2025-26 AHL Playoffs
2025–26 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs at a Glance
🏆 Calder Cup Champion: Toronto Marlies
🥈 Runner-up: Chicago Wolves
🏒 Calder Cup Finals: Toronto defeated Chicago, 4–1
⭐ Playoff MVP: Artur Akhtyamov (Jack A. Butterfield Trophy)
📅 Playoff Format: Five rounds (First Round, Division Semifinals, Division Finals, Conference Finals, Calder Cup Finals)
👥 Teams Qualified: 23
🎯 Featured on This Page:
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Team playoff performance
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Offense vs. defense comparison
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Leading playoff scorers
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Leading playoff goaltenders
2025–26 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs: A Season in Review
The 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs featured four rounds of highly competitive postseason hockey, culminating in the Toronto Marlies capturing the Calder Cup with a 4–1 series victory over the Chicago Wolves. Toronto secured the franchise's second Calder Cup championship by rallying from an early two-goal deficit in Game 5 to earn a 4–3 victory on home ice. Goaltender Artur Akhtyamov was named the recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Calder Cup Playoffs after anchoring the Marlies throughout their championship run.
Toronto's path to the championship was anything but easy. The Marlies advanced through the Eastern Conference by defeating Rochester, Laval, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before meeting the Western Conference champion Chicago Wolves in the Calder Cup Finals. Chicago reached the championship series after eliminating Texas and Colorado, setting up a matchup between two of the AHL's strongest postseason clubs.
While Toronto ultimately lifted the Calder Cup, the postseason featured standout performances throughout the league. Colorado demonstrated exceptional offensive efficiency during its run to the Western Conference Finals, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton relied on outstanding goaltending to advance deep into the playoffs, and several young stars emerged among the league leaders in playoff scoring. As is often the case in the AHL, the postseason served as a showcase for many of hockey's top NHL prospects competing under playoff pressure.
The visualizations below provide an analytical review of the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs from multiple perspectives. The Team Playoff Performance chart compares each postseason team's overall success based on goal differential and playoff advancement. The Offense vs. Defense visualization illustrates how offensive production and defensive effectiveness combined to influence playoff outcomes. Individual performances are highlighted through leaderboards of the postseason's top scorers and goaltenders, recognizing the players who had the greatest statistical impact during the race for the Calder Cup.
Together, these analyses provide a comprehensive season-in-review of the 2025–26 AHL playoffs, allowing fans, analysts, and researchers to explore not only who won the championship, but also how teams and players distinguished themselves throughout one of hockey's most demanding postseason tournaments.
Team Playoff Performance by Goal Differential
The Team Playoff Performance by Goal Differential chart compares every club that qualified for the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs based on its cumulative goal differential, while also providing context through total games played and the furthest round reached. Goal differential is one of the strongest indicators of postseason performance, reflecting a team's ability to consistently outscore its opponents over the course of the playoffs rather than simply survive close contests.
Although the Toronto Marlies captured the 2025–26 Calder Cup championship, the Colorado Eagles finished the postseason with the highest overall goal differential (+23), demonstrating exceptional offensive production and defensive play during their run to the Western Conference Finals. Toronto ranked second (+16), combining balanced scoring with timely victories to win four playoff series, culminating in a 4–1 series victory over the Chicago Wolves in the Calder Cup Finals.
Several other teams also posted impressive postseason performances. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton recorded a +7 goal differential while advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, while Grand Rapids finished at +4 despite playing fewer games than many of the tournament's deepest contenders. Conversely, several clubs exited the playoffs with negative goal differentials, illustrating the difficulty of sustaining success against increasingly strong competition as the postseason progressed.
Overall, the chart highlights that while a strong goal differential is closely associated with playoff success, it does not guarantee a championship. Toronto's ability to consistently win close games, maintain balanced play at both ends of the ice, and perform under pressure ultimately proved more valuable than simply posting the largest scoring margin. Together, these results provide a league-wide perspective on which teams controlled play throughout the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs and how those performances translated into postseason advancement.
Offense vs. Defense
The Offense vs. Defense chart illustrates the balance between scoring production and defensive performance for each team that qualified for the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs. The horizontal axis represents goals scored per game, with teams farther to the right generating more offense. The vertical axis represents goals allowed per game, with teams positioned higher on the chart allowing fewer goals and demonstrating stronger defensive play. The reference lines indicate the playoff averages, dividing teams into four general performance profiles.
Teams in the upper-right quadrant combined above-average offense with above-average defense, representing the most complete playoff performances. The Colorado Eagles were among the strongest all-around teams, pairing one of the highest scoring rates in the postseason with one of the lowest goals-against averages. The Toronto Marlies, who ultimately captured the Calder Cup championship, also occupied this quadrant, illustrating the balanced style of play that carried them through four playoff series.
