Pens GM Jim Rutherford wonders if trades will happen in the upcoming season

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the 2020-21 NHL season. There is still no official start date and some are wondering whether there will be a season at all. In a recent interview with The Athletic, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford speculated that trades could be slowed down considerably, or possibly chopped completely, in-season if one eventually starts up.

"If there are trades this season,” he said when asked whether he'd be willing to make any big in-season moves. “I don't know."

"It's probably more like football than ever,” Rutherford said, referring to an NFL where in-season trades pale in comparison to the NHL. “It's probably going to be more where you set your team and that's going to be your team.”

While it hasn't been discussed publicly by the league, that assumption makes a lot of sense. If the NHL is attempting to limit travel and movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not allowing a player to join another group of players in-season makes sense. Especially when it might require a player to cross the Canada-U.S. border. Even if the league itself did not impose this rule, the flat salary cap and the players' own concerns, could see trades getting more rare as the season rolls on.

"I don't know anything more than anybody else,” said Rutherford.

“If we still feel there's areas where we can upgrade, we'll be trying to do that right away,” he added. “If we can trade.”

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