Charlotte Checkers Win Richard F. Canning Trophy as AHL's Eastern Conference Champions
June 3, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL) News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The Charlotte Checkers are heading to the 2025 Calder Cup Finals after capturing the Richard F. Canning Trophy as Eastern Conference champions tonight.
The Checkers eliminated the Laval Rocket in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 3-2 victory at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. They will take an eight-game winning streak into the Finals, including a four-game sweep of the regular-season champion Rocket and a three-game sweep of the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears.
The Checkers are the top development team of the NHL's Florida Panthers, making this the first time since 2008 that teams from the same organization have reached the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup Finals in the same season (Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). The last affiliates to win both championships in the same season were the New Jersey Devils and Albany River Rats in 1995.
Led by head coach Geordie Kinnear - a defenseman on that 1995 Albany team - the Checkers are 10-2 overall in the playoffs after finishing 44-22-3-3 (94 points) in the regular season. They will face the winner of the Western Conference Finals between the Abbotsford Canucks and the Texas Stars; the Canucks currently lead that series, two games to one.
Established in 1990, the AHL's Eastern Conference championship trophy honors Richard F. Canning, who served the AHL for more than 50 years during his career including a term as league president from 1958-61. Mr. Canning is recognized as the author of the AHL's constitution, by-laws and regulations.
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