What Is the NHL Roster Freeze?

The holiday season is upon us, and while Stanley Cup odds still fill the minds of hockey fans, players get the rare opportunity to press pause on the business side of the NHL. 

The annual roster freeze came into effect at 11:59 p.m. local time on Dec. 19 and will run until 12:01 a.m. local time on Dec. 28. In addition, there will be no NHL games played from Dec. 24-27, giving players a break to spend the holiday season with their loved ones.

So how does the NHL holiday roster freeze work? 

Alexandre Carrier is firing on all cylinders to secure the W for the @PredsNHL with this @Energizer overtime winner! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mPniB8YRvo

— NHL (@NHL) December 20, 2022

What Is the NHL Holiday Roster Freeze?

Every year, the NHL imposes a roster freeze to prevent players from being traded, waived, or loaned to the minor leagues during the specified window. The freeze affects players on the active roster, injured reserve, non-roster, and injured non-reserve.

If a team wants to place a player on waivers, their final opportunity before the freeze was Monday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. ET, leaving Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. ET as the final opportunity for teams to claim any player who was waived on Monday.

Roster Freeze Exceptions

The roster freeze has certain stipulations to allow the NHL to continue essential functions throughout the period.

During the freeze window, teams are still allowed to recall players to fill roster holes, as well as make moves to address salary cap and roster limits in the event that a player is activated off the LTIR. If a player was on an NHL team’s active roster under Emergency Conditions prior to the freeze, they can still be returned to their club during the window.

As mentioned above, players that were placed on waivers before the freeze window can still be claimed until 2 p.m. on Jan. 20. In that event, the player must immediately report to their claiming team, even during the freeze period.