Canadiens Last Chance For Trades Before NHL Roster Freeze

The NHL’s holiday roster freeze is on the horizon, which means the Montreal Canadiens will not be able to make any trades from 11:59 PM on Dec.19 until 12:01 AM on Dec.28.

It was created with the goal of giving NHL players a little reprieve from possible transactions, allowing them to enjoy the holidays in a stress-free environment.

NHL Holiday Roster Freeze goes into effect at 11:59 pm local tonight and goes right through 12:01 am local time Dec. 28 with respect to waivers and trades, etc.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 19, 2022

The Rules.

(d) Holiday Roster Freeze.

(i) For all Players on an NHL Active Roster, Injured Reserve, or Players with Non-Roster and Injured Non-Roster status as of 11:59 p.m. local time on December 19, a roster freeze shall apply through 12:01 a.m. local time December 28, with respect to Waivers, Trades and Loans; provided, however, that Players may be Recalled to NHL Clubs during this period and, provided further, that if a Player is placed on Regular Waivers prior to the roster freeze period and is claimed during such roster freeze period, the roster freeze period shall not apply and the Player shall immediately report to the claiming Club. However, during the roster freeze period a Club can make any Player transactions necessary for the Club to come into compliance with Article 50 as a result of a Player being removed from the Bona-Fide Long-Term Injury/Illness Exception.

Simply put, the team cannot make trades, place players on waivers, or loan a player in that time frame. The Canadiens can, however, recall a player on an emergency basis and consequently, reassign the aforementioned player to the Laval Rocket if need be, as long as the player in question does not require waivers to return to the AHL.

(ii) Notwithstanding Section 16.5(d)(i), a Player on emergency Recall may be Loaned during the roster freeze period and a Player who was Recalled after December 11 may be Loaned through 11:59 p.m. local time on December 23, provided such Player is not required to be placed on Waivers during the roster freeze period in order to effectuate such Loan.

The Canadiens currently have a plethora of players on their injured reserve, including Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron.

In addition, they announced veteran defenceman Mike Matheson would be kept out of play due to a lower-body injury. The recovery time is currently listed as indefinite, which may pressure Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes into making a move before the roster freeze kicks in.