Brad Marchand isn’t buying Gary Bettman’s read on no-trade clauses.
After the commissioner argued that the league has drifted from the original purpose of those protections, Marchand pushed back on Instagram and called the whole thing a “broken system.” His point was simple: if a team can sign a player long term and later want to move him, then a player should have the same kind of leverage when he wants out.
“I guess it’s OK if a team signs you to a long-term deal and wants to trade you but not if you want out during that term.”
That response dropped right into a debate that has been building around how no-trade and no-movement protection actually works in practice. Bettman said those clauses were meant for players who commit to a city and want the security of staying there, not as a tool for requesting a trade while also controlling the destination.
Marchand’s take, though, overlooks the part that makes these clauses so valuable to players: they can block a move entirely. The issue isn’t just about whether a player wants out.
It’s about the limited list of places he’s willing to go. Dylan Larkin has three to five teams.
Brady Tkachuk only wanted the Florida Panthers. Connor Hellebuyck wants to go to a team in the United States.
That kind of restriction leaves general managers with fewer options.
The conversation also comes after a summer that saw multiple players with no-movement protection push for changes of their own. Fans pointed to three examples: one player was traded, another was accused of faking an injury, and a third didn’t report. Marchand, in their view, was brushing past that reality too.
The pushback from fans was quick and mostly negative. Some said the basic math is obvious: teams are the ones paying the money, and a player on a multi-million-dollar deal can’t expect equal control over where he ends up.
One proposed a simple fix - if a player with a clause asks for a trade, the protection should disappear and the team should be free to send him anywhere. The argument there is straightforward: a no-trade clause is supposed to let a player refuse a move, not let him ask out and still choose the landing spot.
Others defended the original purpose of the clauses, saying they exist to keep teams from shipping players somewhere they don’t want to go. A few, though, put the blame on the teams themselves and argued the league wouldn’t be dealing with this if those clauses weren’t handed out so freely in the first place.
Now that Marchand has weighed in publicly, the issue is likely to keep hanging around as the season begins and contract talks stay in the spotlight.
In Other News...
Radko Gudas Brings Extra Emotion Back To Anaheim Tonight
Radko Gudas gets a little extra meaning from this one tonight, with the Florida defenseman returning to Anaheim to face the Ducks for the first time since his time there as a captain. Gudas spent three seasons with the organization and spoke fondly about the role he had there, along with the experience of leading a team that was in a different place when he arrived.
There is still plenty of familiarity on both sides, even as the rosters and circumstances have changed since his departure. Alex Killorn also pointed to the impact Gudas had on the Ducks, and Anaheim made sure his return would not go quietly when he showed up for practice, adding a bit of pregame mischief before the meeting with his former team. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Marchand's Panthers Return Suddenly Looks Closer Than Expected
Brad Marchands rehab has started to tilt from slow burn to imminent possibility. After surgery in August to address a recurring injury, he was originally expected to miss the entire month of October, but Panthers coach Paul Maurice said the forward is now close enough to have practiced with the team again, which is usually the first sign a return is getting more than just optimistic.
For Florida, the next step is less about comfort than clearance. The doctors, trainers and Marchand still have to sign off before he can get back into the lineup, and Maurice also has to make the final call on where he fits once he is ready. For a team that has been waiting on his presence since the injury, the gap between almost and active now feels a lot shorter than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Young Core Just Showed Florida A Problem That Wont Quit
The Sharks keep finding ways to make noise with a young core that looks increasingly hard to ignore, and their latest comeback only added to that impression. San Jose outlasted the Kings 5-4 in overtime, picking up a second straight OT win after spending much of the night on the back foot, only to stay alive long enough for the talent in its lineup to tilt the result back its way.
For Florida, that kind of emergence matters because the Panthers know how quickly a youthful group can turn an ordinary night into a problem that lingers. The Sharks were outplayed for long stretches and still walked away with two points, a reminder that their growth is coming in a way that does not always look polished, but can still leave an opponent empty-handed when the game reaches its most fragile moments. [Read more 🡒]