NHL general manager expects more trades after draft than a typical year

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen says he expects there to be more trades after the 2020 NHL Entry Draft than a typical year.

This year's draft doesn't qualify as a typical year for many different reasons. The first is that normally the NHL draft takes place in late June, but due to the playoffs being pushed back because of COVID-19, the draft will take place on October 6 and 7 this year. Another reason is the cap situation as a result of COVID-19, as it has been confirmed the salary cap will remain flat for the upcoming season. Prior to the pandemic, it was expected to have a fairly significant raise, which would have benefitted many teams who are near the maximum salary cap.

As a result, many teams may be forced to trade players in order to make sure they are not over the cap for the 2020-21 season. Not only could this result in trades, but it could result in deals that appear to be one sided, as certain teams will have to offload some of their players for next to nothing in order to comply with the league rules.

Given this year's talent in free agency, which is set to begin October 9, some teams will also have to trade players in order to make room for free agent signings. Had the cap gone up like everyone expected, this wouldn't have been an issue, or at least not nearly as big of one. It certainly will make things interesting for NHL fans, as general managers will have to really strategize and as Kekalainen said, probably make more deals.

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