One issue for AHL players: protection in housing costs.

If I rent a place for four months (at a higher cost, naturally) and the season gets shut down in March, am I compensated for that place's remaining lease? Or am I out of luck?

I have been shocked by how many players have reached out to me through the last several months.

Here are *some* additional concerns:
--Having enough money to put down a security deposit for an apartment.
--Getting some kind of salary guarantee if the season shuts down early.

Counterpoint: the AHL and its teams have had minimal (at most) revenues for nearly a year. That reality has impacted the business model massively.

Minor-league hockey is a tough business at the best of times.

There are no easy solutions on either side of the negotiating table.

In addition, the NHL has been going through its own difficult times.

One golden rule I try to stress to anyone new to the AHL -- the NHL and AHL are separate and independent entities, yet their day-to-day realities are unmistakably linked.

When you share a player supply, costs, etc, that's just reality.

So, I think these dynamics can't be emphasized enough. Nobody is exactly thriving these days.