American Hockey League

===Relocations and western shift===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = American Hockey League 2014-15 map zoomed.svg
 | caption1 = Team locations and divisional alignment in the 2014–15 season prior to the franchise relocations
 | image2 = American Hockey League 2015-16 map zoomed.svg
 | caption2 = Team locations and divisions after the 2015–16 relocation and realignment
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Beginning with the [[2015–16 AHL season|2015–16 season]], twelve franchises have since relocated due to NHL parent clubs' influence on their development teams and players. Of the twelve relocated franchises, nine were relocated because they were directly owned by NHL teams and the NHL parent club wished to make call-ups from the AHL more practical by having closer affiliates.

In January 2015, the AHL announced the relocation of five existing AHL franchises—[[Adirondack Flames|Adirondack]], [[Manchester Monarchs (AHL)|Manchester]], [[Norfolk Admirals (AHL)|Norfolk]], [[Oklahoma City Barons|Oklahoma City]], and [[Worcester Sharks|Worcester]]—to California as the basis for a new "Pacific Division" becoming [[Stockton Heat|Stockton]], [[Ontario Reign|Ontario]], [[San Diego Gulls|San Diego]], [[Bakersfield Condors|Bakersfield]], and [[San Jose Barracuda|San Jose]] respectively.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=AHL |date=January 29, 2015 |title=AHL approves formation of Pacific Division |url=http://theahl.com/ahl-approves-formation-of-pacific-division-p196033 |access-date=January 31, 2015 |archive-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418144228/http://theahl.com/ahl-approves-formation-of-pacific-division-p196033 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The relocated teams were all affiliated and owned or purchased by teams in the NHL's [[Pacific Division (NHL)|Pacific Division]]. The franchise movements continued with two more relocations involving Canadian teams<ref>{{cite web |publisher=AHL |date=March 12, 2015 |title=AHL announces franchise transactions |url=http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-franchise-transactions-p196769 |access-date=March 14, 2015 |archive-date=July 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704053008/http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-franchise-transactions-p196769 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the [[St. John's IceCaps]] going back to [[Winnipeg]] as the [[Manitoba Moose]] and the [[Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)|Hamilton Bulldogs]] becoming another iteration of the IceCaps to fulfill the arena contract in St. John's.

In the following seasons, more NHL organizations influenced league membership. In 2016, the [[Springfield Falcons]] franchise was purchased by the [[Arizona Coyotes]] and relocated to become the [[Tucson Roadrunners]] and join the one-year-old Pacific Division. The Falcons were subsequently replaced by the [[Springfield Thunderbirds]], the relocated [[Portland Pirates]] franchise under a new ownership group. The [[Montreal Canadiens]]-owned IceCaps relocated to the Montreal suburb of [[Laval, Quebec]], and became the [[Laval Rocket]] in 2017.<ref name="The Compass">{{cite web | url=http://www.cbncompass.ca/Sports/IceCaps/2015-03-12/article-4074843/Montreal-Canadiens-farm-team-relocating-to-St.%E2%80%88John%26rsquo%3Bs-next-season/1 | title=Montreal Canadiens' farm team relocating to St. John's next season | publisher=The Compass | date=March 12, 2015 | access-date=March 13, 2015}}</ref> The [[Binghamton Senators]] were also purchased by the [[Ottawa Senators]] and were relocated to [[Belleville, Ontario]], to become the [[Belleville Senators]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nhl.com/senators/news/ottawa-senators-owner-eugene-melnyk-purchases-ahl-team-and-partners-with-city-of-belleville/c-282137476 |title=Sens Owner Purchases AHL Team Partners W/ Belleville |publisher=Ottawa Senators |date=September 26, 2016}}</ref> while the [[New Jersey Devils]]' owned [[Albany Devils]] were relocated to become the [[Binghamton Devils]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://binghamtonsenators.com/news/?article_id=2322|title=New Jersey Devils to Relocate AHL Affiliate to Binghamton N.Y. for 2017-18 Season|website=Binghamtonsenators.com|access-date=December 11, 2017|archive-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219061412/http://binghamtonsenators.com/news/?article_id=2322|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Lehigh Valley Phantoms Hartford Wolf Pack December 14 2019 1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Lehigh Valley Phantoms]] host the [[Hartford Wolf Pack]] at [[PPL Center]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]], December 2019]]
For the [[2018–19 AHL season|2018–19 season]], a 31st team joined the league with the [[Colorado Eagles]] as the NHL's [[Colorado Avalanche]] affiliate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theahl.com/ahl-awards-expansion-membership-to-colorado-eagles |title=AHL awards expansion membership to Colorado Eagles |publisher=AHL |date=October 10, 2017}}</ref> With the NHL planning to expand to 32 teams in 2021 with the [[Seattle Kraken]], the Seattle ownership group was approved for a 2021 AHL expansion team, later announced to be the [[Coachella Valley Firebirds]] based in [[Palm Springs, California]], following the construction of [[Coachella Valley Arena|a new arena]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/nhl-seattle-chooses-palm-springs-as-site-for-new-ahl-farm-team/ |title=NHL Seattle chooses Palm Springs as site for new AHL farm team |website=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=June 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theahl.com/ahl-expansion-palm-springs |title=AHL expanding to Palm Springs in 2021-22 |website=American Hockey League |date=September 30, 2019}}</ref> The original plans for the new arena was eventually cancelled and the team postponed their launch by a year while new arena plans were developed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29900182/seattle-kraken-delays-ahl-franchise-1-year |title=Seattle Kraken delays AHL franchise by 1 year |website=[[ESPN]] |date=September 16, 2020}}</ref>

In February 2020, the [[San Antonio Rampage]] franchise was bought and relocated by the NHL's [[Vegas Golden Knights]] for the 2020–21 season<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/ArtSlut/archives/2020/02/06/san-antonio-rampage-sold-and-will-relocate-after-2019-2020-season |title=San Antonio Rampage Sold and Will Relocate After 2019-2020 Season |website=[[San Antonio Current]] |date=February 6, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> as the [[Henderson Silver Knights]] and was moved to the Pacific Division. For the 2021–22 season, the Vancouver Canucks relocated their franchise from Utica to Abbotsford while the [[Utica Comets]] agreed to relocate and operate the franchise that was operating as the [[Binghamton Devils]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theahl.com/board-of-governors-approves-franchise-relocations |title=Board of Governors Approves Franchise Relocations |website=AHL |date=May 6, 2021}}</ref> On May 23, 2022, it was announced that the Stockton Heat would be relocating to [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], starting the [[2022–23 AHL season|2022–23 season]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-23 |title=American Hockey League approves Stockton Heat move to Calgary |url=https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/american-hockey-league-approves-stockton-heat-move-to-calgary-1.5915214 |access-date=2022-05-23 |website=Calgary |language=en}}</ref>

For the [[2023–24 AHL season|2023–24 season]], the Chicago Wolves are the league's only unaffiliated team, making them the first team to operate without an NHL partner since the [[1994–95 AHL season|1994–95]] [[Worcester IceCats]]. Consequently, the [[Carolina Hurricanes]] became the only NHL team currently without an AHL affiliate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-23 |title=What Lack of AHL Affiliate Means for Carolina Hurricanes
|url=https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/analysis/what-lack-of-ahl-affiliate-means-for-carolina-hurricanes |access-date=2022-01-10 |website=The Hockey News |language=en}}</ref> However, the Hurricanes loaned some players to the Wolves, such as [[Vasili Ponomaryov]] and [[Antti Raanta]].