On Monday, the American Hockey League’s Board of Governors approved the re-alignment of the four divisions in the League for the 2018-19 season. With the addition of the Colorado Eagles as the 31st franchise in the AHL, the Atlantic, North, Central, and Pacific Divisions have gone under a make-over and will have teams changing divisions and conferences heading into next season.
American Hockey League Divisions Take Shape For 2018-19 Season
Here are the 2018-19 new Division alignments as set by the AHL:
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders)
- Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers)
- Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals)
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
- Springfield Thunderbirds (Florida Panthers)
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Eastern Conference North Division
- Belleville Senators (Ottawa Senators)
- Binghamton Devils (New Jersey Devils)
- Cleveland Monsters (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Laval Rocket (Montreal Canadiens)
- Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres)
- Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning
- Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Utica comets (Vancouver Canucks)
Western Conference Central Division
- Chicago Wolves (Vegas Golden Knights)
- Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)
- Iowa Wild (Minnesota Wild)
- Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets)
- Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators)
- Rockford IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks)
- San Antonio Rampage (St. Louis Blues)
- Texas Stars (Dallas Stars)
Western Conference Pacific Division
- Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton Oilers)
- Colorado Eagles (Colorado Avalanche)
- Ontario Reign (Los Angeles Kings)
- San Diego Gulls (Anaheim Ducks)
- San Jose Barracuda (San Jose Sharks)
- Stockton Heat (Calgary Flames)
- Tucson RoadRunners (Arizona Coyotes)
The major changes for the 2018-19 season from the 2017-18 season include the addition of the Colorado Eagles as the 31 franchise, San Antonio and Texas moving from the Pacific Division to the Central Division, and the Cleveland Monsters moving from the Central Division in the Western Conference to the North Division in the Eastern Conference.
The Rockford IceHogs welcome the Texas Stars and San Antonio Rampage to the Central Division. In 2017-18, the IceHogs held a 3-1-0 record over the Stars and a 3-2-1 record over the Rampage.
While it remains to be seen if the addition of Colorado and geographical realignment will finally see all AHL teams play a full 76 game schedule and do away with the “Points-Percentage” in the standings, the realignment hopes to bring more balance around the league.
The Schedule for the 2018-19 season will be announced at a later date over the summer, but the beginning of the American Hockey League season is slated for October 5, 2018.