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American Hockey League gets realigned

Headlines

Written by Pat Martin

Tuesday, July 05, 2011 21:22

Charlotte moves to the West, and St. John's joins a new-look Atlantic Division as the AHL expands from four divisions to six.

The 30-team American Hockey League will have six divisions of five teams for the 2011-12 season, up from four divisions, league president and CEO David Andrews announced Tuesday.

The AHL’s newest franchise, a yet-to-be named St. John’s club out of Newfoundland, will be in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division with the Manchester Monarchs, Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins and Worcester Sharks. St. John’s is the affiliate of the recently relocated Winnipeg Jets NHL franchise.

The Northeast division is made up of the Adirondack Phantoms, Albany Devils, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Connecticut Whale and Springfield Falcons, while the East Division includes the reigning Calder Cup Champion Binghamton Senators, along with the Hershey Bears, Norfolk Admirals, Syracuse Crunch and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

It will be the first full season for the Whale as the affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers, while the Penguins will aim to build on their first-ever Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the East's top regular-season club a year ago.

The Western Conference divisions see the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hamilton Bulldogs, Lake Erie Monsters, Rochester Americans and Toronto Marlies making up the North Division; the Charlotte Checkers, Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals, Peoria Rivermen and Rockford IceHogs as the new Midwest Division; and the Abbotsford Heat, Houston Aeros, Oklahoma City Barons, San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars as the West Division.

Charlotte, one year after joining the AHL as the Carolina Hurricanes' affiliate, joins the Western Conference. St. John’s – formerly based in Winnipeg – moves to the East while the North Division, which features a number of rivalries, stays the same as last season. Chicago is now the affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks after its previous affiliate, the Atlanta Thrashers, moved to Winnipeg.

A new format for the Calder Cup Playoffs was also announced Tuesday. The top eight teams in each conference will qualify, with division winners earning the top seeds in their respective conferences.

The conference quarterfinals will be a best-of-five series, with the final three rounds keeping a best-of-seven format. Teams will also be re-seeded after the opening round, consistent with the NHL playoffs.

The AHL Board of Governors approved all changes in alignment and playoff format at its annual meeting in South Carolina.