The 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) to determine the winner of the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions. All teams except the bottom two teams of the Atlantic, North, and Central divisions, as well as the bottom three teams of the Pacific division qualified for the playoffs. Each division has a

best-of-three series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

in the first round to determine the top 16 teams for the division semifinals, with various teams receiving byes based on regular season performance. The 16 teams that remain—four from each division—will play a best-of-five series in the division semifinals, with the playoffs continuing with another best-of-five series for the division finals and a

best-of-seven series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

for the conference finals and

finals. For the first time since

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, the finals featured the same teams as the previous year, the

Coachella Valley Firebirds The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey expansion team based in Thousand Palms, California, that began play in the 2022–23 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Seattle Kra ...

and

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

. Hershey would repeat as champions, defeating Coachella Valley in six games.

Playoff format

The AHL will continue to use the same playoff format used in the previous playoffs. The playoff field will include the top six finishers in the eight-team Atlantic Division, the top five finishers each in the seven-team North and Central Divisions, and the top seven teams in the 10-team Pacific Division. First Round match-ups will be best-of-three series; the two highest seeds in the Atlantic, the three highest seeds in each of the North and Central, and the first-place team in the Pacific will receive byes into the best-of-five Division Semifinals, with the First Round winners re-seeded in each division. The Division Finals will also be best-of-five series, followed by best-of-seven Conference Finals and a best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals series.

Bracket

First round

Eastern Conference

(A3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A6) Lehigh Valley Phantoms

(A4) Charlotte Checkers vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(N4) Belleville Senators vs. (N5) Toronto Marlies

Western Conference

(C4) Texas Stars vs. (C5) Manitoba Moose

(P2) Tucson Roadrunners vs. (P7) Calgary Wranglers

(P3) Ontario Reign vs. (P6) Bakersfield Condors

(P4) Colorado Eagles vs. (P5) Abbotsford Canucks

Division Semifinals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Hershey Bears vs. (A6) Lehigh Valley Phantoms

(A2) Providence Bruins vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(N1) Cleveland Monsters vs. (N4) Belleville Senators

(N2) Rochester Americans vs. (N3) Syracuse Crunch

Western Conference

(C1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (C4) Texas Stars

(C2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (C3) Rockford IceHogs

(P1) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (P7) Calgary Wranglers

(P3) Ontario Reign vs. (P5) Abbotsford Canucks

Division Finals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Hershey Bears vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(N1) Cleveland Monsters vs. (N3) Syracuse Crunch

Western Conference

(C1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (C2) Grand Rapids Griffins

(P1) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (P3) Ontario Reign

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Hershey Bears vs. (N1) Cleveland Monsters

Western Conference

(P1) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (C1) Milwaukee Admirals

Calder Cup Finals

(A1) Hershey Bears vs. (P1) Coachella Valley Firebirds

Playoff statistical leaders

Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists. Updated following games played on June 24, 2024.

Leading goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

and the top five goaltenders based on

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

with at least 60 minutes played. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.

References

{{AHL Calder Cup playoffs

Calder Cup Playoffs Calder is a Scottish name and may refer to: People *Calder (surname) * Calder baronets, two baronetcies created for people with the surname Calder *Alexander Calder (1898-1976), the American sculptor known for his mobiles, son of Alexander Stirli ...