AHL sets Calder Cup division finals after upset-filled semifinals

The Calder Cup field is down to eight, and the loudest break in the bracket came in the Atlantic, where Springfield knocked out Providence and set up a division final with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Toronto’s win over Laval, Chicago’s five-game takedown of Texas and Coachella Valley’s upset of Ontario finished the reset, turning a 23-team playoff into four best-of-five division finals that will decide which clubs stay alive for the conference rounds.

The American Hockey League released the division finals schedules on May 10, with the round set to begin Tuesday, May 12. Springfield visits Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on May 12 and 14, Cleveland hosts Toronto on May 14 and 16, Grand Rapids meets Chicago on May 14 and 16, and Colorado opens against Coachella Valley on May 13 and 15. The series will follow the league’s 2-2-1 or 2-3 format, depending on arena availability, and every Calder Cup Playoff game will stream live on AHLTV on FloHockey.

The biggest upset of the semifinals was Springfield over Providence, a result that immediately altered the Atlantic picture and gave the Thunderbirds a direct route into a heavyweight matchup with the Penguins, who beat Hershey. Toronto’s win over Laval brought another top challenger down early in the North, while Cleveland’s 3-1 series victory over Syracuse confirmed that the Monsters are no fluke after a steady, efficient run through the bracket. In the Central, Grand Rapids handled Manitoba and now gets Chicago, which survived Texas in five games and has already shown it can win a series that turns tight late.

Colorado may be the most dangerous contender still standing. The Eagles’ 3-1 win over Henderson was the most decisive of the Pacific semifinals, and their next test against Coachella Valley pits one of the league’s most complete-looking teams against the bracket’s freshest upset threat. That is what changed coming out of the semifinals: the favorites did not simply advance, they were forced to re-sort the threat board, and the underdogs did not merely survive, they changed the route to the Calder Cup.

The league’s broader backdrop gives the next round added weight. The AHL is in its 90th anniversary season in 2025-26, has operated since 1936, and says nearly 90 percent of NHL players are AHL graduates, with more than 100 Hockey Hall of Famers having played in the league. With eight teams left and four series ready to start, the next swing of the bracket will decide which clubs carry momentum into the conference finals and which season ends one round short of the final push.