​The American Hockey League has cleaned up its product over the years. From the quality of play on the ice to the line brawls where players would jump into the stands, threatening to fight fans, the league has come a long way. Even with some external questions, the AHL is in a better place now than it ever has been. That said, there’s always room for improvement for the second-best hockey league in the world. Some fixes are long-term big-picture ones that take years of execution to pull off. Stability in the league, for one, is an ongoing endeavor as teams continuously relocate or change affiliations, yet even that has leveled off over the years. Then there are the easy fixes. The quick ones that are small but easy wins for the AHL. These are the victories that not only keep the fans happy but, without question, will bring more to the league. Consistency With Officiating & ReplayThis isn’t intended to blame the officials. The referees in the AHL have done a great job considering the difficulty of officiating hockey games and how they’ve managed the games as well. Some fans will express frustration over the AHL officiating where they’ll “miss a penalty” or tuck the whistles away. The contrast is college hockey, where they call tight games that disrupt the flow. Ultimately, the refs have done a great job keeping games from getting out of hand and still letting them play the game. Ranking The AHL Head Coaching Hires From This OffseasonWith all of the head coaching hires in the rearview mirror, now is a good time to look at which teams made the best ones and which can backfire. The big problem is the review process, which is confusing and comes into the spotlight at the worst times. Specifically, Game 3 of the Calder Cup Playoff series between the Providence Bruins and Springfield Thunderbirds went into overtime, and one of the Thunderbirds’ skaters was offside on the game-winning goal, something the review should have noticed. The call on the ice stood because the offside couldn’t be reviewed (that goal flipped the series and led to the Bruins’ early playoff exit).  That goal was only part of the review process that had fans frustrated. It points to a bigger issue where fans don’t know what can or can’t be reviewed. When a goal is scored in overtime, fans are left standing around wondering whether the call will be overturned, which is another negative to the experience (which is a bigger-picture problem with replay and reviews). There are a few fixes that involve the league taking a hard stand on these situations, while they stand in a murky middle as of now. It’s worth adding that every game is officiated differently. This is, at times, a plus: the game isn’t robotic, and a referee can feel the game and understand how to officiate it. That said, two games can be officiated differently, and it can make the AHL feel like two different sports, even on a back-to-back. FloHockeyIt’s a big complaint among AHL fans, and