The 2026 Calder Cup Finals kick off tonight at Allstate Arena (8 p.m. ET, 
Sportsnet 360, NHL Network Radio), the first game was between two clubs who both achieved incredible results.
During the regular season, the Chicago Wolves were ranked 11th in the AHL overall standings, while the Toronto Marlies were ranked 15th. But both won their respective division titles by knocking out some elite opponents.
Chicago reached its sixth Calder Cup final, including a win over 51-win, 107-point Grand Rapids in the conference finals, then advanced to Colorado State in the conference finals and won Games 6 and 7 in a hostile blue FCU Arena.
Bradley Nadeau (5-9-14), Ryan Suzuki (5-8-13) and Justin Robidas (6-6-12) was Chicago’s leading scorer in the playoffs. Felix Unger Sorum (3-6-9) led the Wolves with 66 points during the regular season, but he has missed the past five games due to injury.
Amir Miftakhov (2-0, 2.36, .940) Started in place of injured player in Games 6 and 7 of conference finals at Colorado Kayden Primo (8-6, 2.58, .919) and stopped 75 of 80 shots. Miftakhov was recalled last night to serve as Carolina’s emergency third goaltender Brandon Busey and Peter Kochetkov.
The 2022 Calder Cup champion Wolves are seeking a second title during their partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes also won a championship in 2019 when they joined the Charlotte Checkers. With Carolina leading 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final, they could become the first team to win two Cups in the same season since the New Jersey Devils and Albany River Rats in 1995.
Toronto was a .500 team on Christmas Day, finishing fourth in the North Division and knocking off Rochester in the first round. They trailed in the third quarter of Game 5’s winner-take-all game in Laval and Cleveland to take the two-game series. They defeated 101-point Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in six conference finals, winning twice in overtime and taking all three road games.
“We have a great group of guys,” Marlies GM Ryan Hardy explain. “At this level our goal is always, first and foremost, to create the best environment to develop players. Once we get going, we start running.”
marris striker Vinny Lettieri (8-9-17) tied for the league lead in scoring this postseason, and the captain Logan Shaw (7-8-15) and Rookie easton cowan (7-6-13) scored 7 goals each. defensive player William Villeneuve (2-14-16) A seven-game winning streak was snapped in the series finale against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
in the net, Artur Akhtyamov (11-6, 2.12, .927) made 15 consecutive starts and hit 71 of 73 shots in the final two games of the conference finals.
Quick click:
- Spiros AnastasHe took over as head coach of the Wolves on December 12 and won the Calder Cup as an assistant with Grand Rapids in 2013. That’s also the last year a team has reached the Calder Cup finals after a mid-season coaching change — something the Griffins’ rival, the Syracuse Crunch, saw Rob Zeitler replace Jon Cooper After Cooper was promoted to Tampa Bay.
- Chicago has been strong in the postseason at 24.5% (13 of 53), while Toronto is not far behind at 23.2% (16 of 69).
- The Wolves and Marlies will meet a total of four times in the 2025-26 season. This is the first time the Calder Cup finalists have met in the regular season since 2007 (Hamilton vs. Hershey).
- The Chicago and Toronto teams competed for the professional hockey title for the first time since the 1962 Stanley Cup Final, with the Maple Leafs defeating the Blackhawks in six games.
