According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 116 of 690 NHL players (more than one-seventh of the League) have no-trade clauses. These pesky contract stipulations allowed players like Rob Blake, Alex Tanguay and roughly half of the Toronto Maple Leafs to reject potential deadline trades, while Adam Foote was able to pinpoint his new team in Colorado.
Then there are the Minnesota Wild, who actually have a team policy against NTCs. But as Russo explains, there can be special circumstances:
The only no-trade clause the Wild has given is a limited one to goalie Niklas Backstrom, and that's because when he signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract last summer, the Wild still had Manny Fernandez. Backstrom didn't want to commit to Minnesota, then wind up with a new address if the Wild couldn't deal Fernandez. The Wild wasn't able to trade Backstrom this season, but the no-trade clause is lifted this summer. Then it goes back into place until it's lifted again from Feb. 1 to next season's trade deadline.In light of Cliff Fletcher's trade deadline follies, it's refreshing to see a franchise not only take a hard stand on NTCs, but a creative one. Rather than see some draconian amendment that would restrict non-movement clauses in the next CBA -- a debate I believe the NHLPA would win anyway -- I'd like to see more flexibility from both players and teams like in this Backstrom deal. The list of NTCs on NHLscap.com offers a glimpse at how teams are handling no-movement clauses with key players. By far, my favorite: At the end of each season, Scott Gomez gives the Rangers a list of just three teams to which he will not accept a trade. Wouldn't you love to see that list annually...
