The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland and have one Calder Cup championship, after winning their first title in 2016.

The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). As of the 2023–24 AHL season, 31 of the 32 AHL teams had an official affiliation with an NHL team; immediately following season's end, the Chicago Wolves and Carolina Hurricanes finalized an affiliation agreement, resulting in all AHL teams having an NHL affiliation for the upcoming 2024–25 season. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises.