![\"NHL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782594435_638_0x0.jpg\")
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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 20: Brady Tkachuk #7 of Team United States celebrates with Matthew Tkachuk #19 after scoring a goal against Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada during the first period in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game at TD Garden on February 20, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
No-trade and no-move clauses have become so commonplace in the NHL that many fans assume they are simply part of the business of sports. They aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
No-trade and no-move clauses are not the industry standard in North American sports. In fact, the NHL is the outlier. Here\u2019s the approximate number of no-trade and no-move clauses per league:<\/p>\n
NFL: 8<\/p>\n
NBA: 2<\/p>\n
MLB: 35<\/p>\n
NHL: 245<\/p>\n
The contrast is remarkable. While the other three leagues treat movement restrictions as rare contractual exceptions, the NHL has made them an industry norm.<\/p>\n
There are a few reasons NHL teams offer so many no-trades.<\/p>\n
1) NHL Salaries Are Lower Than Those of Other Major Sports<\/p>\n
The NHL operates in a different financial universe than the NBA, MLB, and NFL as there is a significant gap between salaries. Here\u2019s what the average star makes in each of the four leagues:<\/p>\n
NHL superstar: $10\u201316 million<\/p>\n
NBA superstar: $50\u201370 million<\/p>\n
MLB superstar: $40\u201370 million<\/p>\n
Elite NFL quarterback: $50\u201365 million<\/p>\n
Since NHL players earn significantly less than their counterparts in the other major leagues, they often negotiate for certainty rather than seeking a bump in pay. They will give up income for a no-move since it provides players with control over their personal life.<\/p>\n
2) Hockey\u2019s Culture Has Traditionally Valued Loyalty<\/p>\n
Hockey has long embraced the idea of organizational loyalty. Players are expected to commit themselves to a franchise, while teams frequently reward veterans with contractual stability.<\/p>\n
General managers have often viewed no-move clauses as a sign of mutual trust rather than merely a contractual concession. So it ties into hockey culture.<\/p>\n
3) The NHL\u2019s Salary Cap Encourages Creative Negotiations<\/p>\n
The NHL\u2019s hard salary cap limits how much clubs can spend. When teams reach the financial ceiling, they often have little flexibility to increase a player\u2019s salary. So they offer the perk of a no-move to incentivize a signing. <\/p>\n
While a no-trade or no-move clause doesn\u2019t cost the club cap space, it can be pretty valuable o the player.<\/p>\n
Why Other Sports Don\u2019t Need Them<\/p>\n
The absence of movement clauses in other leagues is not accidental. Each league has alternative mechanisms that provide players with protection.<\/p>\n
NFL contracts are largely non-guaranteed. Teams can release players at any time, making long-term movement protection far less practical.<\/p>\n
MLB players acquire significant rights through service time. A player with at least 10 years of MLB service, including the last 5 consecutive years with the same club, earns the right to veto any trade.<\/p>\n
The NBA makes full no-trade clauses extremely difficult to obtain. To qualify, a player generally must have at least eight years of NBA service and four years with his current team.<\/p>\n
NHL hasn\u2019t merely normalized movement restrictions; it has built a system where control over movement is itself a central currency in player-team negotiations.<\/p>\n
For now at least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – FEBRUARY 20: Brady Tkachuk #7 of Team United States celebrates with Matthew Tkachuk #19 after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":764454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,23438,364437,591,590,593,575,85,364438],"class_list":["post-764453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bettman","tag-larkin","tag-mlb","tag-nba","tag-nfl","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-yzerman"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=764453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/764453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=764453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=764453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=764453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}