Jyrki21 wrote:
But yeah, apart from specific prospects you would like to see play together, I see no need for all players under contract to be on the same minor league team. Frankly, I'd rather the best ones all be the stars of different teams to maximize their playing time and opportunities.
Teams would want their draft picks & prospects to be under their own roof. What if your 2nd round pick was on an unaffiliated team & started to take a step back in his development? You might blame the team's coach, even accuse them of tampering with a prospect. These guys are worth too much potential money to have them scattered about on unaffiliated teams or teams affiliated with another NHL team. Would there be a rule like you'd keep players drafted in the first 3 rounds on your affiliated AHL team? If not, there's a ton of room for tampering, or at least the accusations of tampering.
For example, what if Nino Niederreiter had been on an unaffiliated AHL team, or team affiliated with another NHL team this year? His drop in 2nd half production & trade demand and eventual trade would be fodder for all sorts of tampering speculation. Did his AHL coach tell him the Isles aren't ever going to call him up? Or that he'd be a much better fit on a team with another style system? It would cause mayhem, which in a way, may be good: No such thing as bad press, right? But I just don't see how it would work. Teams would be trying to get their people & coaches in everywhere, to keep an eye on their prospects. I say keep their affiliates closer to home, and have some unaffiliated teams. Maybe give the teams with no affiliation a higher salary cap, so they could afford more AHL vets, or NHL castoffs. The NHL teams are going to have the bluechip prospects. Or just have a stronger affiliation between the AHL & ECHL and/or the CHL, so the non-NHL affiliated AHL teams could call up better CHL/ECHL players.
And no matter what, I still don't get the idea of having your AHL affliate 2500+ miles away.