The NHL's 2025-26 roster freeze goes into effect at midnight ET on Saturday, meaning no players can be moved until it lifts Dec. 28.
The biggest shoe has already dropped. Quinn Hughes was traded from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild on Friday in one of the biggest blockbusters in recent memory. Hughes was not injured like Jack Eichel when he was traded. He was not part of a sign-and-trade, the way Mitch Marner left Toronto. No, this was a team in desperate need of a rebuild dealing one of hockey's best defensemen to another team when it became clear he would not extend his contract, and every team was interested in his services to some degree.