For the entire 2021 regular season, the participating teams of the American Hockey League were wondering what sort of playoff plans awaited them once they concluded their schedules. That clarity came in the form of a sledgehammer on Thursday, as the AHL announced the cancellation of formal playoff plans for this season and a tentative date range of October 15, 2021 to April 24, 2022, for all 31 AHL franchises to contest the 2021-2022 season.
As part of the announcement, the five divisions were given the opportunity to decide for themselves how they wanted to determine their division champions.