The 2003–04 AHL

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

was the 68th season of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. The league introduced the Willie Marshall Award in honor of the career points leader in the AHL, and awards it to the annual top goal scorer. The AHL switched from a six division alignment to four divisions within two conferences. The Eastern conference consisted of the Atlantic and East divisions, and the Western conference consisted of the North and West divisions. Twenty-eight teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

finished first overall in the regular season, and won the Calder Cup, defeating the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barr ...

in the finals.

Team changes

*The Saint John Flames suspend operations, becoming dormant. *The

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

and Quebec Citadelles merger dissolves, remaining as a Montreal Canadiens affiliate. *The Edmonton Oilers affiliation resumed operations as the

Toronto Roadrunners The Toronto Roadrunners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita, Brad Winchester, Jamie Wright a ...

, based in Toronto, Ontario, playing in the North division. *All teams playing in the 2002-03 North Division (

Lowell Lock Monsters The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey L ...

, Manchester Monarchs, Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins and

Worcester IceCats The Worcester IceCats were a US ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum. In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and moved to Peoria, Illinois. History The IceCats ...

) play in the new Atlantic Division. *The Hartford Wolf Pack and Springfield Falcons switch from the 2002-03 East Division to the new Atlantic Division. *All teams playing in the 2002-03 South Division ( Hershey Bears, Norfolk Admirals, Philadelphia Phantoms and

) play in the new East Division. *The Albany River Rats, Binghamton Senators and

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

continue to play in the (new) East Division. *The

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

and

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

switch from the Canadian Division to the new North Division. *The

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

and Syracuse Crunch switch from the Central Division to the new North Division. *All teams playing in the 2002-03 West Division (

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

, Houston Aeros,

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

and

Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Star ...

) continue to play in the West Division. *The

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primar ...

and

Grand Rapids Griffins The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey Leag ...

switch from the Central Division to the new West Division.

Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points;

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Scoring leaders

''Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes''

Calder Cup Playoffs

All Star Classic

The 17th AHL All-Star Classic was played on February 9, 2004, at the

Van Andel Arena Van Andel Arena is a 12,000 plus seat multi-purpose arena, situated in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. The arena attracted over five million patrons in its first 5 years, 1996–2001. It is home to the Grand Rapi ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. Team Canada defeated team PlanetUSA 9-5. In the skills competition held the night before, team PlanetUSA defeated team Canada 18-9.

Trophy and award winners

Team awards

Individual awards

Other awards

References

External links

AHL official siteAHL Hall of FameHockeyDBCalder Cup Playoffs
@ manitobamoose.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Ahl Season American Hockey League seasons 2 2