AHL Frustrates Players Over Lockout Eligibility

As reported in The Hockey News the American Hockey League as passed down their edict on who should and will be eligible if an NHL lockout occurs.

The remaining players who haven't signed contracts to Europe leagues who wish to play through an NHL lockout will have to reconsider. The AHL will grant status to those players with 50 NHL games or more.

That screws a lot of players like Marc Andre Fleury who has only 1 or 2 games to his AHL credit.

I say that all those who want to stay in the states and wait out the inevitable lockout, they should sign temporary contracts to ECHL and UHL teams. That way, they could expand interest in those leagues, drive up ticket sales in those markets, and improve the overall exposure that the minor leagues should get. It will only benefit the future of hockey when the league has a better minor league system to work with, that way, they can develop more star-caliber players.