<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> ← 2015--16 2017--18 → </Td> </Tr> <P> The 2016--17 AHL season is the 81st season of the American Hockey League . The regular season began on October 14, 2016, and ended on April 15, 2017 . The 2017 Calder Cup playoffs began on April 20, 2017 . </P> <P> The AHL had a slight alignment shift with the addition of the Tucson Roadrunners to the one - year - old Pacific Division, bringing the division member total up to eight . It also created an unbalanced conference alignment with the Western Conference having 16 members and the Eastern Conference containing 14 members . Similar to the season scheduling in the previous season, the five California based teams, plus the new Tucson team, continue to play a 68 - game season while the rest of the AHL teams play a 76 - game season . </P> <P> The AHL also changed the usage of home and away jerseys for the season . Before the Christmas break, home teams wear light jerseys and after the Christmas break, home teams wear dark jerseys . For the past several seasons, the visiting team wore light jerseys and the home team wore dark jerseys . Prior to the change in 2003, it was the opposite for many years . </P>

How many games are in the ahl regular season
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