Other clubs reached success through different approaches. Teams such as Grand Rapids and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton relied more heavily on defensive consistency, while clubs including Charlotte generated strong offensive production despite allowing goals at a rate closer to the playoff average. Conversely, teams located in the lower-left portion of the chart generally struggled to consistently score while also conceding goals at a higher-than-average rate, making deep playoff runs difficult.
The distribution of teams highlights an important postseason trend: championship-caliber clubs typically excel at both ends of the ice rather than relying exclusively on offense or defense. While elite scoring can help teams advance, sustained playoff success is generally achieved through a combination of offensive efficiency, defensive responsibility, and reliable goaltending. The Offense vs. Defense chart provides a clear visual comparison of how each playoff team balanced these complementary strengths during the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Leading Playoff Scorers
The Leading Playoff Scorers chart highlights the most productive offensive players during the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs, ranking skaters by total points while also displaying goals, assists, and games played. Postseason scoring often reflects not only individual skill but also a player's ability to consistently produce against increasingly difficult competition as teams advance through multiple playoff rounds.
The Toronto Marlies, who captured the Calder Cup championship, dominated the playoff scoring race. Vinni Lettieri led all skaters with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 23 playoff games, while teammate William Villeneuve finished second with 23 points, driven by an impressive 21 assists. Toronto placed five players among the top ten playoff scorers, underscoring the balanced offensive attack that fueled its championship run.
The Chicago Wolves, runners-up in the Calder Cup Finals, were also well represented by Ryan Suzuki, Bradly Nadeau, and Justin Robidas, each of whom ranked among the postseason's leading point producers. Meanwhile, the Colorado Eagles featured two of the playoffs' most dynamic offensive performers in Tristen Nielsen and Ivan Ivan, whose scoring helped propel Colorado to one of the strongest statistical playoff performances despite falling short of the Finals.
One notable pattern is that the highest-scoring players overwhelmingly came from teams that advanced deep into the postseason. With additional games providing more opportunities to accumulate points, postseason leaderboards often reflect both individual excellence and team success. At the same time, players such as Nielsen and Ivan demonstrated exceptional offensive efficiency despite playing fewer games than many of the tournament's finalists.
Overall, the chart illustrates the importance of offensive depth during the Calder Cup Playoffs. Rather than relying on a single superstar, the most successful teams featured multiple players capable of contributing timely goals and assists throughout the postseason. Toronto's dominance among the playoff scoring leaders provides a clear example of how balanced offensive production can translate into championship success.
Leading Playoff Goaltenders
The Leading Playoff Goaltenders chart highlights the netminders who made the greatest impact during the 2025–26 Calder Cup Playoffs. Rather than ranking solely by save percentage, the chart emphasizes playoff wins while also presenting each goaltender's games played, minutes played, save percentage, goals-against average (GAA), and shutouts. This approach recognizes both performance and workload, providing a more complete assessment of postseason goaltending.
Leading the way is Artur Akhtyamov of the Toronto Marlies, who backstopped the Calder Cup champions to 15 playoff victories while appearing in 22 games. Akhtyamov finished the postseason with a .923 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average, earning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Calder Cup Playoffs. His consistency throughout Toronto's championship run illustrates the importance of reliable goaltending in winning four consecutive playoff series.
Trent Miner of the Colorado Eagles also delivered an exceptional postseason, recording 11 victories, a .925 save percentage, a 1.87 goals-against average, and four shutouts while helping Colorado advance to the Western Conference Finals. Cayden Primeau of the Chicago Wolves appeared in 18 playoff games and earned nine wins during Chicago's run to the Calder Cup Finals, while Sergei Murashov combined eight victories with a stellar .931 save percentage for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's deep postseason run. Among qualifying goaltenders, Georgii Romanov posted one of the playoffs' best save percentages (.939), demonstrating outstanding efficiency during Springfield's postseason.
The chart also highlights the balance between efficiency and workload that defines successful playoff goaltending. While several netminders posted outstanding rate statistics in fewer games, those whose teams advanced to the later rounds accumulated significantly heavier workloads and more opportunities to influence postseason outcomes. Sustaining strong performance over 1,000 or more playoff minutes presents a considerably different challenge than excelling in a shorter series.
Overall, the chart reinforces one of hockey's enduring postseason truths: championship teams are built on dependable play in goal. Whether measured by wins, save percentage, or consistency over an extended playoff run, elite goaltending remained one of the defining characteristics of the teams that advanced deepest in the pursuit of the 2025–26 Calder Cup.