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29-588: On July 11, 2016, the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be moving their affiliate to the Montreal suburb of Laval for the 2017–18 season . A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three. On September 8, the winning name of Laval Rocket was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got

58-633: A 31st team for the 2018–19 season later revealed to be the Colorado Eagles . The Eagles had been a member of the ECHL prior to the promotion and the affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche . The Eagles join other recent ECHL markets in the AHL such as Bakersfield, Charlotte, Ontario, and Stockton. Final standings:   y–   indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot   x–   indicates team clinched

87-684: A 51% majority of the fan votes. With this, Laval became the second hockey team in the Greater Montreal area to use that nickname, after the Montreal Rocket of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as

116-589: A 76-game season. The National Hockey League added the Vegas Golden Knights for the 2017–18 season . The Las Vegas management confirmed that the organization would also have an AHL affiliate in their first season, although it was not stated whether the AHL team would be an expansion or relocation. The organization looked into adding an affiliate on the West Coast with the leading candidates being Salt Lake City , Reno , or Fresno . However, as

145-657: A multi-year affiliation with the Chicago Wolves , replacing the Blues as their primary affiliate. The Blues also announced that they would continue to send players to the Wolves for that season, as well as to the San Antonio Rampage , the AHL team that they would affiliate with for 2018–19. The league confirmed after the 2017 Board of Governors meeting that it had made a commitment to an expansion applicant for

174-693: A playoff spot   e–   indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 15, 2018. GP = Games played; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; +/– = P Plus–minus ; PIM = Penalty minutes The following goaltenders with a minimum 1440 minutes played lead the league in goals against average . Updated as of April 15, 2018. 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 The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs format

203-399: Is a large blue 'R' that is outlined and highlighted in white. The word 'Rocket' runs along the inside of the 'R' in white. While all other logos and patches alternate colours depending on the home or away jersey, the main logo remains blue on both the red and white jerseys. Notes Updated November 25, 2024. The following players have played both 100 games with Laval and 100 games in

232-649: The 2009–10 ECHL season . The original Checkers team played in the city from 1956 to 1977, originally in the Eastern Hockey League and then in the Southern Hockey League . The franchise is one of six teams to replace and share a name with a predecessor franchise from a lower-tier league; the others are the Bakersfield Condors , Colorado Eagles , Ontario Reign , Rockford IceHogs , and San Diego Gulls . . The franchise

261-694: The 2020–21 season , the Rocket temporarily relocated to the Bell Centre in Montreal to share the facility with their parent team during the COVID-19 pandemic . The Rocket were the Canadian Division champions and second-best winning percentage in the league, while playing only the other four teams based in Canada and no postseason during the pandemic. After the season ended, head coach Bouchard left

290-575: The Hamilton Bulldogs and St. John's IceCaps respectively. In their inaugural campaign, Laval finished with a 24–42–7–3 record and placed last overall in the league. Lefebvre was relieved as head coach immediately upon the end of the season and was replaced by Joel Bouchard , who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . For

319-627: The National Hockey League : 2017%E2%80%9318 AHL season The 2017–18 AHL season was the 82nd season of the American Hockey League . The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 15, 2018. The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Toronto Marlies won their first Calder Cup in seven games over the Texas Stars . The AHL's only alignment change

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348-755: The St. Louis Blues adding an expansion team in Kansas City . This would later be denied by the announced potential owner in Kansas City, Lamar Hunt Jr. , in a press release from his ECHL team in the area, the Missouri Mavericks , and further denied by AHL commissioner, David Andrews, after the January 2017 Board of Governors meeting. In May 2017, the 30 team alignment was confirmed and there would be no expansion for 2017–18. The Golden Knights signed

377-611: The 2017 Calder Cup playoffs. The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs features a divisional playoff format, leading to conference finals and ultimately the Calder Cup finals. The division semifinals are best-of-five series; all subsequent rounds are best-of-seven. First All-Star Team Second All-Star Team All-Rookie Team Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina . They are members of

406-703: The AHL and the NHL. The AHL Checkers' first home game was October 15, 2010, at the Time Warner Cable Arena in front of 12,512 spectators, which set an attendance record for a hockey game in Charlotte. On February 26, 2011, the attendance record was broken as 12,933 fans watched the Checkers defeat the Connecticut Whale 1–0. Almost a year later, on February 25, 2012, the attendance record

435-602: The Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Checkers play their home games at Bojangles' Coliseum . The current organization is the third team by this name; it succeeded a Checkers franchise that played in the ECHL from 1993 until the end of

