at the reset/rebuild.
I think Mete's little time in the AHL convinced Montreal that sending a player down temporarily could prove to be a positive. Mete was sent to Laval last year so he can play more meaningful minutes and in all situations. When he was called back up to Montreal, you saw a difference in his game. This probably opened management's eyes and made them more comfortable that if a player is sent to the AHL, they could come back better.
This may be the case with Hudon. It's not like the guy's been lighting it up. He's had his struggles, as did the team as a whole. But a bit more time in Laval may be what he needs to get his game back and return to the NHL and be closer to the Hudon they had two seasons ago.
Of course sending a player down can be positive. Who the hell think it's not? I think what is important is to properly evaluate kids (worthy of such evaluation) at the NHL level every years.
For one it gives the kid a chance to see where he is at. Dominating the AHL is fine but you don't know where you are at as far as the NHL level goes. For two it gives the chance for the GM and coaches to evaluate the kids at the relevant level. To know what the coaches need to work on with the players in the AHL. Personally i don't think anyone can fully and properly evaluate a kid based on his play in the AHL only. You got to see him against the best at least 10 games a year (outside the camp where most vets don't even try).
People like to talk about the Wings. How the Wings know how to develop. How they keep their players in the AHL until they turn 50 years old. But nobody is saying how the wings give between 10 to 20 games to pretty much all their good young players every years and this no later than their 2nd AHL season. They evaluate them and they use injuries to give their kids some NHL games.
What we must avoid is what happened in the 90ies and early 2k where we let kids like Conroy (2nd line center) and Beauchemin (2nd pairing dman) slip between our hands without even giving them 20 games at the NHL level. This is unacceptable. So far i will say MB's regime did well. Got to give credits where it is due. All the kids they drafted had their chances to prove their worth at the NHL level every year outside of maybe Hudon early in his career (where MT somehow preferred to overuse Flynn when there was injuries instead of calling up a kid for whatever reason). They kids just did not have what it takes. I think enough time passed since they traded those players away (Tinordi, Beaulieu, Ghetto, ...) to firmly say that now at the end of 2019. The problem is more drafting than anything else even I must admit (i defended drafting and crapped on Sly a lot).
This said i still don't agree with using rejects from other teams instead of our young players. I don't think in the long run it's detrimental to the development as long as our kids get enough games of experience to progress but it's still dumb. I've been calling this the musical chair since the 90ies and we have been doing this for too long. Getting desperate players in the middle of their 20ies having their back against the wall and giving them a final glimpse of hope of making it and using this extra motivation to press all the remaining juice from said players until there's nothing left. It's a strategy that failed for many years and it's not a good one. It leads to a perpetual bubble team drafting low.