1986–87 AHL season

The 1986–87 AHL season was the 51st season of the American Hockey League. 13 teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league institutes awarding one point in the standings, for an overtime loss. The league experimented with a shootout to settle games tied after a scoreless overtime period; the format would not be used again until the 2004–05 season.

The Sherbrooke Canadiens finished first overall in the regular season. The Rochester Americans won their fifth Calder Cup championship.

Team changes

• The St. Catharines Saints move to Newmarket, Ontario, becoming the Newmarket Saints.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;

North	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
Sherbrooke Canadiens	80	50	28	2	102	328	257
Adirondack Red Wings	80	44	31	5	93	329	296
Moncton Golden Flames	80	43	31	6	92	338	315
Nova Scotia Oilers	80	38	39	3	79	318	315
Maine Mariners	80	35	40	5	75	272	298
Fredericton Express	80	32	43	5	69	292	357

South	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
Rochester Americans	80	47	26	7	101	315	263
Binghamton Whalers	80	47	26	7	101	309	259
New Haven Nighthawks	80	44	25	11	99	331	315
Hershey Bears	80	43	36	1	87	329	309
Baltimore Skipjacks	80	35	37	8	78	277	295
Springfield Indians	80	34	40	6	74	296	344
Newmarket Saints	80	28	48	4	60	226	337

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tim Tookey	Hershey Bears	80	51	73	124	45
Alain Lemieux	Baltimore Skipjacks	72	41	56	97	62
Brett Hull	Moncton Golden Flames	67	50	42	92	16
Mitch Lamoureux	Hershey Bears	78	43	46	89	122
Ross Fitzpatrick	Hershey Bears	66	45	40	85	34
Glenn Merkosky	Adirondack Red Wings	77	54	31	85	66
Ray Allison	Hershey Bears	78	29	55	84	57
Bruce Boudreau	Nova Scotia Oilers	78	35	47	82	40
Serge Boisvert	Sherbrooke Canadiens	78	27	54	81	29
Wes Jarvis	Newmarket Saints	70	28	50	78	32

• complete list

Calder Cup playoffs

	Division Semifinals					Division Finals					Calder Cup Final
	1	Sherbrooke	4
	4	Nova Scotia	1
						1	Sherbrooke	4
	North Division
						2	Adirondack	1
	2	Adirondack	4
	3	Moncton	2
											N1	Sherbrooke	3
											S1	Rochester	4
	1	Rochester	4
	4	Hershey	1
						1	Rochester	4
	South Division
						2	Binghamton	2
	2	Binghamton	4
	3	New Haven	3

Trophy and Award winners

Team awards

Calder Cup Playoff champions:	Rochester Americans
F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular Season champions, North Division:	Sherbrooke Canadiens
John D. Chick Trophy Regular Season champions, South Division:	Rochester Americans

Individual awards

Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player:	Tim Tookey - Hershey Bears
John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer:	Tim Tookey - Hershey Bears
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year:	Brett Hull - Moncton Golden Flames
Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year:	Brad Shaw - Binghamton Whalers
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Best Goaltender:	Mark Laforest - Adirondack Red Wings
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average:	Vincent Riendeau - Sherbrooke Canadiens
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year:	Larry Pleau - Binghamton Whalers
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance:	Glenn Merkosky - Adirondack Red Wings
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy MVP of the playoffs:	David Fenyves - Rochester Americans

Other awards

James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive:	Joel Schiavone
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage:	Joel Jacobson, Nova Scotia, (newspaper) Dave Morrell, Fredericton, (radio) Arnold Klinsky, Rochester, (television)
Ken McKenzie Award Outstanding marketing executive:	Larry Haley, Moncton Golden Flames

See also

• List of AHL seasons

References

• AHL official site
• AHL Hall of Fame
• HockeyDB