VHL Playoffs
The VHL Playoffs are the annual playoffs tournament, held after the VHL season, to determine that year's champion.
List of teams by Playoff qualifications[edit | edit source]
Note that from the 1978 to 2023 seasons, only the top four teams qualified. Since the 2024 season, the top eight teams qualify.
Rank | Team | Qualifications | Titles | Years qualified |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Boston Spirits | 39 | 17 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
2 | Newfoundland Sailors | 34 | 11 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
3 | Salem Loggers | 25 | 6 | 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
4 | Providence Doves | 24 | 7 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024 |
5 | Acadia Rage | 12 | - | 1978, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2024 |
Halifax Hockey Club | 12 | 2 | 1982, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2024 | |
6 | Connecticut Bandits | 7 | - | 1979, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 |
Concord Venom | 7 | 1 | 1981, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 2017, 2021 | |
EH Bas-Canada | 7 | 1 | 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2016, 2021, 2024 | |
Mainers | 7 | 1 | 1983, 1984, 1999, 2014, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |
7 | Vermont | 6 | - | 1979, 1988, 1997, 2000, 2010, 2013 |
8 | Charlottetown Hockey | 4 | - | 1983, 1984, 2017, 2018 |
Plymouth Fishermen | 4 | - | 1990, 1991, 1998, 2009 |
Three VHL teams have never qualified for the playoffs: the Fredericton Stars, the Springfield Bullets, and Hartford Hockey. A first-time qualifier has not occurred since the Providence Doves in 1996. The Acadia Rage are the team with the most qualifications to have never won the championship, with twelve playoffs appearances but no league titles.
For most of VHL history, the Spirits held the record for most consecutive playoffs appearances, with nineteen in a row, from the inaugural season in 1978 to 1997. This record was surpassed by the Doves, who achieved their twentieth qualification in a row in 2015. They further extended their record by qualifying in 2016, leaving twenty-one consecutive qualifications as the current record. The Newfoundland Sailors are currently on the longest playoffs appearance streak, with thirteen consecutive appearances, qualifying every season since 2011.