ADRIAN WYLD
The American Hockey League is cutting down its schedule in an effort to ease the workload for players.
Starting next year, teams will play 76 games - down from 80 - and one week will be added to the regular season. As a result, there will be no instances where a team has to play four times in five days.
"As our league has grown and our game has become faster and more physical, the wear and tear on our players has begun to affect player development and at times the quality of competition," AHL president David Andrews said Wednesday in a statement. "These steps are intended to provide a safer environment for our players through increased rest and recovery time, and also to provide our fans with an even higher calibre of play as a result of reduced player fatigue."
The league has also decided to alter next year's playoff format so that the first round will see teams play a best-of-five series rather than a best-of-seven.
AHL games are generally played on weekends, which makes the schedule notoriously tough. For example, the Toronto Marlies had one stretch in November that saw them play eight road games in an 11-day stretch.