32 AHL Thoughts: 'Where Do We Go From Here?'

Details On Carolina's Attempt To Purchase AHL Expansion Franchise, AHL 'State of the League' Updates From President/CEO Scott Howson & More

Editor's Note: For the latest on everything going on in the American Hockey League (AHL) behind the scenes, it's never been more important to get AHL news from an AHL reporter - someone who is tuned in and understanding of how the AHL works (it is a vastly different league than the NHL).

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1. Elliotte Friedman reported in his September 19 column that Carolina was pleading their case and wanted to speak in front of the American Hockey League's (AHL) Board of Governors with hopes to purchase their own AHL expansion franchise.

I'm able to confirm that ultimately Carolina wasn't ever able to present their case for an AHL expansion franchise to the AHL's Board of Governors.

Here's what I'm hearing on why things never got that far. And I know it won't come as much of a surprise.

2. The Hurricanes attempted to buy their way in to the AHL over the summer, reportedly offering between $6 and $7 million to purchase an AHL expansion franchise - with the roughly $6.5 million offer unable to sway the league's Board of Governors into thinking about expanding past the 32 teams to give Carolina a 33rd AHL franchise.

3. With the Vegas Golden Knights reportedly buying the San Antonio Rampage for $10 million back in 2020, and the Chicago Blackhawks purchasing the Rockford Ice hogs from the city of Rockford in 2021 for $11.8 million, it's not hard to see why the offer from Carolina this past offseason didn't move the needle.

And that's not to mention what Seattle just paid for their AHL expansion franchise in Coachella Valley (I'm told it's al, who are in their second season as an AHL franchise this year after making it all the way to the Calder Cup Finals in their inaugural season - quite a success story.

4. One source suggested current valuations of an AHL franchise to be closer to the $16-17 million range, with the expectation that by the time the NHL expansion occurs that a 33rd - and even 34th - AHL expansion franchise could have AHL expansion fees approaching $20 million.

I'll reiterate what Friedman said on the matter in the fall because it's still the main question:

"Is Carolina willing to go there?" So far, the answer is no.

But after going through one season with their prospects scattered across a few AHL teams, in the ECHL with Norfolk and various leagues overseas it's clear that a resolution to not having an AHL affiliate of their own is a necessity and this current situation isn't sustainable longterm.

5. Perhaps no player has been more affected by all of this than Jamieson Rees.

Rees entered his third season of pro hockey looking to take the next step in his career after putting up 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists) in 65 games in 2022-23 with the Chicago Wolves.

Without an AHL affiliate, Carolina loaned Rees to AHL-Springfield (St. Louis), but Rees found himself in and out of the lineup and not getting a lot of ice time. Managing just three assists and going goalless after appearing in 30 of the 51 games Springfield had played, Carolina opted to give Rees a change of scenery last week - loaning him to AHL-Charlotte (Florida).

Charlotte head coach Geordie Kinnear has previous experience mentoring prospects from two different NHL organizations under his watch, of course. The Checkers housed Seattle Kraken prospects in 2021-22 prior to the Kraken's AHL affiliate beginning play in Coachella Valley.

"He's finding his way. Like, [it's] a different situation for a player like that that was in Chicago last year. And ended up in Springfield," Kinnear told InsideAHLHockey.com, adding, "Obviously, it didn't go his way there, but he's a Charlotte Checker and we're excited to have him and he's no different than any of our other guys - we want him to continue to get better and maximize his skill set. So that's what we're looking to do."

6. Where would a potential Carolina AHL expansion franchise play if they eventually do buy their way in?

I'd keep an eye on Baltimore.

I've heard from a few AHL sources that Carolina was seriously looking into the prospects of Baltimore over the summer.

The CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore recently underwent major renovations as the Oak View Group (the same OVG that helped fund the building that is the home of the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds) put up close to $200 million.

Thirty Five Ventures, the investment company of NBA player Kevin Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman, and recording artist Pharrell Williams were involved in getting Maryland's largest sports and entertainment a major facelift back in 2022.

The CFG Bank Arena's website says the venue can hold 14,000+ for concerts, and with its recent major upgrades it doesn't quite look like an arena that was built in 1961. I'm sure it would be up to AHL standards.

There are also multiple daily flights from Baltimore to Raleigh via Southwest Airlines, which would provide cheap transportation for call ups from a potential AHL affiliate in Baltimore.

7. For now, that's a moot point - according to AHL President/CEO Scott Howson.

"There is no plan right now to go past 32 teams," Howson told InsideAHLHockey.com. "So, there's no plans to issue a 33rd franchise, but you never make hard statements in this business because things always change. And I'm hopeful at some [point], we will have more franchises because the NHL will have more franchises. But at this point, it's not a topic that's even being discussed right now."

8. Howson answered questions after a brief opening statement on an update of how things are going this season in his annual State of the League media availability at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic on February 5, and of course my first set of questions was for an update on where things stand with the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Wolves.

