The 2018–19 AHL season was the 83rd

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

. The regular season began October 5, 2018, and ended April 15, 2019. The 2019 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. This was the last year the Calder Cup was awarded until 2022.

League changes

The league expanded by adding the Colorado Eagles to the Pacific Division and moved the two Texas-based teams to the Central Division from the Pacific. The

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team based in Cleveland. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage F ...

were moved from the Central to the North Division. Similar to the California and Arizona teams in the Pacific Division, Colorado plays 68 games in the regular season. This gave the Pacific Division a balanced schedule for the first time since its creation in 2015 and removed the necessity for playoff qualification based on points percentage. Continuing from previous seasons, the teams in the Atlantic, North, and Central Divisions all play 76 games. The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the regular season champion is still awarded based on points percentage.

Team and NHL affiliation changes

After the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) added the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

for the 2017–18 season, the NHL had 31 teams while the AHL still had 30. After exploring other AHL expansion options, the NHL Vegas expansion team eventually affiliated with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

on a multi-year agreement. The affiliation with the Wolves left their former affiliate, the St. Louis Blues, without an affiliate and the Blues would send players to the Wolves and the San Antonio Rampage, the affiliate of the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. After the 2017 Board of Governors meeting, the league confirmed that it had made a commitment to an expansion applicant for a 31st team for the 2018–19 season later revealed to be the Colorado Eagles. The Eagles organization had been a member of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

prior to the promotion and was the affiliate of the Avalanche. The Eagles join other recently added ECHL markets in the AHL such as Bakersfield, Charlotte, Ontario, and Stockton. The Blues then became the primary affiliate of the Rampage.

Affiliation changes

Final standings

''indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot''
''indicates team clinched a playoff spot''
''indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention''

Eastern Conference

As of April 14, 2019

Western Conference

As of April 14, 2019

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 14, 2019. ''GP = Games played; G =

Goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

s; A = Assists; Pts =

Points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

; +/– = P

Plus–minus Plus–minus, ±, +/−, or variants may refer to: * Plus–minus sign (±), a mathematical symbol which can mean either plus (+) or minus (−), or can indicate the uncertainty of a measurement or statistic * Plus–minus (sports), a sport ...

; PIM = Penalty minutes''

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 1500 minutes played lead the league in

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (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 spo ...

. Updated as of April 14, 2019. ''GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO =

Shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s; GAA = Goals against average; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT =

Overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...

loss''

Calder Cup playoffs

Playoff format

The 2019 Calder Cup playoffs format was retained from the divisional format of the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs. During the regular season, teams receive two points for a win and one point for an overtime or shootout loss. The top four teams in each division ranked by points qualify for the 2019 Calder Cup playoffs. The 2019 Calder Cup playoffs features a divisional playoff format, leading to conference finals and ultimately the Calder Cup finals. The division semifinals are best-of-five series; all subsequent rounds are best-of-seven.

Bracket

AHL awards

All-Star Teams

First All-Star Team * Alex Nedeljkovic (G) – Charlotte * John Gilmour (D) – Hartford * Zach Redmond (D) – Rochester * Jeremy Bracco (F) – Toronto * Daniel Carr (F) – Chicago * Carter Verhaeghe (F) – Syracuse Second All-Star Team * Shane Starrett (G) – Bakersfield * Aaron Ness (D) – Hershey * Ethan Prow (D) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton * Tyler Benson (F) – Bakersfield * Chris Mueller (F) – Toronto * Andrew Poturalski (F) – Charlotte All-Rookie Team * Shane Starrett (G) – Bakersfield * Jake Bean (D) – Charlotte * Mitch Reinke (D) – San Antonio * Drake Batherson (F) – Belleville * Tyler Benson (F) – Bakersfield * Alex Barre-Boulet (F) – Syracuse

References

External links

AHL official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 AHL season American Hockey League seasons 2018–19 in American ice hockey by league 2018–19 in Canadian ice hockey by league