2019–20 ECHL season
The 2019–20 ECHL season was the 32nd season of the ECHL. The regular season began in October 2019 to and was set to conclude in April 2020 with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-six teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces were each scheduled for 72 games.
On March 12, 2020, the league announced that the season has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 15, the league cancelled the remainder of the season.
League business
Team changes
- The Manchester Monarchs ceased operations after four seasons in the league following the 2015 AHL/ECHL franchise swap that was part of the creation of the AHL's Pacific Division. The Monarchs' owners had put the team up for sale during their final season, but failed to find new owners and the franchise was terminated by the league.
Affiliation changes
| ECHL team | New affiliates | Former affiliates |
| Florida Everblades | Nashville Predators Milwaukee Admirals | Carolina Hurricanes Charlotte Checkers |
| Greenville Swamp Rabbits | Carolina Hurricanes Charlotte Checkers | Independent |
| Norfolk Admirals | Independent | Arizona Coyotes Tucson Roadrunners |
| Rapid City Rush | Arizona Coyotes Tucson Roadrunners | Independent |
Annual Board of Governors meeting
The annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting was held at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from June 17 to 21, 2019. The Board approved of a rule change extending overtime from five minutes to seven minutes in the same three-on-three sudden death format used since the 2015–16 season. In addition, the Board approved a rule change for the 2020 Kelly Cup Playoffs regarding players on NHL or AHL contracts. Should such player have played 260 or more regular season games, they must have played a minimum of five games in the AHL that season in order to be eligible for the ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs. The rule does not apply for players on ECHL contracts.All-star game
The 2020 ECHL All-Star Game was held on January 22, 2020, at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The All-Star Classic retained the four team, 3-on-3 player tournament style used the previous season, including two teams made from the Wichita Thunder and one team for each conference's All-Star players. In addition to the ECHL All-Star players, each team also had a player from the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association with Dani Cameranesi, Kali Flanagan, Gigi Marvin, and Annie Pankowski taking part in the festivities.In the round-robin, the Team Bolts went 2–0–1, Team Hammers went 1–1–1, and both conferences went 1–2–0. The skills competition took place in between rounds of the tournament. The Tulsa Oilers' J.J. Piccinich won the fastest skater event, the Idaho Steelheads' Brady Norrish won the hardest shot event, and the Atlanta Gladiators' Tommy Marchin won the accuracy shooting event. The results of the skills competition re-seeded the teams for the semifinal round where the Eastern Conference tied Team Bolts 4–4 and the Western Conference defeated the Team Hammers 4–1. The Eastern Conference All-Star team then defeated the Western Conference 4–2. The Florida Everblades' Logan Roe was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Standings
Final standings;Eastern Conference
| North Division | ||||||||
| x – Newfoundland Growlers | 60 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 240 | 177 | 85 |
| x – Reading Royals | 60 | 37 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 218 | 176 | 80 |
| Brampton Beast | 62 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 229 | 206 | 71 |
| Maine Mariners | 62 | 32 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 182 | 186 | 68 |
| Adirondack Thunder | 63 | 22 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 197 | 219 | 57 |
| Worcester Railers | 61 | 21 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 230 | 46 |
| South Division | ||||||||
| x – South Carolina Stingrays | 62 | 44 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 216 | 147 | 92 |
| x – Florida Everblades | 62 | 43 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 227 | 156 | 92 |
| Greenville Swamp Rabbits | 64 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 210 | 226 | 63 |
| Atlanta Gladiators | 61 | 29 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 200 | 230 | 62 |
| Orlando Solar Bears | 62 | 27 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 170 | 180 | 60 |
| Jacksonville Icemen | 60 | 24 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 173 | 206 | 55 |
| Norfolk Admirals | 60 | 14 | 38 | 8 | 0 | 149 | 248 | 36 |
;Western Conference
| Central Division | ||||||||
| x – Cincinnati Cyclones | 63 | 38 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 196 | 161 | 84 |
| Toledo Walleye | 59 | 37 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 225 | 163 | 79 |
| Fort Wayne Komets | 62 | 31 | 23 | 6 | 2 | 218 | 220 | 70 |
| Indy Fuel | 60 | 30 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 195 | 175 | 64 |
| Kalamazoo Wings | 61 | 23 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 194 | 241 | 54 |
| Wheeling Nailers | 59 | 24 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 163 | 206 | 53 |
| Mountain Division | ||||||||
| x – Allen Americans | 62 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 247 | 195 | 88 |
| Idaho Steelheads | 61 | 36 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 168 | 155 | 79 |
| Utah Grizzlies | 62 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 207 | 164 | 79 |
| Tulsa Oilers | 63 | 29 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 199 | 196 | 66 |
| Rapid City Rush | 60 | 29 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 181 | 200 | 64 |
| Wichita Thunder | 62 | 24 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 181 | 233 | 56 |
| Kansas City Mavericks | 61 | 24 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 167 | 217 | 53 |
- clinched playoff spot, - clinched regular season division title, - Brabham Cup champion
Postseason
At the end of the regular season, the top four teams in each division would have qualified for the 2020 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four based on highest point total earned in the season. However, as the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the playoffs were not held. At the time of the cancellation, six teams had already clinched playoff berths: the Allen Americans, Cincinnati Cyclones, Florida Everblades, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and South Carolina Stingrays.Awards
Due to the season being cancelled, only individual regular season awards were given as the team-based awards were incomplete.| Award | Winner |
| Patrick Kelly Cup: | Not awarded |
| Henry Brabham Cup: | Not awarded |
| Gingher Memorial Trophy: | Not awarded |
| Bruce Taylor Trophy: | Not awarded |
| John Brophy Award: | Steve Bergin, South Carolina |
| Most Valuable Player: | Josh Kestner, Toledo |
| Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: | Not awarded |
| Goaltender of the Year: | Tomas Sholl, Idaho |
| Rookie of the Year: | Tyler Sheehy, Allen |
| Defenseman of the Year: | Alex Breton, Allen |
| Leading Scorer: | Josh Kestner, Toledo |
| Plus Performer Award: | Ben Masella, Florida |
| Sportsmanship Award: | Spencer Watson, Indy |
| Community Service Award: | Connor Doherty, Worcester |
All-ECHL teams
First Team- Tomas Sholl – Idaho Steelheads
- Alex Breton – Allen Americans
- Logan Roe – Florida Everblades
- Josh Kestner – Toledo Walleye
- Tyler Sheehy – Allen Americans
- David Vallorini – Brampton Beast
- Parker Milner – South Carolina Stingrays
- Eric Knodel – Reading Royals
- Miles Liberati – Tulsa Oilers
- Brady Ferguson – Newfoundland Growlers
- Tim McGauley – Utah Grizzlies
- Jesse Schultz – Cincinnati Cylones
- Billy Christopoulos – Toledo Walleye
- Justin Baudry – Cincinnati Cyclones
- Joseph Duszak – Newfoundland Growlers
- Samuel Asselin – Atlanta Gladiators
- Justin Brazeau – Newfoundland Growlers
- Tyler Sheehy – Allen Americans