AHL Notes: Capitals, Next Season, Vegas Affiliate

Hershey has been the AHL affiliate for the Capitals since 2005 and it appears that pairing will continue.  Bears president Bryan Helmer told reporters, including J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington, that while the affiliation agreement is up at the end of the season (suggesting the official expiration is in the next month or two), they are in talks with Washington about an extension to that agreement.  In the meantime, Helmer indicated that he has been in talks with management from the Caps regarding which players they’d like to see brought back for next season which is a strong indication that both sides expect to get an affiliation extension completed in the near future.

Other news and notes from around the AHL:

• While it’s possible that league play could return next season without fans, outgoing AHL president David Andrews told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that in that scenario, it’s unlikely that all 31 teams would participate. While 19 of the 31 teams are owned by their parent NHL franchise, the other 12 are locally-owned.  Those ones may not have the financial wherewithal or willingness to run without their primary source of revenue.  In the past, teams without AHL affiliates have partnered up with other teams to loan some prospects out and that would be a likely scenario for the 2020-21 campaign.
• The Golden Knights’ affiliate will be closer to home next season as they will be playing out of the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. However, their time there may be short-lived.  Blake Apgar of the Las Vegas Review-Journal relays information about the proposed arena in Henderson that would be the home of their AHL squad in the near future.  The facility, which will be voted on next week, is slated to cost $80MM and be split between the city and the Golden Knights.  If approved, the target opening would be for the 2022-23 season.