ECHL affiliates: how an NHL club, an AHL team and a farm team fit together
ECHL affiliations are agreements, not ownership. This is what one actually does for a player, and which clubs Elmira was tied to across seventeen seasons.
Section one
The chain
What an ECHL affiliate actually is
An ECHL affiliate agreement is a contract between clubs, not a takeover. An NHL club agrees to place players with a particular ECHL team, usually alongside its American Hockey League club, and those players can be moved up or down between the three levels during the season. The ECHL team keeps its own owner, its own name, its own coach and its own payroll. Nothing about the badge on the front of the sweater changes.
That is why an ECHL affiliate deal moves around so much. A deal can last one season or a decade, a club can hold two at once, and an ECHL team can spend a year with none at all and still ice a full roster of its own signings. Most ECHL affiliate arrangements are announced in the summer and reviewed every year.
The NHL club at the top
The NHL club owns the contracts that matter. A player it has signed can be assigned down the chain to get games, and recalled the moment an injury opens a spot. For the ECHL side, an NHL partner means a supply of young professionals who would otherwise be out of reach, and a reason for a prospect to take the assignment seriously.
The AHL team in the middle
Between the two sits the American Hockey League. AHL affiliates are the NHL's primary development level, and an AHL affiliate agreement is usually what ties the ECHL club to the NHL organisation in the first place, rather than a direct deal. A player sent from the NHL to the ECHL has normally passed through the AHL club on the way, which is why the two affiliations are almost always announced together.
Why the farm team matters to a player
For the player, the farm team is where the games are. An NHL farm team assignment is not a demotion so much as a workload decision: minutes, special teams, and the chance to be seen. The route runs both ways, and a strong ECHL season is one of the few reliable ways back up. An NHL farm team place is also the difference between playing and waiting, which is why players accept one.
Section two
Elmira's own affiliations
Every deal the Jackals held
Across seventeen seasons the club held an ECHL affiliate agreement with five NHL organisations, and an AHL affiliate agreement with four. The club announced each one: Ottawa in 2008, Anaheim and Syracuse in 2010, New Jersey in 2013 alongside a renewed Ottawa agreement. The first was Columbus, from the opening season in 2000. The last was Buffalo, from 2014 until the club closed in 2017. In between it held two at once.
| Season | League | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| 2000-01 | UHL | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 2007-08 | ECHL | Columbus Blue Jackets, Syracuse Crunch |
| 2008-09 | ECHL | Ottawa Senators, Binghamton Senators |
| 2010-11 | ECHL | Anaheim Ducks, Syracuse Crunch, Ottawa Senators |
| 2013-14 | ECHL | New Jersey Devils, Albany Devils, Ottawa Senators |
| 2014-15 | ECHL | Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Americans |
| 2015-16 | ECHL | Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Americans |
| 2016-17 | ECHL | Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Americans |
Section three
Reading the chain today
Current ECHL affiliations change every summer and are not listed here, because a record of a club that stopped playing in 2017 is the wrong place to look them up. What does not change is the shape: one NHL club, one AHL club, one ECHL club, and players moving between them on assignment.
Questions
How affiliation works
Common questions about ECHL affiliates
What does an ECHL affiliate agreement actually do?
It lets an NHL organisation place players with that ECHL club and move them up and down during the season. The ECHL club keeps its own owner, name, coach and payroll; nothing about the badge changes.
Does every ECHL team have an NHL affiliate?
No. Affiliations are renewed and dropped every summer, and a club can spend a season with none and still ice a full roster of its own signings.
Is the AHL or the ECHL higher?
The AHL. The order runs NHL, then AHL, then ECHL, and a player assigned from the NHL to the ECHL has normally passed through the AHL club on the way down.
Can a club hold two affiliations at once?
Yes. Elmira did from 2010, when an agreement with Anaheim and Syracuse ran alongside the existing one with Ottawa.
Who were the Elmira Jackals affiliated with?
Columbus from 2000 and again from 2007, Ottawa from 2008, Anaheim from 2010, New Jersey for the 2013-14 season, and Buffalo from 2014 until the club closed.
Where can I find current ECHL affiliations?
Not here. Affiliations change every summer and this is the record of a club that stopped playing in 2017; a page that pretended to be current would be wrong within a year.
Elsewhere
Where the same ground is covered