Here's Howson's full response:

"Well, we don't have anything done yet. We are working very hard at it. We are optimistic on a solution, but there's still a lot of work to be done and it has got a lot of moving parts. So, I have nothing new to report other than there's a lot of people working on this - including at the AHL level and at the NHL level - trying to find a solution to this problem, because, quite frankly, it's not sustainable. It's not sustainable for either league. It's not sustainable for the Chicago Wolves and it certainly isn't sustainable for the Carolina Hurricanes."

9. So where do the Chicago Wolves and Carolina Hurricanes stand right now?

"Everyone is trying to find a way for [Carolina and Chicago] to be affiliated. Not looking good now. Tomorrow might be different," one trusted AHL source told InsideAHLHockey.com back in February.

In reaching out to sources around Carolina and Chicago this week, I'm told that the two sides are at least back at the proverbial table and conversing again about what a potential future affiliation might look like. I'm hearing there might be discussion, but there's still "a large barrier" between the two sides.

The Wolves and Hurricanes don't really have many options. It's either continue to go on their separate ways - Chicago with an independent team full of AHL contracted players, and Carolina spreading their prospects across the AHL and overseas - or find some sort of common ground and work together in the future.

10. Going back to league-wide news, here's some other tidbits from Howson's state of the league media availability:

AHL attendance is up about 6%

AHL team-generated revenues are up about 18% in ticket sales.

11. An interesting omission by Howson initially in not mentioning league generated revenue - a point of contention among AHL owners specifically - before later being asked specifically about it.

"For the league, we're going to be at or I would say we'll be above what we did last year. So we're not losing any sponsors. We're gaining sponsors, but it's always a challenge. It's always a challenge to make sure you're giving what the sponsor wants and that's a changing dynamic all the time," Howson said in reference to league-generated revenue, which doesn't exactly sound like a strong claim that it's much of an improvement over the last several years.

12. Speaking of the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic weekend in San Jose, if I could describe the weekend in one word it would be... chaotic.

Credit to the San Jose Barracuda staff that pulled it off and rolled with the punches, but the AHL really sets these things up into a very tight window - with the Skills Competition on Sunday evening (8pm ET/ 5pm PT) following a full slate of regular season games on Saturday night.

AHL All-Star weekends are always a blur, but "a perfect storm" nearly derailed the weekend.

Over a half-dozen players were late or unable to participate in the Skills Competition due to travel issues, including the host city's All-Star Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Several others - including players from Hershey, Syracuse and Toronto - landed in San Jose and were shuttled to the rink with just enough time to get their gear on and get on the ice for the warmup skate.

The weather delaying the players' arrival for the red-carpet walk-in, along with all the other delays forced the pre-Skills Competition media availability to be canceled.

13. Which brings me to my next point of discussion. The visiting locker room (the Eastern Conference locker room for All-Star weekend) at the TechCU Arena in San Jose has to be the longest walk in all of pro hockey.

It's incredibly far away from the ice surface. So far away that nobody really knew where it was located until Monday afternoon.

In fact, even some of the Eastern Conference All-Stars were seen after the Skills Competition lost and mistakenly heading toward the Western Conference locker room before being ushered back onto the ice and told to exit at the other tunnel.

It made for a funny moment Monday when a bunch of social media staffers from AHL Eastern Conference teams and myself were gathered with that same puzzled look wondering, "Where's the Eastern Conference locker room?"

It turns out a sign heading to the Eastern Conference locker room was incorrectly labeled 'Western Conference All-Stars Locker Room'. Thankfully, a member of the San Jose Barracuda staff eventually pointed us all in the right direction.

14. The AHL needs to make necessary changes to ensure that whole debacle doesn't happen again.

The league won't give teams a Saturday off as a prime weekend date is essential for life in the AHL, but perhaps getting more teams to schedule Saturday afternoon games or having teams playing nearby geographic rivals (you know, the opponent your favorite team plays 8-14 times a season) the Saturday before AHL All-Star weekend to minimize the risk of a large portion of the participants to miss half the weekend's events.

"I feel terrible for those guys," former AHL All-Star Greg Carey tweeted in response to my reporting of all the All-Star missing the Skills Competition. "It's such a unique experience. Missing even a part of it really sucks."

15. The AHL formats its All-Star event to follow the NHL's All-Star event, giving the AHL the spotlight on Sunday and Monday while the NHL is in post All-Star mode as they start to get back to their regular season.

From a branding standpoint, it definitely makes sense to garner a television audience and make more people aware of the AHL.

"We'll look at it. Yes," Howson said when asked by San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng about if the AHL will look into changing things up with the AHL All-Star format moving forward. "[The weather] was a concern. I think we had the perfect storm, pardon the pun, and we reacted very well, but it's not ideal. And it's, it's probably something we will look at after this is done. Next year, we've got NHL Four Nations tournament with no All-Star game and then we've got an Olympic year, the next year. So that will maybe give us a different dynamic on how we plan this event."

16. For those who missed the announcement, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle) will be hosting the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic in Palm Springs, California as the AHL continues to showcase its expansion out west.

