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Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 ECHL season | |
 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988 |
| No. of teams | 27 (29 in 2024) |
| Country |
|
| Headquarters | Shrewsbury, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Most recent champion(s) | Florida Everblades (3rd title) |
| Most titles | Alaska Aces Florida Everblades Hampton Roads Admirals South Carolina Stingrays (3 each) |
| TV partner(s) | Canada (English): Sportsnet/Sportsnet One Canada (French): TVA Sports United States: NHL Network Streaming: FloSports |
| Official website | www |
The ECHL (East Coast Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey minor league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League. The ECHL acts as a farm system to the AHL and NHL; all 32 AHL clubs are affiliated with an NHL franchise whereas 28 ECHL teams are linked to NHL teams.
The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association, meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL.[1] Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL.[2]
For the beginning of the 2023–24 season, 28 of the 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an ECHL team[3] with only the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, and Arizona Coyotes having no such franchise affiliations. Subsequently, the Toronto Maple Leafs would lose their ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, on April 2, 2024, raising the total number of teams without official ECHL affiliations to five.[4] Several days later, the Coyotes became a deactivated franchise and the Utah NHL team was announced, which also lacks an ECHL affiliate. NHL teams sometimes lend contracted players to ECHL teams with whom they have no affiliation agreements for development and increased playing time.
The league's regular season typically begins in October and ends in April, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs. The most recent playoff champions are the Florida Everblades in 2023.
- ^ "Collective Bargaining Agreement between National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association" (PDF). NHL and NHLPA. July 22, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
- ^ "The ECHL - Premier 'AA' Hockey League | ECHL Alumni". Archived from the original on November 2, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- ^ "NHL/AHL Affiliations". ECHL. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ^ "ECHL Terminates Newfoundland Membership". ECHL. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
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