# Richard F. Canning Trophy

The Richard F. Canning Trophy is presented annually to the team that advances to the American Hockey League's (AHL) Calder Cup Finals as the playoff winner of the Eastern Conference. Prior to 1998, it was given to the playoffs champion of the Northern Division/Conference.
The award is named after former AHL President Richard F. Canning, who served in that role from 1958 to 1961. He would serve the AHL in various roles for over five decades.
The current holders of the Richard F. Canning Trophy are the Hershey Bears.

## Winners

Total awards won :
| Wins | Team |
| 7 | Hershey Bears |
| 3 | Springfield Indians |
| 2 | Hamilton Bulldogs |
| 2 | Portland Pirates |
| 2 | Saint John Flames |
| 2 | Syracuse Crunch |
| 2 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
| 1 | Adirondack Red Wings |
| 1 | Albany River Rats |
| 1 | Binghamton Senators |
| 1 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
| 1 | Charlotte Checkers |
| 1 | Hartford Wolf Pack |
| 1 | Manchester Monarchs |
| 1 | Norfolk Admirals |
| 1 | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| 1 | Providence Bruins |
| 1 | Springfield Thunderbirds |
| 1 | St. John's IceCaps |
| 1 | Toronto Marlies |

### Winner by season
#### Key

* ‡ = Eventual Calder Cup champions
| Awarded for | Season | Team | Win |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1990 | Springfield Indians‡ | 1 |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1991 | Springfield Indians‡ | 2 |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1992 | Adirondack Red Wings‡ | 1 |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1993 | Springfield Indians | 3 |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1994 | Portland Pirates‡ | 1 |
| Northern Division playoffs champion | 1995 | Albany River Rats‡ | 1 |
| Northern Conference playoffs champion | 1996 | Portland Pirates | 2 |
| Northern Conference playoffs champion | 1997 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 1998 | Saint John Flames | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 1999 | Providence Bruins‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2000 | Hartford Wolf Pack‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2001 | Saint John Flames‡ | 2 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2002 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2003 | Hamilton Bulldogs | 2 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2004 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2005 | Philadelphia Phantoms‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2006 | Hershey Bears‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2007 | Hershey Bears | 2 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2008 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 2 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2009 | Hershey Bears‡ | 3 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2010 | Hershey Bears‡ | 4 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2011 | Binghamton Senators‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2012 | Norfolk Admirals‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2013 | Syracuse Crunch | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2014 | St. John's IceCaps | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2015 | Manchester Monarchs‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2016 | Hershey Bears | 5 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2017 | Syracuse Crunch | 2 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2018 | Toronto Marlies‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2019 | Charlotte Checkers‡ | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2020 | Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2021 | Not awarded; playoffs not held | Not awarded; playoffs not held |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2022 | Springfield Thunderbirds | 1 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2023 | Hershey Bears‡ | 6 |
| Eastern Conference playoffs champion | 2024 | Hershey Bears | 7 |