# 2000 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2000 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 11, 2000. 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 4, 2000 with the Hartford Wolf Pack defeating the Rochester Americans four games to two to win the first Calder Cup in team history.
Hartford's Derek Armstrong won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP. Rochester's Mika Noronen set an AHL playoff record by posting 6 shutouts during the playoffs while teammate Domenic Pittis tied the AHL record for assists in a single playoff with 26. In winning their first five home games of the 2000 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Providence Bruins set an AHL playoff record by winning 16 consecutive playoff home games, a streak that included 10 consecutive home wins from the 1999 Calder Cup Playoffs and a win from the 1997 Calder Cup Playoffs.

## Playoff seeds

After the 1999–2000 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 Eastern Conference, it was possible for the fifth-placed team in the New England Division to crossover to the Atlantic Division. This could only happen if the fifth-placed team in the New England Division earned more points than the fourth-placed team in the Atlantic Division. In this case, the fifth-placed team from the New England Division would play in place of the fourth-placed team from the Atlantic Division in that part of the playoff bracket. The Hartford Wolf Pack were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Rochester Americans were the Western Conference regular season champions.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Quebec Citadelles – 83 points
* Saint John Flames – 80 points
* Lowell Lock Monsters – 77 points

#### New England Division

* Hartford Wolf Pack – Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 107 points
* Portland Pirates – 103 points
* Worcester IceCats – 83 points
* Springfield Falcons – 78 points
* Providence Bruins – 75 points (Played in the Atlantic Division bracket by virtue of earning more points than the fourth-placed team in that division)

### Western Conference
#### Empire Division

* Rochester Americans – Western Conference regular season champions, 104 points
* Syracuse Crunch – 80 points
* Hamilton Bulldogs – 73 points
* Albany River Rats – 70 points

#### Mid-Atlantic Division

* Kentucky Thoroughblades – 97 points
* Hershey Bears – 94 points
* Philadelphia Phantoms – 93 points
* Louisville Panthers – 92 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 | Quebec | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N5 | Providence | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N5 | Providence | 3 | | | N5 | Providence | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | N5 | Providence | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A3 | Lowell | 0 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Saint John | 0 | | | A3 | Lowell | 0 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Lowell | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Lowell | 3 | | | | | | N5 | Providence | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | N5 | Providence | 3 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | N1 | Hartford | 4 | | | | |
| N1 | Hartford | 3 | | | | | | | | | N1 | Hartford | 4 | | | | |
| N4 | Springfield | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Springfield | 2 | | | N1 | Hartford | 4 | | | | | | | |
| New England Division | New England Division | New England Division | | | N1 | Hartford | 4 | | | | | | | |
| New England Division | New England Division | New England Division | | | N3 | Worcester | 1 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Portland | 1 | | | N3 | Worcester | 1 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Worcester | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Worcester | 3 | | | | | | | | | | N1 | Hartford | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Rochester | 2 |
| E1 | Rochester | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | E1 | Rochester | 2 |
| E4 | Albany | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Albany | 2 | | | E1 | Rochester | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Empire Division | Empire Division | Empire Division | | | E1 | Rochester | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Empire Division | Empire Division | Empire Division | | | E3 | Hamilton | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Syracuse | 1 | | | E3 | Hamilton | 2 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | | | E1 | Rochester | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | E1 | Rochester | 4 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | M2 | Hershey | 0 | | | | |
| M1 | Kentucky | 3 | | | | | | | | | M2 | Hershey | 0 | | | | |
| M4 | Louisville | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| M4 | Louisville | 1 | | | M1 | Kentucky | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Mid-Atlantic Division | Mid-Atlantic Division | Mid-Atlantic Division | | | M1 | Kentucky | 1 | | | | | | | |
| Mid-Atlantic Division | Mid-Atlantic Division | Mid-Atlantic Division | | | M2 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | |
| M2 | Hershey | 3 | | | M2 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | |
| M3 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Quebec Citadelles vs. (N5) Providence Bruins

* Providence won series 3 – 0

##### (A2) Saint John Flames vs. (A3) Lowell Lock Monsters

* Lowell won series 3 – 0

#### New England Division
##### (N1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (N4) Springfield Falcons

* Hartford won series 3 – 2

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

* Worcester won series 3 – 1

### Western Conference
#### Empire Division
##### (E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E4) Albany River Rats

* Rochester won series 3 – 2

##### (E2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (E3) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Hamilton won series 3 – 1

#### Mid-Atlantic Division
##### (M1) Kentucky Thoroughblades vs. (M4) Louisville Panthers

* Kentucky won series 3 – 1

##### (M2) Hershey Bears vs. (M3) Philadelphia Phantoms

* Hershey won series 3 – 2

## Division Finals
### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A3) Lowell Lock Monsters vs. (N5) Providence Bruins

* Providence won series 4 – 0

#### New England Division
##### (N1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (N3) Worcester IceCats

* Hartford won series 4 – 1

### Western Conference
#### Empire Division
##### (E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E3) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Rochester won series 4 – 2

#### Mid-Atlantic Division
##### (M1) Kentucky Thoroughblades vs. (M2) Hershey Bears

* Hershey won series 4 – 1

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (N1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (N5) Providence Bruins

* Hartford won series 4 – 3

### Western Conference
#### (E1) Rochester Americans vs. (M2) Hershey Bears

* Rochester won series 4 – 0

## Calder Cup Final
### (N1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (E1) Rochester Americans

* Hartford won series 4 – 2