The NHL Affiliation Situation
If you've ever wondered about the status of the various affiliation agreements between NHL teams and their AHL and ECHL partners, look no further. This page has it all. (But if something's missing, let me know!)
This page was last updated on March 9, 2019.
| NHL | AHL | ECHL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Ducks | San Diego Gulls | affiliated since 2012; owned since 2015 |
— | |
| Arizona Coyotes | Tucson Roadrunners | affiliated since 2015; owned since 2016 |
Norfolk Admirals | affiliated since 2018; thru 2018-19 |
| Boston Bruins | Providence Bruins | affiliated since 1992; long-term ext. signed 2014 |
Atlanta Gladiators | affiliated since 2015; thru 2018-19 |
| Buffalo Sabres | Rochester Americans | owned since 2011 | Cincinnati Cyclones | affiliated since 2017; term unknown |
| Calgary Flames | Stockton Heat | owned since 1993 | Kansas City Mavericks | affiliated since 2017; term unknown |
| Carolina Hurricanes | Charlotte Checkers | affiliated since 2010; term unknown |
Florida Everblades | owned since 1998 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | Rockford IceHogs | affiliated since 2007; thru 2021-22 |
Indy Fuel | affiliated since 2014; thru 2018-19 |
| Colorado Avalanche | Colorado Eagles | affiliated since 2018; thru 2027-28 |
Utah Grizzlies | affiliated since 2018; term unknown |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | Cleveland Monsters | affiliated since 2015; multi-year deal signed 2015 |
— | |
| Dallas Stars | Texas Stars | owned since 2009 | Idaho Steelheads | affiliated since 2003; thru 2019-20 |
| Detroit Red Wings | Grand Rapids Griffins | affiliated since 2002; thru 2021-22 |
Toledo Walleye | affiliated since 2009; thru 2017-18 |
| Edmonton Oilers | Bakersfield Condors | owned since 1984 | Wichita Thunder | affiliated since 2017; thru 2018-19 |
| Florida Panthers | Springfield Thunderbirds | affiliated since 2015; thru 2018-19 |
— | |
| Los Angeles Kings | Ontario Reign | owned since 2001 | Manchester Monarchs | affiliated since 2008; term unknown |
| Minnesota Wild | Iowa Wild | owned since 2003 | Allen Americans | affiliated since 2018; thru 2018-19 |
| Montreal Canadiens | Laval Rocket | affiliated since 1969; owned since 2015 |
— | |
| Nashville Predators | Milwaukee Admirals | affiliated since 1998; thru 2021-22 |
— | |
| New Jersey Devils | Binghamton Devils | owned since 2006 | Adirondack Thunder | affiliated since 2017; thru 2018-19 |
| New York Islanders | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | affiliated sinced 2001; owned since 2004 |
Worcester Railers | affiliated since 2017; thru 2019-20 |
| New York Rangers | Hartford Wolf Pack | affiliated since 1990; owned since 1997 |
Maine Mariners | affiliated since 2018; term unknown |
| Ottawa Senators | Belleville Senators | affiliated since 2002; owned since 2016 |
Brampton Beast | affiliated since 2018; thru 2018-19 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | affiliated since 1996; thru 2018-19? |
Reading Royals | affiliated since 2014; multi-year ext. signed 2016 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | W-B/Scranton Penguins | owned since 1999 | Wheeling Nailers | affiliated since 1999; thru 2018-19 |
| San Jose Sharks | San Jose Barracuda | owned since 2001 | — | |
| St. Louis Blues | San Antonio Rampage | affiliated since 2018; thru 2022-23 |
Tulsa Oilers | affiliated since 2017; thru 2018-19 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | Syracuse Crunch | affiliated since 2012; thru 2022-23 (option thru 2025) |
Orlando Solar Bears | affiliated since 2018; thru 2020-21 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Toronto Marlies | owned since 1978 | Newfoundland Growlers | affiliated since 2018; term unknown |
| Vancouver Canucks | Utica Comets | owned since 2013 | Kalamazoo Wings | affiliated since 2017; thru 2017-18 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | Chicago Wolves | affiliated since 2017; thru 2021-22 |
Fort Wayne Komets | affiliated since 2018; thru 2018-19 |
| Washington Capitals | Hershey Bears | affiliated since 2005; thru 2019-20 |
South Carolina Stingrays | affiliated since 2014; thru 2019-20 |
| Winnipeg Jets | Manitoba Moose | affiliated since 2011 owned since 2004 |
Jacksonville IceMen | affiliated since 2017; thru 2018-19 |
| — | — | Greenville Swamp Rabbits | ||
| — | — | Rapid City Rush |
Affiliation News
2018
Sep 25: Ottawa Senators announce ECHL affiliation with Brampton Beast through 2018-19.
Sep 12: Tampa Bay Lightning extend AHL affiliation with Syracuse Crunch through 2022-23 with option through 2024-25.
Aug 21: Vegas Golden Knights announce ECHL affiliation with Fort Wayne Komets through 2018-19.
Aug 13: Tampa Bay Lightning announce ECHL affiliation with Orlando Solar Bears through 2020-21.
Jul 21: Minnesota Wild announce ECHL affiliation with Allen Americans through 2018-19.
Jul 18: Winnipeg Jets extend ECHL affiliation with Jacksonville Icemen through 2018-19.
Jul 16: Dallas Stars extend ECHL affiliation with Idaho Steelheads through 2019-20.
Jul 2: Minnesota Wild end ECHL affiliation with Rapid City Rush after one season.
Jun 28: Colorado Avalanche announce ECHL affiliation with Utah Grizzlies for an unknown term.
Jun 25: Arizona Coyotes announce ECHL affiliation with Norfolk Admirals through 2018-19, ending affiliation with Fort Wayne Komets.
Jun 14: Toronto Maple Leafs announce ECHL affiliation with Newfoundland Growlers for an unknown term.
May 31: New York Islanders extend ECHL affiliation with Worcester Railers through 2019-20.
May 31: St. Louis Blues extend ECHL affiliation with Tulsa Oilers through through 2018-19.
May 24: New Jersey Devils extend ECHL affiliation with Adirondack Thunder through 2018-19.
May 18: Edmonton Oilers extend ECHL affiliation with Wichita Thunder through 2018-19.
Apr 9: New York Rangers announce ECHL affiliation with Maine Mariners, ending 8-year affiliation with Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
Mar 15: Washington Capitals extend ECHL affiliation with South Carolina Stingrays through 2019-20.
Mar 13: Quad City Mallards (ECHL) cease operations after 2017-18 season, ending affiliation with Vegas Golden Knights.
2017
Oct 10: Colorado Avalanche announce 10-year AHL affiliation agreement with Colorado Eagles starting in 2018-19. St. Louis Blues announce 5-year AHL affiliation agreement with San Antonio Rampage starting in 2018-19.
2018 Key DAtes
Jul 11: Marks end of 1-year affiliation agreement between Vancouver Canucks and Kalamazoo Wings announced July 12, 2017.
Aug 16: Marks end of 2-year affiliation agreement between Pittsburgh Penguins and Wheeling Nailers announced Aug. 17, 2016. (However, the Nailers' official website says "2018-19 will be the 21st season of the affiliation agreement with Pittsburgh," meaning an extension may have been reached but not publicly announced.)
Aug 29: Marks end of 2-year affiliation agreement between Detroit Red Wings and Toledo Walleye announced Aug. 30, 2016.
Sep 13: Marks end of 1-year affiliation agreement between Montreal Canadiens and Brampton Beast announced Sept. 14, 2017.