2015–16 AHL season

Under a plan approved by the league on January 29, 2015, the league established a Pacific Division, with five teams based in the state of California. All five teams are affiliated with NHL franchises based in western North America. In the season prior to the realignment, the league had no teams west of Texas (and only one western team, the Abbotsford Heat, had played in the AHL in the five seasons prior to that), causing call-up issues for western NHL teams. In return, the three ECHL franchises already based in the cities where the AHL franchises were relocated, went east and took the place of AHL teams that had left those cities.[6]

On March 12, 2015, the AHL announced that the True North Sports & Entertainment-owned franchise, the St. John's IceCaps, was relocating back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to make it easier for their NHL team, the Winnipeg Jets, to call-up players. In order to fulfill their arena contact in St. John's, they negotiated with the Montreal Canadiens to move the Hamilton Bulldogs to St. John's and take on the IceCaps identity; in turn, the Bulldogs fulfilled their arena obligation by transferring their lease and intellectual property rights to the former Belleville Bulls, a junior hockey team.[7]

The franchise changes for the 2015–16 season are listed as follows:

• The Adirondack Flames relocated to Stockton, California, to become the Stockton Heat as part of a new Pacific Division. The Calgary Flames purchased the ECHL's Stockton Thunder and relocated the team to replace the Adirondack Flames in Glens Falls as the Adirondack Thunder.[8]
• The Hamilton Bulldogs relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, and took on the identity of the St. John's IceCaps. The Montreal Canadiens purchased the Bulldogs franchise from Michael Andlauer prior to the announcement of the relocation.[9] Andlauer purchased an Ontario Hockey League franchise to replace the AHL team and gave it the same name.
• The Manchester Monarchs relocated to Ontario, California, to become the Ontario Reign as part of a new Pacific Division. The franchise swapped places with the Ontario Reign of the ECHL as both franchises were owned and operated by the Los Angeles Kings.
• The Norfolk Admirals relocated to San Diego, California, to become the San Diego Gulls as part of a new Pacific Division. The Admirals franchise was purchased by the Anaheim Ducks as their owned and operated AHL team.[10]
• On December 18, 2014, the Oklahoma City Barons announced it would cease operations at the end of the 2014–15 season after the Barons' management failed to come to an extended affiliation agreement with their NHL affiliate and franchise owner, the Edmonton Oilers.[11] On January 29, 2015, it was announced the franchise would establish a new team in Bakersfield, California, to become the Bakersfield Condors as part of the new Pacific Division. Unlike the Barons, the Condors are owned and operated by the Oilers organization. The Condors replaced the Oilers' ECHL team of the same name who relocated to Norfolk and took on the Norfolk Admirals identity in the ECHL.
• The franchise owned by the Winnipeg Jets that played as the St. John's IceCaps since the 2011–12 season, relocated back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to play in the same arena as its parent club and returned to its previous identity as the Manitoba Moose.[7][12]
• The Worcester Sharks relocated to San Jose, California, to become the San Jose Barracuda as part of the new Pacific Division and share the SAP Center with its parent club, the San Jose Sharks.[13]

During the regular season, the sudden-death overtime period is reduced to five minutes (5:00) in length but full playing strength is 3-on-3 (plus goaltenders) for the entire period. Overtime will be preceded by a "dry scrape" of the entire ice surface. Teams will change ends at the start of overtime. If the game is still tied following overtime, a winner will be determined by a three-player shootout.[4]

This change mimics the change made in the National Hockey League for the 2015–16 season. In the previous season, the AHL first experimented with 3-on-3 overtime but had three minutes of 4-on-4 play before reducing the number of players on the ice. This change caused 75 percent of games tied at the end of regulation to end in overtime in the 2014–15 season. This was reduced from just 35 percent in the 2013–14 season, decreasing the number of games decided by shootout.[16]

A team may use a "coach's challenge" to initiate an official video review; only those situations which are subject to review by rule may be challenged. A team may only request a coach's challenge if it has its timeout available, and the coach's challenge must be effectively initiated prior to the resumption of play. If the coach's challenge does not result in the original call on the ice being overturned, the team exercising such challenge will be charged with a timeout.[4] This change is identical to the rule change implemented by the NHL for its 2015–16 season.

For face-offs conducted on any of the 8 face-off dots outside center ice, the defending team's player (i.e. the player closer to his team's goal) shall place his stick on the ice first, followed immediately by the attacking team's player. For face-offs at the center ice dot, the order of stick placement shall proceed as before, with the player from the visiting team placing his stick on the ice first, followed immediately by the home team's player.[4] This rule change mirrors one the NHL also implemented for 2015–16;[17] previously in both leagues, the visiting team's player placed his stick on the ice first regardless of the face-off location.

Updated as of April 17, 2016

Updated as of April 17, 2016

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 17, 2016.[18]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

The following goaltenders with a minimum 1500 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Updated as of April 16, 2016.[19]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

First All-Star Team[27]

• Peter Budaj (G) – Ontario
• T. J. Brennan (D) – Toronto
• Brandon Montour (D) – San Diego
• Chris Bourque (F) – Hershey
• Seth Griffith (F) – Providence
• Frank Vatrano (F) – Providence

Second All-Star Team[27]

• Matt Murray (G) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
• Will O'Neill (D) – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
• Robbie Russo (D) – Grand Rapids
• Dustin Jeffrey (F) – Springfield/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
• Mikko Rantanen (F) – San Antonio
• Mike Sislo (F) – Albany

All-Rookie Team[28]

• Juuse Saros (G) – Milwaukee
• Brandon Montour (D) – San Diego
• Robbie Russo (D) – Grand Rapids
• Austin Czarnik (F) – Providence
• Mikko Rantanen (F) – San Antonio
• Frank Vatrano (F) – Providence