AHL cancels remainder of 2019-20 season because of coronavirus pandemic

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Sixty-one days into the suspension of its 2019-20 season, the AHL on Monday announced the cancellation of the campaign's remaining games and Calder Cup Playoffs amid the coronavirus pandemic following a vote by the league's board of governors.

AHL president and CEO David Andrews released the following statement:

After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions.

The league’s operational focus has turned toward actively preparing for the 2020-21 season.

We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months.

The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21.

The Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley had 14 games left on its regular-season schedule. The Phantoms, who saw many players called up to the Flyers and had a largely new roster in 2019-20, were not in position to make the playoffs at 24-28-10.

For head coach Scott Gordon, it marked one of his toughest seasons in Lehigh Valley. He had compiled 129 wins and two playoff berths over his previous three full seasons from 2015-18. In 2018-19, he was summoned by the Flyers to serve as interim head coach and commendably went 25-22-4 through 51 games with the big club.

The AHL was in a much different spot compared to the NHL's current standing. Minor-league hockey relies heavily on fan support and with the growing likelihood of games having to be played without fans for a potential resumption, the AHL's decision felt inevitable.

The NHL is looking at the entire summer to work with in hopes of finishing 2019-20 in some capacity.

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