2020–21 AHL season
The 2020–21 AHL season was the 85th season of the American Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021, and the league championship Calder Cup was not awarded for the second consecutive season. The Hershey Bears won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best regular-season record, their eighth regular-season championship. This was the first season under Scott Howson as the league's president after David Andrews announced his retirement after 26 years in the position. League changes After the previous season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no certainty for the AHL's 2020–21 season due to continuing limitations on arena capacities and traveling during the pandemic. The league had originally hoped to start play by December 4, 2020, but was later pushed back to at least February 5, 2021. Similar to the National Hockey League, the league was reportedly exploring the option of playing with an all-Canada division due to increased border travel restrictions between the United States and Canada. On January 4, 2021, the league announced its plans and divisional alignment for the shortened season. The four Canadian teams were placed