We used to sign career AHL players to round out the farm, mostly because we had guys that didn't pan out or jumped into the NHL soon. I mean less than 2 years in the AHL. Nothing exciting there and nothing to hope for. Compounded by the lean years of the idiot GM, the Burkie impact, and the years giving up a lot of picks for Hammy and Hanny.
But I do think we have got to the point where we need guys to stay in the AHL because we have too good a team in the NHL. More coming next year. We still have a young NHL team by some standards, so we can afford to wait. When they do get here, we will have to accept a minor trending down until they are comfortable. Guys like Mackey and Valimaki will push people out, like 3rd pairing guys. Ruzie, Pelts and maybe Zary are the next F wave. They aren't blocked. We will only use them if the are NHL calibre.
We gave up a lot in the 2022 draft, but one year isn't going to set us back that much. Resolving the Monahan situation is key to success next year. At least for keeping the best players from the current team.