Veteran winger Seth Griffith has long been a productive scorer in the minors which made him highly sought after in free agency which has allowed him to land sizable guaranteed salaries even on a two-way deal. However, that won’t be a concern this time around as AHL Bakersfield announced that they’ve signed the pending UFA to a two-year AHL agreement.
The 31-year-old had been on an NHL contract with the Oilers for each of the last four seasons. However, that didn’t result in much action at the top level as Griffith played just once for Edmonton back in 2020-21 after making 79 appearances with four different teams over the previous six years.
Accordingly, rather than look for a two-way offer somewhere without much hope of seeing NHL action, Griffith is sticking around where he’s comfortable while giving Edmonton some extra flexibility on the contract front as they won’t have to have him count against their 50-contract limit. Of course, Griffith will technically remain an NHL free agent and could sign elsewhere but an agreement like this makes that outcome unlike. The Oilers will be able to convert him to an NHL deal down the road if they so desire.
This season, Griffith was one of the top point producers in the AHL once again, tallying 15 goals and 48 assists in 68 games for the Condors to lead his team in scoring for the sixth time in his career. He has 572 points in 619 regular season games at that level and will be adding to those totals for a little while longer.