The American Hockey League has never been synonymous for its stability.

The landscape seemed to alter every summer with teams being moved and affiliations changing.

If we look back ten years to the 2009-10 season, there are fifteen teams from that campaign who no longer exist under that name in the AHL. That’s 50% with the American League not expanding to 31 teams until next season.

For those interested the teams no longer in the AHL are the Worcester Sharks, Portland Pirates, Manchester Monarchs (now ECHL), Lowell Devils, Springfield Falcons, Albany River Rats, Norfolk Admirals (now ECHL), Binghamton Senators, Adirondack Phantoms, Hamilton Bulldogs, Abbotsford Heat, Lake Erie Monsters (now Cleveland), Peoria Rivermen (now SPHL), San Antonio Rampage and Houston Aeros.

During Dave Andrews tenure as the American Hockey League’s President and CEO, the league underwent a huge upheaval with the creation of the much-needed Pacific Division.
The shift ‘out west’ brings the required stability the AHL has sought for the longest time and also meant more NHL teams owned their affiliate, another huge factor in solidifying the league.

Heading into the 2019-20 season the American Hockey League appeared to be on the right path with no team changes for the first occasion since 2012. A quite remarkable statistic when you think about it and it appeared as if Dave Andrews would be able to finish his time in the AHL with a peaceful campaign and ease his way into retirement.

All that changed with Vegas Golden Knights buying the San Antonio Rampage franchise and moving them to Henderson, the introduction of the 32nd team in Palm Springs which has now had to be changed in the current climate and of course the Covid-19 Pandemic which led to the cancellation of the 2019-20 season.

Although Andrews has now officially retired he is still heavily involved and along with Scott Howson has now overseen another two changes with the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes switching AHL affiliates.

The first thing to note is that the Chicago Wolves and Charlotte Checkers are just two of thirteen independently run teams left in the American Hockey League. That’s a vast change from how the league was operated even ten to twenty years ago.

Carolina and Charlotte enjoyed much success during their time working together, Carolina reaping the benefits as prospects flourished in the AHL whilst the Checkers won a first Calder Cup in 2019.
The Checkers were surprised by Carolina’s insistence to break away, even posting an official statement as follows:

“While we are aware that the Carolina Hurricanes are nearing an affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the Hurricanes have had little dialogue with us regarding this matter.

In an era when NHL teams are placing great value on affiliations with closer proximity between the two clubs, we understand the confusion that such a move would cause.

We will explore other options for our affiliation and look forward to continuing in the American Hockey League when play resumes.”

The most bizarre part of this whole saga is that whilst Carolina and Charlotte appeared to have a great relationship, the Hurricanes are now partnered with the ‘wild child’ of the American Hockey League.

The Chicago Wolves are not only one of the leagues storied franchises but also the most notably independently owned teams. The Wolves like to operate to serve their own needs and it’s worked very well for them. Since joining the AHL in 2001 Chicago has made four appearances in the Calder Cup Finals, winning twice.

Attendances are some of the best of the league, generally in the 7,000-9,000 ballpark but averaging around 8,000 per season is no mean feat and they are the only club to have their own television deal.

Chicago has been affiliated with Atlanta, Vancouver, St. Louis and Vegas, and the relationship with the Blues was notorious for the acrimonious way it ended with neither party particular happy with the other (Chicago refusing to play St. Louis prospects or not using them in key situations was just one of many matters of discontent).

Just what kind of promises might have been made to Carolina are unclear as regards prospects and playing time but it seems an odd switch to make, especially in these extenuating circumstances.

A combination of Carolina and Chicago’s deal and St. Louis affiliating themselves with the Springfield Thunderbirds left Florida and Charlotte without a dancing partner and it was a foregone conclusion that the two would have to agree to an amicable solution.

The Panthers have struggled to find any continuity with the AHL affiliates, having had ten farm-team relationships since 1993 including twice pairing up with San Antonio and Rochester respectively.
Florida and Charlotte are a little over 700 miles apart but there is a regular airline service between Fort Lauderdale and Charlotte Douglas International airports.

At this stage, we have no idea when or if a 2020/21 AHL season may start but we do have a clearer bigger as to the landscape of the league and it’s affiliation with the NHL.

Below is a list of every American Hockey League team, their NHL affiliation and ownership status.

Atlantic
Bridgeport Sound Tigers – New York Islanders (Owned by NHL Club)
Charlotte Checkers – Florida Panthers (Independent-‘Multi Year Affiliation’)
Hartford Wolf Pack – New York Rangers (Owned by NHL Club)
Hershey Bears – Washington Capitals (Independent-Deal runs through 2023-24 season)
Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Philadelphia Flyers (Independent-No Details)
Providence Bruins – Boston Bruins (Independent-Deal runs through 2028-29 season)
Springfield Thunderbirds – St. Louis Blues (Independent-Deal runs through 2024-25 season)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – Pittsburgh Penguins (Owned by NHL Club)

North
Belleville Senators – Ottawa Senators (Owned by NHL Club)
Binghamton Devils – New Jersey Devils (Owned by NHL Club)
Cleveland Monsters – Columbus Blue Jackets (Independent-Extension to multi-year agreement signed 2019/no details)
Rochester Americans – Buffalo Sabres (Owned by NHL Club)
Syracuse Crunch – Tampa Bay Lightning (Independent-Deal runs through 2022-23 season, with a mutual option for 2023-24 and 2024-25)
Toronto Marlies – Toronto Maple Leafs (Owned by NHL Club)
Utica Comets – Vancouver Canucks (Independent-Deal runs through 2020-21 season, with a mutual option to continue up to four more seasons)

Central
Chicago Wolves – Carolina Hurricanes (Independent-Deal runs through 2022-23 season)
Grand Rapids Griffins – Detroit Red Wings (Independent-Deal runs through 2021-22 season)
Iowa Wild – Minnesota Wild (Owned by NHL Club)
Manitoba Moose – Winnipeg Jets (Owned by NHL Club)
Milwaukee Admirals – Nashville Predators (Independent-Deal runs through 2021-22 season)
Rockford IceHogs – Chicago Blackhawks (Independent-Deal runs through 2021-22 season)
Texas Stars – Dallas Stars (Owned by NHL Club)

Pacific
Bakersfield Condors – Edmonton Oilers (Owned by NHL Club)
Colorado Eagles – Colorado Avalanche (Independent-No Details)
Henderson Silver Knights – Vegas Golden Knights (Owned by NHL Club)
Ontario Reign – Los Angeles Kings (Owned by NHL Club)
San Diego Gulls – Anaheim Ducks (Owned by NHL Club)
San Jose Barracuda – San Jose Sharks (Owned by NHL Club)
Stockton Heat – Calgary Flames (Owned by NHL Club)
Tucson Roadrunners – Arizona Coyotes (Owned by NHL Club)