With the NHL Trade Deadline fast approaching, we are here to answer some of the frequently asked questions before heading to the NHL betting sites.
The NHL trade deadline is a major date in the trade window as it’s the teams’ last chance to prepare their rosters for the final months of the season and, in many cases, for the playoffs and a possible Stanley Cup run.
Why Is the Deadline Such a Big Deal?
Teams can trade all year around up until the deadline and during the Christmas period freeze, which lasts from December 18 to December 27.
This is such a significant part of the season because players can swap teams and be in with a chance to become a Stanley Cup champion. Teams looking to make the playoffs might gamble and take a long-term hit for a short-term gain.
If you join a team after the deadline, you won’t be eligible to play for them until the start of the following season.
During this time, teams have the most assets to use and the most financial flexibility. Also, in the back of teams’ minds is the fact that free agency isn’t too far away, teams need to get their affairs in order before that craziness kicks in.
Can Teams Trade After the Deadline?
Trades can be made after the deadline but players won’t be eligible to play for that team until the following season. This basically means most of the trades occur around the deadline as teams’ rosters are set for the playoffs.
Obviously, some trading does happen after the deadline, but they’re usually nothing big and, in most scenarios, won’t even impact the playoffs that season, as most of these teams who do make trades likely won’t be making the post-season.
Salary Cap Restrictions
Each team is allotted a salary in which to spend on their players’ wages. Currently, the salary cap is $83.5 million. Teams cannot spend any more than this on a player’s wage, not even by one cent.
If teams try to register a player which will put them over their salary cap, the NHL will instantly reject the transaction and this includes trades. However, this never truly happens because teams do not register a player until they are sure they haven’t gone over the salary cap.
Although it must be said, a lot of trades between team GMs are likely to break down over salary caps going over the limit if they traded for a certain player. If you trade for a player, you end up owning the rest of their current contract with their former team, so you could be paying them more than you would like or can afford.
Buying or Selling?
As it is commonly said, the easiest way to understand the trade deadline is by whether you are buying (making the playoffs) or selling (the season is over and you’re looking to offload some dead wood or assets for future success).
The trade deadline is one of the most exciting parts of the season as it can often be exciting when certain teams are rumored to be hooking up with a certain player, especially when it’s a star player switching teams.
A recent successful trade that went down in the NHL was Montreal Canadien forward Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche. Not only did he score eight goals for the Avalanche, but he also won the Stanley Cup. Four of his eight goals were game winners and he scored the final goal of the finals to win it for Colorado in six games.
Impact on Future Betting
Although it’s not that important in the short term and maybe in the grand scheme of things, it does help to know which teams have acquired what players at the trade deadline and how this could push somebody into making an outright bet on a certain team because of who they have traded for.
In short, it’s probably best to see which teams have traded for what players at the deadline before you decide to place your future bets on the Stanley Cup winners at this stage of the season.
