1986–87 AHL season

The 1986–87 AHL season was the 51st season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen 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==
See 1987 Calder Cup Playoffs
==Trophy and Award winners==
;Team awards
Calder CupPlayoff champions: 	Rochester Americans
F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular Season champions, North Division:	Sherbrooke Canadiens
John D. Chick TrophyRegular Season champions, South Division: 	Rochester Americans
;Individual awards
Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: 	Tim Tookey - Hershey Bears
John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: 	Tim Tookey - Hershey Bears
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: 	Brett Hull - Moncton Golden Flames
Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: 	Brad Shaw - Binghamton Whalers
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial AwardBest Goaltender: 	Mark Laforest - Adirondack Red Wings
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average:	Vincent Riendeau - Sherbrooke Canadiens
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: 	Larry Pleau - Binghamton Whalers
Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: 	Glenn Merkosky - Adirondack Red Wings
Jack A. Butterfield TrophyMVP of the playoffs: 	David Fenyves - Rochester Americans
;Other awards
James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost 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 AwardOutstanding marketing executive: 	Larry Haley, Moncton Golden Flames
==Team Photos==
86-87RocAme.jpg|Rochester Americans
86-87MonGF.jpg|Moncton Golden Flames
==Game Ads==
86-87AHLAdirondackGameAd.jpg|Glens Falls, New York (Adirondack)
==See also==
*List of AHL seasons
==References==
*AHL official site
*AHL Hall of Fame
*HockeyDB
Category:American Hockey League seasons
Category:1987 in hockey