION

The new Canadian Division in this hypothetical exercise would bring the AHL division total to five, and would shift the 32 teams out of whack in regards to a clean playoff format. Hell, even the match-ups north of the border aren’t that conducive for travel. Abbotsford did split home-and-home games with Manitoba, Toronto, and Laval last season, but it still is a long way away from the eastern Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

But, the kicker here is that divisional match-ups really don’t matter in the AHL. Even the far-flung Pacific Division teams travel out to (and host) the Central Division teams a handful of times each season. Having the Canadian squads face-off against their former divisional foes in the North, Central, and Pacific is par for the course. Plus, when the five Canadian teams do play each other, they could even throw in a competition for a trophy like the Alterna Cup in the National Lacrosse League

It may seem crazy to abolish the evenly cut Eastern and Western Conferences at 16 teams apiece. But, minor league hockey has been known for its creativity and whacky playoff formats. Why not revamp conference-based tradition and mix things up a bit? Even with an uneven split of five divisions, each subsection of the AHL comes in at either six (North, Central, & Canadian) or seven (Atlantic & Pacific) teams.

Commissioner Howson, I’m talking to you…make this realignment happen!