AHL Possible Start Date February 5th

[I-90 W]

Kind of miss the AHL lately. Growing up we had a great rivalry between the Albany River Rats and the Adirondack Red Wings. The Rats won the Calder. Then we had the Albany Devils and Adirondack Phantoms. Now we don’t have any AHL teams anymore. Just ECHL in Glens Falls.

New Jersey running a terrible team with little to no community involvement, a long with two D1 teams in the area already, just couldn’t support it anymore I suppose. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by I-90 W

[Brawndo]

28 Teams will play in the AHL Season.

 

 

[Taro T]

35 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

28 Teams will play in the AHL Season.

 

 

 

Wonder where the Canes & the other 2 will put their prospects.

Also wonder if there will be any cross division games.  If not, the Canadian teams & NE teams will get REALLY sick of each other.  (Who says there's no fighting in pro hockey?  It may have been on the ropes, but it'll be back there.  😉 )

Lastly, initially read Barkersfield's team name as having an 'm' rather than an 'r' there.  Did a double take on that one.  😆

[Brawndo]

24 minutes ago, Taro T said:

 

Wonder where the Canes & the other 2 will put their prospects.

Also wonder if there will be any cross division games.  If not, the Canadian teams & NE teams will get REALLY sick of each other.  (Who says there's no fighting in pro hockey?  It may have been on the ropes, but it'll be back there.  😉 )

Lastly, initially read Barkersfield's team name as having an 'm' rather than an 'r' there.  Did a double take on that one.  😆

The Blues are sending players to Utica, The Predators and Panthers are looking for spots for Their Players. 
 

I think Carolina changed Their affiliation to The Chicago Wolves beginning this season.

[Taro T]

2 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

The Blues are sending players to Utica, The Predators and Panthers are looking for spots for Their Players. 
 

I think Carolina changed Their affiliation to The Chicago Wolves beginning this season.

Hmm, the Swamp Cats looking for a home for their minor leaguers?  Never seen that movie before.  😝

[Brawndo]

All Amerks STH will get AHL TV free for the season

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

4 hours ago, Brawndo said:

28 Teams will play in the AHL Season.

 

 

I wonder why Springfield is shutting down? If it's Massachusetts Covid protocols, there's an empty AHL barn in Manchester, NH. just sitting there. There's your 4th Atlantic division team.

[Brawndo]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

I wonder why Springfield is shutting down? If it's Massachusetts Covid protocols, there's an empty AHL barn in Manchester, NH. just sitting there. There's your 4th Atlantic division team.

A few of the teams are not owned by their NHL Affiliates and cannot afford to operate at a loss with no fans in the stands for the foreseeable future 

[PromoTheRobot]

2 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

A few of the teams are not owned by their NHL Affiliates and cannot afford to operate at a loss with no fans in the stands for the foreseeable future 

That's the point. NH is more lenient with it's Covid rules and would likely allow some fans. 10K arena, say 1K fans?

[Taro T]

Just now, PromoTheRobot said:

That's the point. NH is more lenient with it's Covid rules and would likely allow some fans. 10K arena, say 1K fans?

Can they cover expenses (& don't forget cleaning protocols today are at least 10x more expensive than they were 1 year ago) with only 10% at best of revenues coming in?

[LabattBlue]

9 hours ago, Brawndo said:

A few of the teams are not owned by their NHL Affiliates and cannot afford to operate at a loss with no fans in the stands for the foreseeable future 

I didn’t know this.  I would have guessed that most AHL teams had independent owners.  

[PromoTheRobot]

16 hours ago, Taro T said:

Can they cover expenses (& don't forget cleaning protocols today are at least 10x more expensive than they were 1 year ago) with only 10% at best of revenues coming in?

Hard to say. I know the folks who manage SNHU Arena (as it's called now) would love to fill their schedule with some hockey. For AHL I bet they could sellout every game (at 1K fans.)

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Hard to say. I know the folks who manage SNHU Arena (as it's called now) would love to fill their schedule with some hockey. For AHL I bet they could sellout every game (at 1K fans.)

Which is cool and my preference would be to see all 31 teams playing.  But really don't know how the team keeps from losing money with only 1,000 fans in the building.  Even if the average player salary were/is only $50k and they only have 20 players (no pressbox guys), with a 56 game schedule (it'll be shorter than normal, how short, who knows?) the base player cost alone is nearly $18k / game and they only play 1/2 the games at home.  So, just to cover player costs they need nearly $36k in revenue per game.  So, at $20/ticket each fan needs to buy $16 worth of popcorn & beer to only cover the players.  (How much more than $20 can they charge for AHL hockey?)

Yes, they get a few bucks from TV/ radio, and the agreements w/ the NHL bring additional funds, but we haven't even scratched the surface of expenses.

Happily surprised only 3 teams are bailing on the season & will likely at least buy the Amerks TV package if not the whole AHL to help, but this is going to be a very fragile time for any independently owned team.