- James Mirtle reports some NHL players now have all seven Canadian teams on their no-trade lists
- Roughly 56 percent of eligible players carried some form of trade protection last season
- Read below for how Connor Hellebuyck’s request put the issue back in front of the league
Some NHL players are not just crossing off one Canadian team anymore. A few of them are crossing off all seven.
James Mirtle of The Athletic wrote Friday that more players keep attaching Canadian clubs to their no-trade clauses, and that some lists now cover every team in the country. He put the share of eligible players carrying some form of trade protection last season at roughly 56 percent, a number that has climbed in a hurry.
Connor Hellebuyck is the reason the subject is loud again. The Jets goalie was asked in April, after Winnipeg missed the playoffs for the first time in four years, whether the roster could be repaired.
“Can you get the pieces that you need? Will the players come? These are always questions that you have in Winnipeg. I’ve made it my home and I like it here, but the majority of the league doesn’t feel the same way.”
Watch his full end-of-season availability:
Mirtle drew a line between Hellebuyck and the rest of the recent exits. Hellebuyck is only two seasons into a seven-year deal, and instead of naming one or two landing spots, he told the Jets he would go to a variety of teams. Winnipeg has been caught between competing and resetting ever since the request went public.
Stars have been leaving for a while now. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk both landed with the Panthers, Quinn Hughes went from Vancouver to Minnesota, Mitch Marner picked Vegas over a new deal in Toronto, Rasmus Andersson was dealt out of Calgary, and Nikolaj Ehlers chose Carolina over re-signing with the Jets.
MacKenzie Weegar gave the players’ version of it last week. The Ottawa native and former Flames defenseman said he loved his years in Calgary and praised how much Canadian fans care, then admitted the trend is no fun to watch:
The reasons rarely change. Too much attention, too little sun, high taxes, and a Canadian Stanley Cup drought that dates to Montreal in 1993.
Fans are the ones left holding it. Ottawa is putting together a tribute video for Brady Tkachuk anyway:
Winnipeg has to work around all of it. Mirtle expects the salary cap to reach $150 million within five or six years, which hands stars even more say in where they play.
Whoever comes back in a Hellebuyck trade still has to want to live in Winnipeg.
