# 1996 Calder Cup playoffs

The 1996 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 1996. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series for division semifinals and best-of-seven series for division finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 13, 1996, with the Rochester Americans defeating the Portland Pirates four games to three to win the sixth Calder Cup in team history. Rochester's Dixon Ward won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP.
The Saint John Flames set an AHL playoff record by winning six games in overtime. This record was equaled by the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004.

## Playoff seeds

After the 1995-96 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. However, due to the uneven number of teams in the each conference, it was possible for the fifth-placed team in the five team divisions to crossover to the playoffs for the four team divisions. This could only happen if the fifth-placed team in a five team division earned more points than the fourth-placed team in the four team division in the same conference. In this case, the fifth-placed team from the five team division would play in place of the fourth-placed team from the four team division in that part of the playoff bracket. The Albany River Rats were the Southern Conference regular season champions and also had the best overall record for the regular season. The Springfield Falcons were the Northern Conference regular season champions.

### Northern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Prince Edward Island Senators - 85 points
* Saint John Flames - 85 points
* St. John's Maple Leafs - 80 points
* Fredericton Canadiens - 79 points

#### Northern Division

* Springfield Falcons - Northern Conference regular season champions, 100 points
* Worcester IceCats - 88 points
* Portland Pirates - 78 points
* Providence Bruins - 74 points

### Southern Conference
#### Central Division

* Albany River Rats - Southern Conference regular season champions; Best regular season record, 115 points
* Adirondack Red Wings - 86 points
* Rochester Americans - 83 points
* Cornwall Aces - 80 points
* Syracuse Crunch - 74 points (Played in the South Division bracket by virtue of earning more points than the fourth-placed team in that division)

#### Southern Division

* Binghamton Rangers - 88 points
* Hershey Bears - 86 points
* Baltimore Bandits - 77 points

## Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | | | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final |
| A1 | P.E.I. | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Fredericton | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Fredericton | 3 | | | A4 | Fredericton | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A4 | Fredericton | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A2 | Saint John | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Saint John | 3 | | | A2 | Saint John | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | St. John's | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | St. John's | 1 | | | | | | A2 | Saint John | 3 | | | | |
| Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | A2 | Saint John | 3 | | | | |
| Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | Northern Conference | N3 | Portland | 4 | | | | |
| N1 | Springfield | 3 | | | | | | | | | N3 | Portland | 4 | | | | |
| N4 | Providence | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Providence | 1 | | | N1 | Springfield | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Northern Division | Northern Division | Northern Division | | | N1 | Springfield | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Northern Division | Northern Division | Northern Division | | | N3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Worcester | 1 | | | N3 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Portland | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Portland | 3 | | | | | | | | | | N3 | Portland | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | C3 | Rochester | 4 |
| C1 | Albany | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | C3 | Rochester | 4 |
| C4 | Cornwall | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Cornwall | 3 | | | C4 | Cornwall | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | | | C4 | Cornwall | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | | | C3 | Rochester | 4 | | | | | | | |
| C2 | Adirondack | 0 | | | C3 | Rochester | 4 | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Rochester | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C3 | Rochester | 3 | | | | | | C3 | Rochester | 4 | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | C3 | Rochester | 4 | | | | |
| Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | Southern Conference | C5 | Syracuse | 1 | | | | |
| S1 | Binghamton | 1 | | | | | | | | | C5 | Syracuse | 1 | | | | |
| C5 | Syracuse | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| C5 | Syracuse | 3 | | | C5 | Syracuse | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Division | Southern Division | Southern Division | | | C5 | Syracuse | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Southern Division | Southern Division | Southern Division | | | S3 | Baltimore | 3 | | | | | | | |
| S2 | Hershey | 2 | | | S3 | Baltimore | 3 | | | | | | | |
| S3 | Baltimore | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
In each round the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

## Division Semifinals

    Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC-4).
    Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.
    Note 3: Home team is listed first.
    Note 4: The number of overtime periods played (where applicable) is not specified

### Northern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Prince Edward Island Senators vs. (A4) Fredericton Canadiens

* Fredericton won series 3 – 2

##### (A2) Saint John Flames vs. (A3) St. John's Maple Leafs

* Saint John won series 3 - 1

#### Northern Division
##### (N1) Springfield Falcons vs. (N4) Providence Bruins

* Springfield won series 3 – 1

##### (N2) Worcester IceCats vs. (N3) Portland Pirates

* Portland won series 3 - 1

### Southern Conference
#### Central Division
##### (C1) Albany River Rats vs. (C4) Cornwall Aces

* Cornwall won series 3 - 1

##### (C2) Adirondack Red Wings vs. (C3) Rochester Americans

* Rochester won series 3 - 0

#### Southern Division
##### (S1) Binghamton Rangers vs. (C5) Syracuse Crunch

* Syracuse won series 3 - 1

##### (S2) Hershey Bears vs. (S3) Baltimore Bandits

* Baltimore won series 3 - 2

## Division Finals
### Northern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A2) Saint John Flames vs. (A4) Fredericton Canadiens

* Saint John won series 4 - 1

#### Northern Division
##### (N1) Springfield Falcons vs. (N3) Portland Pirates

* Portland won series 4 - 2

### Southern Conference
#### Central Division
##### (C3) Rochester Americans vs. (C4) Cornwall Aces

* Rochester won series 4 - 0

#### Southern Division
##### (S3) Baltimore Bandits vs. (C5) Syracuse Crunch

* Syracuse won series 4 - 3

## Conference finals
### Northern Conference
#### (A2) Saint John Flames vs. (N3) Portland Pirates

* Portland won series 4 - 3

### Southern Conference
#### (C3) Rochester Americans vs. (C5) Syracuse Crunch

* Rochester won series 4 - 1

## Calder Cup Final
### (C3) Rochester Americans vs. (N3) Portland Pirates

* Rochester won series 4 - 3