AHL cancels rest of season, playoffs

The American Hockey League canceled the rest of its season Monday because of the coronavirus pandemic and shifted its focus toward next season.

While the Calder Cup will not be handed out for the first time since 1936, the 31-team AHL hopes to return next season. That remains uncertain; one possibility is that no fans would be allowed in arenas.

President and CEO David

Andrews announced the league “has determined that the resumption and completion of the 201920 season is not feasible in light of current conditions.” The AHL’s Board of Governors made that determination in a conference call Friday.

“It’s something that was essentially inevitable,” said Syracuse defenseman Cameron Gaunce, who is an AHL executive committee member for the Professional Hockey Players

Association. “I think they had been waiting for this point because they wanted to see if there had been any changes, and I think that was the responsible way to go about it. They didn’t want to make any kneejerk reactions either way.”

The 84th season for the NHL’s top minor league was suspended March 12 with 209 games remaining. That was the same day the NHL stopped play, though it still hopes to resume and could include many AHL players as part of expanded rosters.

“We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months,” Andrews said. PHPA executive director Larry Landon recently said he’s concerned about the ability of the AHL and ECHL — which canceled the rest of its season in March — returning if it’s not safe for fans.