With the 2020-21 AHL season on the horizon as the league shoots for a February 5 start date, there will likely be a handful of teams that opt out for the year due to financial concerns or other logistical speedbumps.
While the damage may not be as bad as initially feared, the AHL has confirmed Tony Androckitis’s initial report that the Milwaukee Admirals will be one of the teams who opt out of the upcoming season.
On January 5, the AHL held a Board of Governors meeting to continue finalizing details for the year—including playing locations, division realignments, playoffs, and shared affiliates. With some teams planning to not play, there is an expectation that some organizations will send AHL players to another organization’s affiliate. Per Tony Androckitis, Nashville may send some players who are not kept on the NHL taxi squad or sent to Florida (ECHL) to the Chicago Wolves — the affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. A second source on January 6 confirmed this.
Suddenly, with the news Milwaukee will not play, the Nashville Predators’ recent roster moves make a little more sense, including their decisions to keep Lukas Craggs and Devin Cooley in Florida and send Frédéric Allard and Michael Carcone through waivers (the former to extend his loan in the Austrian ICEHL).
With the confirmation that the Predators and Chicago Wolves will be partnering this season, we’re working to bring you a full analysis of what this likely means for the prospects at the AHL level, as well as for the Chicago Wolves themselves. After taxi squads are announced, look to OTF for some Ads-Wolves collaborative analysis.
On The Forecheck will continue to update this story as more details are released.