Many hockey fans know Paul Bissonnette for his broadcasting career as arguably the most well-known influential voice in the game. A few know him for his 202-game career in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phoenix Coyotes. 

Few remember him for his time in the American Hockey League, specifically, his last run with the Manchester Monarchs in 2015. He was the 29-year-old veteran playing on his last legs and powering through injuries to lead the Monarchs to a Calder Cup title. He was the leader in the room, the veteran the prospects learned from, who took it all in one last time before hanging up the skates. 

For many veterans like Bissonnette, the Calder Cup is as good as it gets. For the journeyman player who bounced around, moved around, and never experienced success in the NHL, the AHL’s playoffs are the highlight of their careers. 

That’s how Logan Shaw felt after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final. The 33-year-old veteran was reflecting on his hockey career and how special this run with the Toronto Marlies has been. A team that nobody expected to make it to the Final is now four wins away from winning it all, and Shaw’s role as the veteran leader has been a key part of this magnificent run.

“To have the success that we're having and being on this run. It's something that we'll remember forever,” Shaw said after the 2-1 Game 6 overtime win. The veteran forward is looking back at the journey and realizing how hard it is to make it this far.

Shaw was an NHLer who was on five teams in five years. The Anaheim Ducks were the best team he played for as he was on their Western Conference Final team in 2017. He was always a depth skater who had skill but not enough to last in the NHL. It’s why he only played 232 games, with his last being in 2022. 

Now, he’s the classic AHL veteran. He’s 33 and still playing at a high level, yet fighting to keep his career going. The league devalues veterans and sees them as expendable. Teams will sign a veteran for a short-term deal and then move to the next older skater the next season. 

In some ways, Shaw is the exception to the typical veteran rule as he signed a three-year deal with the Marlies. Sure, he could have played for other teams on a shorter deal but at this point in his career, the security goes a long way. Three years doesn’t sound like much but for a veteran in the AHL, it is. He stayed in Toronto to establish the winning culture, and this run is allowing him to see all the hard work he put in pay off. 

To see the Marlies make a Calder Cup run with the team they had halfway through the season is nothing short of remarkable. For Shaw, this is a highlight of his career, arguably the last one he’ll have before retiring. 

“The biggest message I have for these young guys is that it's not going to come every year, as much as you want it to,” Shaw mentioned after Game 6. The younger players don’t know how hard it is to make it this far. It’s why the veterans are the keys to getting them there. Shaw’s 15 points are the third-most on the Marlies in this playoff run, and his work ethic shows the prospects what it takes to win in the playoffs. And they’ve learned from him while understanding that this run is a rarity. 

The prospects might think otherwise. In their early careers, it looks a lot easier to win than it does later on. Easton Cowan doesn’t know anything else but playoff success. He was one of the London Knights last year when they won the Memorial Cup and is now on the Marlies as they head to the Calder Cup Final. 

It’s rare for a team to come together as the Marlies have. The mix of prospects and veterans has bought into the system and are playing their best hockey at the right time. It’s why Shaw’s message is to take this in but also finish the job. 

“Make sure that you put the effort in right now to get the job done,” Shaw stated with a can of beer on the floor next to him. He was ready to celebrate the Eastern Conference Final win and take it in. Then it’s back to work and back to business, which was reflected in a strong week of practice leading up to Friday night’s game against the Chicago Wolves. 

Many hockey fans look at the AHL as a development league for the prospects. It’s the top league in the world for development, where many players are on the verge of making it in the NHL and only have to work on a few aspects in their game. The focus is on the prospects, yet there’s another side to the league. 

This is a league where a journeyman can become a fan favorite. Sometimes it’s a small market icon like Matt Strome with the Hershey Bears, or it’s a player finding a home in the AHL with a team's niche fanbase. Shaw has become one of those players with the Marlies faithful. 

The Calder Cup Final is the veteran’s highlight. Shaw is one of the players who is making the most of this moment, and he’s not the only veteran, either.

“We have a lot of veteran guys, and this is now the furthest that any one of us has made it in this league,” Shaw noted on a Marlies team that has Vinni Lettieri, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, and Dakota Mermis leading them. The Wolves, meanwhile, have Ryan Suzuki, Juuso Valimaki, and Noah Philp playing pivotal parts in their playoff success. A Cup means the world for them and will be the highlight of their careers if they hoist it in the coming week or two.