Dave Andrews discusses the state of the AHL on SiriusXM

EDITOR'S NOTE: American Hockey League (AHL) President & CEO David Andrews spoke on SiriusXM NHL Friday morning with Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin about what the league has been doing behind the scenes during the COVID-19 pandemic and what the plan is moving forward, etc. For those who missed the interview, or don't have access to it, InsideAHLHockey.com transcribed the entire conversation to put together all the latest news/notes.

With the sports world on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been plenty of time over the past six or seven weeks for those in management positions to sit down and think about all the possible options regarding what to do next when play is able to be safely resumed.

"There's a lot to think about and at certain points you have to stop thinking about it and get at it, which is what we're doing," AHL President/CEO Dave Andrews told Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin on SiriusXM in an interview Friday morning.

The AHL has been on hold since March 12th, and both Stellick and Laughlin asked Andrews plenty of great questions regarding where things are at currently with the league and all of the options they've been discussing.

"At this stage, it's really challenging to kind of look at the operational model going forward and what that might be, but we'll get it done," Andrews said toward the beginning of his interview segment. "We've been at this, as a league, for 85 years now and we're going to figure it out."

Summarizing The Last Six Weeks

"First of all, we're staying really close to the NHL," Andrews said, relaying that he speaks with Bill Daly, the current deputy commissioner and chief legal officer of the NHL, probably 2-3 times a week.

"He's been a champion through this. Obviously for his own league, but also for all the other commisioners and presidents in various leagues in hockey across North America and probably Europe as well. He's a leader, he's been a big help to me, for sure, over the last six or seven weeks - even prior to closing our season down. We certainly were leaning on Bill for advice and direction. Working directly with the NHL and making sure we have the most up to date info has been important."

In terms of what Andrews and AHL staffers/management have been doing specifically at the AHL level, the league's President/CEO broke it down during his 20-minute segment on SiriusXM Friday.

It began in the early stages shortly after the announcement that the season was going to be suspended indefinitely in the coordination of getting players and officials where they needed to be. Then it came time to "mitigate all of the expenses" and canceling the league's annual meetings, team business meetings etc. while also keeping employees positively and productively moving forward during uncertain times.

"It's a lot to deal with, and trying to overcommunicate and make sure everyone understands we've got our hands on the wheel and we have plans," Andrews said. "Despite the uncertainty, we'll be okay."

The Unknown Road Ahead

After explaining what Andrews and the AHL have been doing behind the scenes during the pause, he got into talking about the work that lies ahead.

"Now we're beginning to pivot more directly towards the 2020-21 season and what that might look like."

While Andrews didn't come right out and say that the 2019-20 season won't be finished, it certainly seems like the direction the AHL will be heading. Of course, plans and models change as more news about the COVID-19 pandemic comes to light, but with multiple reports of an upcoming AHL Board of Governors meeting on the horizon it sounds like the fate of the 2019-20 season could be determined and announced next month.

There are plenty of important things to consider specifically for the AHL to resume play, and Andrews has all the bases covered.

Obviously, it's unknown at this point when play will be able to be resumed, but for the AHL they will be unlikely to resume if the cost of resuming play comes with not being able to have fans in the building.

"The AHL is a gate-driven league as you know. Not a lot of TV revenue for us - we have some TV but it doesn't generate a lot of revenue," Andrews explained. "So for us to play for any extended period of time without people in the building would be very unlikely."

Currently, Andrews says the AHL is still building for an, on time, October start to the 2020-21 season. But that's just the beginning of the models and projections the league has been going through.

"We need to be ready for that in case - and let's all hope there is some opportunity to do that in October - but we also have to look at operating models beginning in November, December, January."

How short of a season can the AHL play?

How far back can the AHL wait and still have a meaningful season that works?

There are still plenty of questions - and not a ton of concrete answers - but the league is certainly doing their due diligence on how to respond when sanctions are lifted and places are able to re-open.

The player development aspect is another important topic of discussion Andrews delved into as well. NHL teams are going to want those young players playing and improving/developing to get ready to play in the NHL.

Another variable Andrews mentioned having to navigate is the simple fact that the 31 cities housing AHL teams won't all re-open at the same time, which will cause difficulties in scheduling.

"Over the next six or seven weeks all of those models are going to be developed and then we;ll have kind of trigger points along the summer where we are going to have to make operating decisions," Andrews explained. "At some point, we'll understand that we might not play in October. Ok, let's shift to Plan B. And as we move through that, Plan C and Plan D."

"I'm pretty confident that we are going to play with some critical mass of teams and with everybody as we head toward December. But again, we'll be ready to play in October if we can."

Is There Any Hope For The 2020 Calder Cup Playoffs?

In its 84th year as a league, the AHL has awarded the Calder Cup trophy to the league's champion every single year of its existence. Named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL, it is the oldest continuously awarded professional ice hockey playoff trophy.

According to Andrews on Friday morning, this year could mark the first time it won't be awarded.

"We've played every year. We've had the good fortune that this league has never stopped playing. There's a lot of firsts happening," Andrews said, adding, "I don't really see, at this point, how we would get the Calder Cup Playoffs in but we have the option still open and we're going to re-visit it in May."

In saying that, Andrews explained that if the NHL does play this summer, and current indications are that they are hoping to do that, there's going to be a number of players called upon in a support/depth role from AHL teams, similar to the 'Black Aces' squads assembled by playoff teams after their AHL affiliate's season has finished.

"In terms of being able to look ahead and see some way we would play the Calder Cup Playoffs, I mean looking at it today, I think it's very very unlikely which is sad," Andrews said. "We had all looked forward to it, and I guess being selfish myself particularly in my last year on the job after 26 years and enjoy the last few months of being in this position, and it just isn't going to happen the way we all had hoped."