The ECHL announced on Monday that the Cincinnati Cyclones, Idaho Steelheads and Kalamazoo Wings will suspend play for the 2020-21 ECHL season as part of the league’s guidelines for COVID-19. All teams are expected to return in the ECHL 2021-22 season.
“This decision for our clubs was immensely difficult given the ever-changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to get back to gambling in our various jurisdictions,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “We look forward to having fans and ECHL hockey again in these great markets when they shift their focus to the 2021-22 season.”
Under the terms of the ECHL / PHPA collective agreement, all players who have signed ECHL contracts with Cincinnati, Idaho and Kalamazoo are immediately free agents for the 2020-21 season.
About the ECHL
Started in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 33rd 2020-21 season. There were 678 players who played in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 16 who made their NHL debut in the 2019-20 season. The ECHL was associated with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2019-20. This was the 23rd straight season that the league has been associated with at least 20 teams in the NHL. You can find more information about ECHL on their website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
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