When I started following hockey many years ago, the first time I heard about midseason trades, I was so confused. Why would you trade off players in the middle of the season? I was even more confused when the Minnesota Wild traded one of my favorite players, Jason Zucker, who seemed like a good player. It made no sense whatsoever to me. I understand now why teams trade some players. They are trying to build a team that is going to get them to playoffs and hopefully bring home the Stanley Cup.
Breaking Down Trade Types
PLAYER FOR PLAYER-The most basic type of trade is player for player. Teams literally just swap players. Sometimes this can be one-for-one, but if the player being traded from one team is really good and/or has a high salary, the other team may have to trade multiple players to get the high performing player from the first time.
DRAFT PICK-Another type of trade that is very common is a player for a better picking spot in the upcoming draft. You will often hear that Team A traded player X for a first-round draft pick. When teams do this, the team giving up their draft pick for an elite player is usually doing so for immediate benefits, and not for long-term development.
It is not uncommon for a team to trade less experienced or low-performing players AND draft picks to pick up veteran players that they believe would be a huge asset to their team. The Minnesota Wild did this early in the season when they traded three players and a first-round pick to get Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. It seems to be working out well for the Wild since Hughes has 43 points in 34 games since the trade in December.
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS-This was a new one to me this year. I had never heard of this until the Wild traded the Blackhawks to get Nick Foligno. It’s a very vague trade deal where the team giving up the player is promised something that will be determined later. I saw people online joking that the Wild got Nick Foligno by trading well wishes to the Blackhawks.
Reasons to Trade
Trading to increase chances of making it to playoffs isn’t the only reason teams trade, though. There are actually other reasons teams do it, especially late in the season when the playoff chances seem out of the picture.
SALARY CAPS-The NHL has salary cap that they put into effect after the 2004-2005 season lockout. It was put into effect so that wealthier teams weren’t the only ones that were able to recruit all the star players. The cap has steadily increased over the years, and there is a lot that goes into the formula which Elite Prospects does a great job of breaking down. Sometimes teams will trade players with a higher salary in order to make room for newer players such as draft picks.
BUILDING/REBUILDING-As new teams enter the league, they may trade players, trying to find the right fit. Established teams go through rebuilding phases as their star players retire or move on to other teams. Sometimes teams are sold or a new manager comes into the picture that wants to lead the team in a different direction.
Can Teams Trade All Year?
The answer is no. The trade deadline for 2026 was March 6. However, trades aren’t only done during the season as you can see on the NHL’s Trade Tracker which shows trades all the way back to July 1, 2025.
There is a deadline on when teams need to have all trades done as to prevent teams from buying up all talent late in the season giving them an unfair advantage during playoffs. This along with the previous mentioned salary caps keeps the game more competitve, giving teams a more even chance of making playoffs. It also makes the games more exciting to watch because let’s be honest-even as much as you want your favorite team to win every game and hoist that Stanley Cup into the air, games would be mighty boring if every game was a shut out because the talent was so uneven.
Having a couple of months between the trade deadline and playoffs also gives team rosters time to build that chemistry that makes them cohesive and gives the coaches time come up with the best line combinations.
CLIFFNOTES
To sum it all up-trades are a way for teams to find players that will either help them immediately in their run for playoffs or to help build long-term talent. Salary caps and a trade deadline prevent teams from being stacked in wealthier market, keeping the game more fair and competitive.
The post Wait… They Traded What? Understanding Hockey Trades Beyond Players appeared first on She’s Wild about Hockey.
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