AHL Announces Expansion Franchise in Colorado for 2018-19 season

The American Hockey League announced Tuesday morning that the league will be awarding the Colorado Eagles the 31st franchise in the league for the 2018-19 season.

This move allows the league to not have a sharing of franchises after the expansion of the NHL with the addition of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Eagles will be the top affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche and will continue to play in Loveland, Colorado.

The San Antonio Rampage, the current affiliate of the Avalanche, will now be the top affiliate for the St. Louis Blues, entering a five-year agreement starting in 2018-19 as well.

The Eagles were founded in 2003 and have been members of the CHL and more recently the ECHL, beating the South Carolina Stingrays last season for the Kelly Cup Championship.

It is still unknown if the Eagles will play 68 games like other Western Conference expansion franchises that have joined the league since the West-ward move in 2015.