The NHL’s annual trade deadline is 1 p.m. MT on April 12. However, it’s not the only big shuffling of the league-wide deck that’ll happen in 2021, as the Seattle Kraken will hold their expansion draft in mid July. With that addition comes some complexities for the rest of the league, including the Calgary Flames, as we approach the trade deadline.
2021 expansion draft rules
2021’s expansion draft will operate under the same rules as the 2017 draft that brought the Vegas Golden Knights into existence – Vegas won’t be taking part, so both drafts will involve an expansion team picking from the “original 30” NHL clubs.