It will be the third California AHL team to host the event in the last five years (Ontario Reign in 2020, no event due to the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, Laval in 2023 and San Jose in 2024).

17. No insider info on this one, but my gut tells me the Henderson Silver Knights - and their new arena the Dollar Loan Center - will be hosting the AHL All-Star Classic in 2026 or shortly thereafter.

18. A lot of good storylines coming out of Milwaukee in 2024 as the Admirals won 19 straight games - the second longest winning streak in AHL history - to begin the calendar year, turning an average start to the season (17-10-1 before the win streak) into an impressive 36-14-1 record heading into this weekend's games.

Surprisingly enough, Milwaukee is now in the midst of a four-game losing skid on the backend of that 19-game win streak. Not to worry, the Admirals still have a 10-point lead in the Central Division over second place Grand Rapids - the team who ended the Admirals' 19-game win streak Milwaukee back on February 25.

19. Really cool comeback story for Admirals forward Cody Hodgson, who after retiring from pro hockey in 2016 due to a malignant hyperthermia diagnosis, is back playing hockey eight years later signing a PTO in Milwaukee in late January. He tallied goals in four straight games in February during Milwaukee's win streak, and has five tallies in eight games in the AHL this season.

20. Another storyline kind of flying under the radar is Milwaukee Admirals forward Cal O'Reilly continuing to re-write record books.

On February 24, he became the Admirals' all-time leading scorer in a two-goal, one-assist performance.

The 37-year-old has already surpassed his offensive numbers from last season, and his 564 career AHL assists have moved him into sole possession of sixth place all-time in league history.

21. To put into perspective just how good the Hershey Bears have been, and it's quite ridiculous: The Milwaukee Admirals didn't lose a game for almost two straight months, and the Admirals are still 13 points behind the Bears for the top record in the league.

Just bonkers!

With Hershey's NHL partner Washington Capitals in the midst of a rebuild, there might have been concern that Bears' roster would take a hit following the NHL trade deadline if the Captials sell off too many NHL roster players for futures like they did when they sent forward Anthony Mantha to Vegas for a pair of draft picks.

While Mike Sgarbossa would need to be placed on waivers Thursday in order to be assigned to AHL-Hershey prior to Friday's 3pm trade deadline to make him eligible to play in the AHL playoffs, Washington has made it clear they are going to do what they can to ensure Hershey stays loaded for their stretch run to defend their 2023 Calder Cup championship and remain a frontrunner for the 2024 Calder Cup.

The Capitals, just this week, have assigned forward Pierrick Dube back to Hershey while also re-claiming AHL sniper Matthew Phillips to send him to the Bears.

I wonder if forwards Hendrix Lapierre and Ivan Miroschnichenko, who don't require waivers to be sent to the AHL, might find themselves assigned to Hershey Friday afternoon. I'm sure the Capitals want those two playing in the AHL's postseason this spring.

22. And that doesn't mention the fact that longtime Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznestov has returned from the NHLPA's player assistance program and cleared waivers, joining the Hershey Bears and boarding the bus with his new teammates Wednesday to travel to Charlotte for this weekend's games after joinin the team at practice on Tuesday.

If Kuznetsov suits up and plays in the AHL this weekend, he'll become the highest paid player to play in the AHL - with his $8 million salary this year beating out when the New York Rangers assigned defenseman Wade Redden to their AHL affiliate (then named the Connecticut Whale) in the 2010-11 season.

23. Oddly enough, Kuznetsov might not be the only $8 million man in the AHL. Heck, he might not even be the only $8 million player in the Atlantic Division.

That's because after the Philadelphia Flyers acquired forward Ryan Johansen from the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday afternoon they placed him on waivers minutes later. Johansen is being paid $8 million this season in the seventh of his eight-year, $64 million deal he signed in Nashville.

Since Nashville retained 50% of Johansen's salary when they traded him to Colorado, the Flyers cap hit is only $4 million for this season and next.

Per The Athletic's Kevin Kurz, it's likely Johansen will be assigned to the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley should he clear waivers Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.

24. Larry Landon, the executive director of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) the past 32 years, will be stepping down from his role on December, 30, 2025 according to Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts column.

The PHPA is the union for all players in the AHL and ECHL, and Friedman reports that Landon's goal is to be mentoring his successor through both leagues' upcoming CBA negotiations next summer.

25. Important note that the NHL's trade deadline at 3 p.m. ET Friday also serves as the AHL's roster deadline.

Any player on an NHL roster when the NHL's trade deadline passes is ineligible to play in the AHL for the remainder of the 2023-24 season - including the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Players who require waivers to be assigned to the AHL will need to be placed on waivers today (Thursday, 2 p.m. ET) in order to clear waivers and be assigned to the AHL prior to Friday's 3 p.m. ET deadline.

26. The AHL's trade/loan deadline is next Friday, March 15 at 3 p.m. ET.

Any player on an AHL contract is eligible to be traded, of course, but NHL teams can also loan players on NHL two-way contracts who are eligible to play in the AHL post-trade deadline to other AHL teams.