Seth Griffith deservedly receives two-year contract extension from Condors

The AHL season ended on a sour note for the Bakersfield Condors, as they were swept by the Ontario Reign in the first round of the playoffs. They also had to deal with captain Brad Malone retiring after a professional career which lasted 13 seasons.

However, one leader who won't be leaving anytime soon, is Seth Griffith. As announced by the team on Wednesday, the forward has agreed to a two-year AHL deal to remain in Bakersfield.

What's interesting about the new contract, is that it is exclusively an AHL deal. This alludes to Griffith wanting to remain with the Condors, rather than dip into free agency and find out what his market value is.

Team leader in more ways than one

This is somewhat surprising, just in respect of the 31-year-old coming off a campaign which you suspect would have placed him in high demand. He led the Condors with 48 assists and 63 total points, with the latter placing him eighth among all AHL players in scoring during the 2023-24 regular season.

Griffith was particularly effective once the calendar turned to 2024, with 46 total points in 47 games. For his AHL career as a whole, he has 572 points in 619 regular season games combined, with the Bruins, Marlies, Americans, Moose and, of course, the Condors.

Despite his level of production in the AHL, the 2012 fifth round draft pick has never been able to establish himself at the NHL level. He has 19 points in 80 career games, including one appearance for the Oilers in 2021-22.

Still on the subject of the NHL, the nature of Griffith's deal means he can still technically sign for another NHL team. Of course this does include the Oilers organisation being able to re-evaluate his contract, if another team does approach him.

For now though, what's most important is that the Condors retain their all-time AHL leading points scorer. And it's thoroughly deserved for an individual who embodies loyalty, production and leadership.

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