2020–21 AHL season

The 2020–21 AHL season was the 85th season of the American Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021,^[1] and the league's playoff tournament championship Calder Cup was not awarded for the second consecutive season. The AHL's regular-season Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy would become the league's primary trophy, which was the Hershey Bears's eighth regular-season championship. This was the first season under Scott Howson as the league's president after David Andrews announced his retirement after 26 years in the position.

2020–21 AHL season
League	American Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	February 5 – May 20, 2021
Regular season
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy	Hershey Bears
Season MVP	T. J. Tynan (Colorado)
Top scorer	Andrew Poturalski (San Diego)

League changes

After the previous season was curtailed due to the COVID-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 the National 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: the Charlotte Checkers, Milwaukee Admirals, and the Springfield Thunderbirds. Seven teams temporarily relocated to be closer to their parent teams or due to venue availability during the pandemic: the Belleville Senators to Ottawa;^[6] the Binghamton Devils to Newark, New Jersey; the Laval Rocket to Montreal;^[7] the Ontario Reign to El Segundo, California; the Providence Bruins to Marlborough, Massachusetts; the San Diego Gulls to Irvine, California; and the Stockton Heat to Calgary.^[8] The San Jose Barracuda also opened their season with home games in Tucson 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 the Calder Cup for a second consecutive season.^[13]

Team and NHL affiliation changes

Relocations

• The San Antonio Rampage franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights and relocated to the Las Vegas area. The team became the Henderson Silver Knights playing out of Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, with plans to move into a new venue in nearby Henderson, Nevada, upon completion.

Hiatus

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three teams chose to not participate in the season.

• Charlotte Checkers
• Milwaukee Admirals
• Springfield Thunderbirds

Affiliation changes

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]

1. Primary affiliation prior to team opting out of the season.
2. Affiliation change as the San Antonio Rampage
3. Due to three teams opting out of the season, temporary dual NHL affiliations were permitted

Coaching changes

Off–season
Team	2019–20 coach	2020–21 coach	Notes
Charlotte Checkers	Ryan Warsofsky	Geordie Kinnear	Warsofsky left the Checkers for the Chicago Wolves when the Carolina Hurricanes switched affiliations. Warsofsky had coached the Checkers for one season and 34–22–5–0 record after coming from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays.[17] After the Checkers affiliated with the Florida Panthers, Kinnear was named the new head coach on September 28, 2020, after serving in the same position with the Panthers' previous affiliate, the Springfield 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 the San Jose Sharks coaching staff.[19] Warsofsky was brought to the Wolves by their new NHL affiliate, the Carolina 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 the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League with a 41–18–4–1 record.[20]
Ontario Reign	Mike Stothers	John Wroblewski	On May 30, 2020, the Los 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, the Buffalo 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 the San 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 the Kentucky 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, the Florida Panthers, changed their affiliation to the Charlotte 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 the San Antonio Rampage, the former St. Louis Blues' affiliate that was sold and relocated as the Henderson Silver Knights.
Tucson Roadrunners	Jay Varady	Steve Potvin	Prior to the postponed start of the season, Roadrunners' head coach Jay Varady was brought up to the Arizona 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 the Pittsburgh Penguins.[29] On September 11, Forrest was named head coach after serving as an assistant coach for the WBS Penguins since August 2016.[30]

Final standings

 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

1. The March 10 game between Lehigh Valley and Binghamton was suspended after one period with the teams tied 1–1 due a player testing positive for COVID-19. The game was declared a draw with each team earning one point.^[32]

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

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; +/– = P Plus–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

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 660 minutes played lead the league in goals 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

Postseason

2021 Calder Cup playoffs

← 2020 2022 →

For the second consecutive season, there was no Calder 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]

Pacific Division playoff

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

Play-in games

Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC−4).

Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.

Note 3: Home team is listed first.

(4) San Jose Barracuda vs. (7) Tucson Roadrunners

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 Jeník (1) - 3:01
9:18 - Jake McGrew (1)		Third period			No scoring
Josef Kořenář (19 saves / 20 shots)		Goalie stats			Ivan Prosvetov (18 saves / 20 shots)

(5) Colorado Eagles vs. (6) Ontario Reign

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)

Play-in final game

(4) San Jose Barracuda vs. (5) Colorado Eagles

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 - Kryštof Hrabík (1)		Second period			Sampo Ranta (1) - pp - 17:47
17:20 - en - Nicolas Meloche (1) 18:58 - en - Kryštof Hrabík (2)		Third period			No scoring
Josef Kořenář (32 saves / 33 shots)		Goalie stats			Justus Annunen (30 saves / 33 shots)

