Can someone hold a job with one of the NHL’s best teams, have a first-round pedigree and yet be completely adrift? If you are Maxime Ouellet, the answer appears to be yes.

Los Angeles Kings netminder Jason LaBarbera’s workload now pales in comparison to the burden that he carried with the Hartford Wolf Pack in recent seasons.

The AHL blockbuster deal that sent Albany veterans Pascal Rheaume and Ray Schultz to the San Antonio Rampage for the still-young-enough Brad Ference last month perked up what has been a mostly quiet AHL trading post.

As much as the AHL is rightfully seen as a stepping stone to bigger and brighter lights, it also has plenty of quality individuals who quietly serve as the league’s caretakers and are to quick to speak up when it comes under fire.

Seemingly insignificant on the second day of the NHL free-agency period, the signing of veteran AHL’er Peter Vandermeer by the Montreal Canadiens may prove to be one of the team’s most important acquisitions.