NHL
Trades aren't allowed during the Olympics, but trade talk is. Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
An 18-day freeze on NHL trade activity for the Milan Cortina Olympics took effect Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern, but if anything, the general expectation around the league is that trade chatter is going to heat up during the break in the league’s regular-season schedule.
There are no restrictions on trade conversations among executives while the Olympic flame is lit in Italy, and more than one-third of NHL general managers are scheduled to be in Milan for national team duties, which should provide plenty of opportunities for face-to-face conversations and meetings.
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GMs staying back in North America for scouting trips or other business will be easily reached, too, and everyone should be in a position to have surveyed the market in a calculated fashion without the steady drumbeat of games being played each night.
A look back to last winter, when the league paused for the 4 Nations Face-Off, offers a pretty good indicator of what we should expect. There were six trades made in eight days coming out of 4 Nations, including the Florida Panthers acquiring Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks in a deal that fortified them for another Stanley Cup run.
This season’s Olympic trade freeze extends until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 22.
Once it lifts, there will be a 12-day sprint toward the March 6 trade deadline — typically the busiest day each year for transactions on the NHL calendar.
Here’s an explainer on what is and isn’t permitted under league rules while the Milan Olympic tournament is being played.
At least two GMs who have already declared themselves deadline sellers will be on the ground in Milan: Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues, who leads Team Canada’s management group; and Chris Drury of the New York Rangers, an assistant GM with Team USA.
They could be extra popular with their peers, as evidenced by the number of their players featured on our latest Big Board.
Most of the other GMs onsite for the Games are more likely to fall under the buyers category.
Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay Lightning), Jim Nill (Dallas Stars), Don Sweeney (Boston Bruins) and Kyle Dubas (Pittsburgh Penguins) are each part of Team Canada’s staff, while Bill Guerin (Minnesota Wild), Bill Zito (Panthers), Stan Bowman (Edmonton Oilers) and Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey Devils) round out Team USA’s executive.
Jarmo Kekäläinen of the Buffalo Sabres is part of Finland’s management team.
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Even though the Olympic tournament will play out quickly and carry high stakes for everyone involved, NHL business will remain front of mind. For execs, the heavy lifting is largely over once the national team rosters are selected.
Just because trade activity is frozen doesn’t mean the NHL’s Central Registry is going on an extended holiday. Players remain eligible to sign contract extensions during the Olympics.
In many ways, that goes part and parcel with the trade deadline.
The red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets, for example, intentionally put off getting down to business with a group of pending unrestricted free agents that includes captain Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle and Mason Marchment ahead of the break.
Where those talks go could help set the course ahead of March 6.
There also hasn’t been much action around Alex Tuch since Kekäläinen took over as Sabres GM in December. He’s well-positioned to be a hot commodity on the open market come July 1, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Buffalo attempt to extend him before that happens.
In-season negotiations can be tricky to navigate on both sides of the table because of their potential to create distractions. However, the typical distractions will be removed over the next couple of weeks, which is why we should expect to see some new contracts get signed.
Another trend to watch during the Olympic break is teams assigning young or waivers-exempt players to their AHL affiliates.
That league will continue operating with a typical schedule right through February. As a result, NHL teams will get the opportunity to find more minutes for some guys on the farm, or they’ll simply take advantage of the chance to save daily cap accrual by shifting players off their roster during the break.
However, there are restrictions: Any player who dressed for at least 16 of his team’s final 20 games before the Olympic break isn’t eligible to be loaned out. The same goes for anyone who was on an NHL roster for 80 days this season as of Jan. 21.
Players in those categories will be granted time off.
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Meanwhile, NHL waivers will continue as normal, with players eligible to be placed on the wire during the Olympic break. However, if someone is claimed after his team’s final game before the freeze, that player won’t be required to report to his new team until Feb. 17.
In other words, a player can’t be summoned from vacation if he gets loaned out or claimed during the international window. He would have to be sent down before the break was formally underway to be required to report to the AHL team.
The 600-plus NHL players who aren’t participating in the Olympic tournament are required to punch the clock again starting Feb. 17.
Not unlike when teams return from the All-Star Weekend or a bye week in prior seasons, practices during the first day back can’t be scheduled before 2 p.m. local time. That allows some extra time for those in transit from outside their own market.
If desired, NHL teams will have the runway necessary to hold as many as six or seven practices to get back up to speed before the sprint to the end of the regular season officially begins.
There are eight games scheduled leaguewide on Wednesday, Feb. 25 — three days after the Olympic gold medals are handed out at Santagiulia Arena in Milan.
Still have questions about the tournament’s rules or anything else NHL or hockey? Post them here, and we’ll get to a selection in our next “Ask CJ” mailbag.
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Chris Johnston is a senior writer covering the NHL for The Athletic. He has two decades of experience as an NHL Insider, having appeared on Hockey Night in Canada and the NHL Network before joining TSN in 2021. He currently hosts the “Chris Johnston Show” on the Steve Dangle Podcast Network. He’s written previously for the Toronto Star, Sportsnet and The Canadian Press. Follow Chris on Twitter @reporterchris
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