| Calder Cup playoffs | |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Dates: | April 9 – June 3, 2002 |
| Defending Champions: | Saint John Flames (did not qualify) |
| Num Teams: | 16 |
| Second: | Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
| Prev Season: | 2001 |
| Next Season: | 2003 |
The 2002 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 9, 2002. Twenty teams, the top ten from each conference, qualified for the playoffs. The seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-placed teams in each conference played best-of-three series in the qualifying round. The four winners, in addition to the other twelve teams that qualified, played best-of-five series for conference quarterfinals. The remaining 8 teams played best-of-seven series for conference semifinals and conference finals.[1] The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 3, 2002 with the Chicago Wolves defeating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers four games to one to win the first Calder Cup in team history.[2]
Chicago's Pasi Nurminen won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP.[3] Teammate Rob Brown recorded 26 assists, tying an AHL playoff record.[4] The Chicago Wolves as a team also set three AHL playoff records during their Calder Cup run by playing 25 games, winning 17 games in one playoff, and winning 12 home games in one playoff.[5]
After the 2001–02 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top ten teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Syracuse Crunch were the Western Conference regular season champions.[6] Division champions were automatically ranked 1-3.
The top 6 teams in each conference receive byes to the Conference Quarterfinals. In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In the qualification round, all games are played at the arena of the higher seed. In each round the higher seed 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 for each series after the Qualification Round due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.[7]
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.
1 – at Toronto[1]
2 – at Brampton, Ontario[1]