The NHL’s holiday roster freeze is fast approaching and certain teams may look to swing a trade before the moratorium begins.
The freeze goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 19 and is lifted at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 28. Teams aren’t allowed to make any roster transactions during the period.
So, before the freeze takes place, teams may be looking to upgrade their roster, and one market to keep an eye on is in the crease, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“The goaltending market has gotten a little bit hotter for a couple of reasons.” Friedman said during Saturday’s edition of Hockey Night in Canada. “Earlier (Saturday), the Carolina Hurricanes put Antti Raanta on waivers. We’ll see where that goes (Sunday), they’re definitely looking around,
“The LA Kings have Pheonix Copley getting an MRI, he was injured in practice (Friday) and the belief is he’s going to be out for a little bit of time, so they might look for a backup to Cam Talbot if they don’t want to necessarily go with David Rittich.”
Those are the potential buyers, but who may be the sellers?
“I think a couple of names you’re going to hear out there, Montreal, obviously they have an extra goalie,” Friedman said. “Also, I think Spencer Martin for Columbus, they have an extra goalie now. Martin, Ron (MacLean)’s neighbour, has played very well.”
Outside the scope of just the goalie market, a pair of Central Division teams may be looking to add depth.
“A lot of teams said St. Louis was a team that was really looking to do things.” Friedman said. “Now, maybe that they’ve made their coaching change, it might calm down a bit, but the Blues were definitely active and seeing what was out there. Colorado just traded Tomas Tatar to Seattle and there are a bunch of teams paranoid that the Avalanche are really looking to add.”
