Jordan Harris: the trade freeze and the impact on his return to the game

Starting tonight at midnight, NHL teams will have to take the transaction freeze into account. That is, until December 28 at midnight and one minute.

Basically, this means that a player can’t be traded this Christmas. This is to avoid not only seeing a guy get traded in between bites of turkey, but also to remove stress by eliminating the possibility.

I think it’s fair.

This means that teams who want to trade players in the very short term should do so now. It’s the same thing for AHL referrals and the waivers process.

That said, nothing prevents a player from returning to the game.

The question is: if a player returns to play, but the club can’t get rid of a guy by sending him to the AHL, how does that work?

And that’s why the 23-player limit can be exceeded during the holiday season. Of course, the club still has to comply with the salary cap, but that’s normal.

That’s why, if Jordan Harris is available to return to action this week, the Habs could take advantage of the transaction freeze to buy themselves some time.

What you need to know is that it’s not certain whether the defenseman will be back on Thursday or Friday. These are the only two days to take advantage of the holiday freeze, as the next game is on the 28th.

Why is this? Because a week ago, the Habs announced a 10- to 14-day absence for Harris.

That said, because he made the trip before the holidays, there’s a good chance we’ll see him play Thursday in Minnesota and/or Friday in Chicago. If not, why did he make the trip?

If so, the Canadiens won’t need to send a guy to Laval to make room for him. That could wait until the 28th, when the holiday trading period thaws. #PushingTheProblem

Note that the most logical possibilities are to send Emil Heineman to the AHL or to submit Gustav Lindstrom to the waivers in order to send him to Laval.

An injury could change things between now and then, of course. This is Montreal, after all.

In gusto

– Tampa Bay must get back on its feet.

The NHL’s roster freeze is fast approaching.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t hot spots in hockey as Christmas approaches.@PierreVLeBrun takes temperatures in Carolina, New Jersey, and morehttps://t.co/FYuIf4bkkP pic.twitter.com/aImlA4vwZC

– The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) December 19, 2023

– Nice catch for the Océanic.

In his first year as a starter, he’s already attracting attention

Source : Kevin Dubé pic.twitter.com/xP1B41i02e

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) December 19, 2023

– The Ottawa position is still the talk of the town.

Marek mentions Brantford Bulldogs OHL head coach Jay McKee as a potential candidate as well.

– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) December 19, 2023

– Notice to interested parties.

– Movement in the AHL.