The AHL Cancels The Rest Of Its Season And The Playoffs
There had some scuttlebutt lately that the AHL would just scrap what was remaining in the season and focus on the '20-'21 season. Today, that's exactly what the NHL's primary minor league did.
I'm not sure what kind of ramifications, if any, this decision will have on the NHL's eventual decision about the rest of its season. The two leagues generally have different goals and agendas but at the same time, they are intertwined via rosters and ownership. So it is a possibility that we'll see some of these guys again this season.
But no matter how things transpire in the NHL, it sucks for the Milwaukee Admirals from a playing standpoint (among other teams). They were cruising along with a 41-14-5-3 record and a league-leading 90 points before the shit hit the fan. And now for the first time since the AHL's inception in 1936, there will not be a Calder Cup champion. My pal Wysh asked their GM Scott Nichol about that.
With no playoffs, should they have been named Calder Cup champion? “No,” Nichol told ESPN. “I think you have to go through those battles. You have to go through the playoffs. You just can’t be entitled to get a trophy. I would have never thought we’d be crowned Calder Cup champions. No, they did it right.”
That's about the answer you'd expect from somebody in pro hockey: No, I don't want a trophy we didn't do anything to earn.
As for the '20-'21 season, Andrews is concerned if fans aren't allowed back in arenas by then.
So as bad as the situation is for the NHL, it's even worse for the Always Hungry League which does not have a big money TV contract to help offset losses at the gate. It's also a shitty way for CEO and President Andrews to go out after 26 years at the helm in which he oversaw major expansion and brought the "A" into the 21st century.
Meanwhile, NHL fans continue to play the waiting game.
