NHL roster freeze set to take effect at midnight
Published
The annual NHL Holiday Roster Freeze goes into effect at 11:59pm local time Monday, and will be lifted at 12:01am local time on Dec. 28.
This roster freeze prevents any players on NHL active rosters or injured reserve from being traded, waived or loaned to the minor leagues during the holiday window.
There are a few stipulations in the rule, such as allowing for teams to call up players to fill roster holes. Additionally, a player that was placed on waivers before the freeze takes place must immediately report to any team that claims them, even during the Holiday Roster Freeze period.
The final opportunity to place a player on waivers before the freeze is Monday at 2pm ET, leaving Tuesday at 2pm ET as the final opportunity to claim any player who was waived Monday.
Clubs are also allowed to make moves to address salary cap and roster limits should a player be activated off LTIR during the window.