Olympic trade freeze halts NHL deals until Feb. 22, but GM meetups in Milan make a post-freeze trade spike likely. Punters should expect shifting futures — back buyers’ teams (e.g., Tampa Bay, Florida) to see shortened odds and monitor player props and ice-time after expected extensions, AHL recalls, or deadline deals for better pre-deadline value.
Olympic Trade Freeze: What it Means for the NHL
An 18-day NHL trade freeze began at 3 p.m. Eastern, pausing formal transactions through 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 22. The league’s roster freeze won’t stop executives from talking; with more than a third of general managers in Milan for national-team duties, face-to-face conversations and deal groundwork are expected to intensify during the break.
Why the Break Could Fuel Trade Activity
The cadence of the regular season slows during the Olympics, giving teams time to survey the market without nightly game pressure. Last winter’s pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off produced six trades in eight days afterward, highlighted by a major deadline move that reshaped the run to the Stanley Cup. Expect a similar surge once the freeze lifts, with a compressed, high-stakes run to the March 6 trade deadline.
Hot Spots: Which GMs to Watch
Several GMs on national-team staffs are on the ground in Milan, creating ample opportunity for closed-door discussions. Names to watch among those attending include Doug Armstrong (St. Louis), Chris Drury (New York Rangers), Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay), Jim Nill (Dallas), Don Sweeney (Boston), Kyle Dubas (Pittsburgh), Bill Guerin (Minnesota), Bill Zito (Florida), Stan Bowman (Edmonton) and Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey). Buffalo’s Jarmo Kekäläinen is with Finland’s management, adding to the mix of potential dealmakers and targets.
Contracts and In-Season Extensions
The NHL Central Registry remains active during the Olympics: players can sign contract extensions despite the trade freeze. Teams often use this window to iron out key extensions without the distraction of daily games. Expect teams to resume talks on pending unrestricted free agents and potential in-season deals that could alter July markets or short-term trade leverage.
Notable Contract Watch Items
Clubs with upcoming UFAs or extension candidates could move before the March deadline or use the break to finalize deals. Players like Alex Tuch and pending UFAs on other clubs are logical names to monitor for extensions that would affect both futures markets and deadline-day calculations.
Demotions, Waivers and Roster Maneuvers
The AHL season continues through February, and many NHL clubs will consider loaning waivers-exempt youngsters to the farm for games and cap relief. However, players who dressed in at least 16 of their team’s final 20 games before the Olympic break, or who spent 80 or more days on an NHL roster as of Jan. 21, are not eligible to be loaned and will receive time off.
NHL waivers operate as usual during the Olympic window. If a player is claimed after his team’s final game before the freeze, he is not required to report to his new club until Feb. 17; teams must complete any demotions before the freeze begins to require reporting during the break.
Timing for Return to Play
Players not participating in the Olympics are required to return to team activities starting Feb. 17.
On that first day back, practices cannot begin before 2 p.m. local time to accommodate travel.
Teams will have the opportunity to schedule multiple practices — often six or seven — to regain momentum before the regular-season sprint resumes.
The league slate resumes fully shortly after the Olympic tournament concludes, with a full set of games scheduled within days of the medal games.
What Punters and Front Offices Should Monitor
For bettors, the critical windows are the days immediately after the freeze lifts and the lead-up to the March 6 deadline: futures prices can move quickly once teams complete trades or sign extensions.
Prop bettors should track expected changes in ice-time and line combinations, while market bettors can look for odds movement on teams identified as buyers or sellers during Milan.
For front offices, the break is a rare stretch for concentrated negotiation and roster retooling without the nightly noise of games.
Bruins will be missing two key forwards in Stadium Series vs. Lightning
No trades can be made until 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 22, but re-signings and demotions can be — and trade talk is likely to explode.
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