Semifinals

(1) Henderson Silver Knights vs. (4) San Jose Barracuda

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 Kořenář (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 - Tomáš Jurčo (1) 4:47 - sh - Danny O'Regan (1) 9:06 - pp - Danny O’Regan (2)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Josef Kořenář (24 saves / 28 shots)		Goalie stats			Logan Thompson (30 saves / 32 shots)

Henderson won series 2–0

(2) Bakersfield Condors vs. (3) San Diego Gulls

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			Lukáš Dostál (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)
Lukáš Dostál (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			Lukáš Dostál (43 saves / 45 shots)

Bakersfield won series 2–1

Finals

(1) Henderson Silver Knights vs. (2) Bakersfield Condors

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 Røndbjerg (1) 15:57 - Dylan Sikura (2) 19:24 - sh - Jonas Røndbjerg (2)
Raphaël 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

AHL awards

Award	Winner
Calder Cup	Not awarded[13]
Les Cunningham Award	T. J. Tynan, Colorado Eagles[37]
John B. Sollenberger Trophy	Andrew Poturalski, San Diego Gulls[38]
Willie Marshall Award	Cooper Marody, Bakersfield Condors[38]
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award	Riley Damiani, Texas Stars[39]
Eddie Shore Award	Ryan Murphy, Henderson Silver Knights[40]
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award	Logan Thompson, Henderson Silver Knights[41]
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award	Pheonix Copley and Zachary Fucale, Hershey Bears[42]
Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award	Spencer Carbery, Hershey Bears[43]
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award	Cal O'Reilly, Lehigh Valley Phantoms[44]
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award	All 31 teams' athletic trainers[45]
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy	Not awarded[13]
Richard F. Canning Trophy	Not awarded[13]
Robert W. Clarke Trophy	Not awarded[13]
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy	Hershey Bears[46]
Frank Mathers Trophy (Canadian Division regular season champion)[13]	Laval Rocket[47]
Emile Francis Trophy (Atlantic Division regular season champion)[13]	Providence Bruins
F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy (North Division regular season champion)[13]	Hershey Bears
Sam Pollock Trophy (Central Division regular season champion)[13]	Chicago Wolves
John D. Chick Trophy (Pacific Division tournament champion)[13]	Bakersfield Condors
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy	Not awarded[13]
James C. Hendy Memorial Award	Melissa Caruso, AHL[48]
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award	Jon Gustafson, San Jose Barracuda[48]
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards	Tony Brown, Cleveland Monsters
Ken McKenzie Award	Zack Fisch, Hershey Bears[49]
Michael Condon Memorial Award	Tim Mayer[48]
President's Awards

All-star teams

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]

Atlantic Division

• Jeremy Swayman (G) – Providence
• Samuel Bolduc (D) – Bridgeport
• Tarmo Reunanen (D) – Hartford
• Morgan Barron (F) – Hartford
• Cameron Hughes (F) – Providence
• Jakub Lauko (F) – Providence

Canadian Division

• Cayden Primeau (G) – Laval
• Otto Leskinen (D) – Laval
• Connor Mackey (D) – Stockton
• Kalle Kossila (F) – Toronto
• Egor Sokolov (F) – Belleville
• Nathan Todd (F) – Manitoba

Central Division

• Beck Warm (G) – Chicago
• Calen Addison (D) – Iowa
• Cody Franson (D) – Rockford
• Riley Barber (F) – Grand Rapids
• Riley Damiani (F) – Texas
• Adam Mascherin (F) – Texas

North Division

• Zane McIntyre (G) – Lehigh Valley
• Oskari Laaksonen (D) – Rochester
• Cameron Schilling (D) – Hershey
• Boris Katchouk (F) – Syracuse
• Connor McMichael (F) – Hershey
• Taylor Raddysh (F) – Syracuse

Pacific Division

• Logan Thompson (G) – Henderson
• Josh Mahura (D) – San Diego
• Ryan Murphy (D) – Henderson
• Cooper Marody (F) – Bakersfield
• Andrew Poturalski (F) – San Diego
• T. J. Tynan (F) – Colorado

All-rookie

• Logan Thompson (G) – Henderson
• Calen Addison (D) – Iowa
• Max Gildon (D) – Bakersfield
• Riley Damiani (F) – Texas
• Connor McMichael (F) – Hershey
• Phil Tomasino (F) – Chicago

See also

• List of AHL seasons
• 2020 in ice hockey