Eastern Conference team loses their AHL affiliate and is unable to replace them for the 2023-24 season

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Mike Armenti
August 27, 2023 (11:23)

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Back in the spring, the Chicago Wolves announced that they'd be operating independently from the American Hockey League and would no longer be affiliated with an NHL franchise. This decision had obviously put the Carolina Hurricanes in a tough spot as it left them without an AHL affiliate.

Well, as it turns out, the Canes appear to be heading into the 2023-24 season without an AHL affiliate as they were unable to reach an agreement for a partnership with another team. Hurricanes General Manager Don Waddell revealed this week that the team expects to have a new AHL affiliate in time for the 2024-25 season, however, it's unclear at this time if it'll be via expansion or if they'll share an affiliate with another NHL franchise.

The plan for this season for the Canes is to loan their prospects and veterans to other AHL clubs or assign them to Europe. They've already done this with a number of prospects, sending Alexander Pashin back to Russia and Aleksi Heimosalmi Tuukka Tieksola, Ville Koivunen back to SM-Liiga in Finland.

The Canes are going to face some unique challenges this year, especially if they find themselves in need of a quick call-up to address an illness or an injury. Not exactly an ideal situation for Don Waddell and Rod Brind'Amour. We may see the Canes play with a smaller roster than normal at points this season as a result.

Source: The Hockey News