464-755: The ECHL franchise to the league. The Checkers are the second North Carolina–based team to play at the highest level of minor-league hockey, following the Carolina Monarchs , who played in Greensboro from 1995 to 1997. The Checkers inherited the River Rats' affiliation with the Carolina Hurricanes , in keeping with a recent trend to have NHL teams' top affiliates geographically close to their parent teams in order to ease movement between

493-481: The fifth overtime period, more than six hours after the game began. The Checkers made 95 shots against Lehigh Valley goalie Alex Lyon . The 2018–19 season was the Checkers' best season as an AHL team to date and one of the best in Charlotte's hockey history. They won their first division title with 110 points and the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the league's best regular season record. It

522-561: The largest arenas in the AHL, it left much to be desired as a hockey venue. It seated 14,100 people, but over 4,000 seats had obstructed views. In Charlotte on May 9 and 10, 2018, in game four of the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, the Checkers and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms played the longest game in the history of the American Hockey League. A 1–1 tie was broken by a Phantoms' goal at 6:48 of

551-411: The number 9 and a stylized flame appear on each of the sleeves. The stylized flame is also found below the player's number on the back of the jersey and on the back of the player's socks. Each sleeve also has a shield patch with the word Le Rocket found inside. The name of the city the Rocket play out of, Laval, is displayed on each shoulder as well as in the neck tie region of the jersey. The main logo

580-598: The previous Checkers teams until 2005. As Kahn detailed, the move would reconnect with said team legacy. Additionally, having a dedicated arena allowed for "greater control over every aspect of our business, including scheduling, amenities, game presentation and sponsorship inventory." To make sure the Coliseum was up to AHL standards, the Charlotte City Council arranged to provide $ 16 million to fund renovations. While Time Warner Cable Arena had been one of

609-555: The season went on, they looked into co-affiliations with a pre-existing AHL team since the new NHL team would likely not have a large amount of drafted talent to fully stock an AHL roster. In February 2017, AHL commissioner David Andrews later stated that there was a " 50-50 chance " of a 31st team being established for the 2017–18 season. Other than the Golden Knights adding a team, there were also reports in November 2016 of

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638-522: The team at the end of his contract, compiling a 83–67–24 record over three seasons, to become the head coach of the AHL San Diego Gulls . The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach until the foregoing's departure in June 2024. Shortly thereafter, on July 16, Lavallois Pascal Vincent was named as the fourth head coach in franchise history. Vincent's impact on the team

667-592: Was broken yet again as 13,102 fans watched the Checkers fall to the Oklahoma City Barons , 3–2. On April 11, 2015, the attendance record was broken a third time as 13,219 fans watched the last Checkers game at Time Warner Cable Arena, a 2–0 loss to the Rockford IceHogs . In late 2014, the Checkers announced they would return in the following season to the Bojangles' Coliseum , the home of

696-466: Was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Calder Cup was not awarded. Following the cancelled postseason, the Hurricanes ended their affiliation with the Checkers after ten seasons, resulting in the Checkers affiliating with the Florida Panthers beginning with the 2020–21 season. However, due to the ongoing restrictions during the pandemic, the Checkers were one of three teams that opted out of

725-519: Was instantaneous, with the Rocket posting a franchise record seven consecutive wins to begin the 2024–25 season . On January 31, 2017, the Laval Rocket revealed the logo and jersey design that the team would wear during their inaugural season. The colours of the Laval Rocket jersey are red, white, and blue and were chosen to mirror the colours of their parent-club, the Montreal Canadiens. As a further tribute to Maurice "Rocket" Richard, patches with

754-614: Was moving the Charlotte Checkers from the Central Division of the Western Conference to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, significantly decreasing their interdivisional travel and balancing the two conferences' members. Similar to the season scheduling in the previous season, the six California and Arizona based teams continued to have a 68-game season while the rest of the AHL teams play

783-688: Was originally based in Troy, New York , as the Capital District Islanders from 1990 to 1993. They then became the Albany River Rats from 1993 to 2010, until the River Rats were sold to MAK Hockey, LLC, led by Charlotte beer distributor Michael Kahn , owner of the ECHL Checkers . The new ownership relocated the team to Charlotte for the 2010–11 season, renaming the franchise the "Charlotte Checkers", and relinquished

812-466: Was retained from the divisional format of the 2017 Calder Cup playoffs . The playoff format was finalized at the Annual Board of Governors meeting that took place July 2017. During the regular season, teams receive two points for a win and one point for an overtime or shootout loss. The top four teams in each division ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available) qualify for

841-496: Was the first time a Charlotte hockey team had broken the 100-point barrier since the SHL Checkers earned 101 points in 1974–75. They defeated the defending champion Toronto Marlies in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first Calder Cup final. They defeated the Chicago Wolves in five games to win their first AHL title, and the seventh hockey championship by a Charlotte-based team. The following 2019–20 season

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