NHL trade requests and no-move clauses at 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame induction, Digi Mart USA News (Toronto): The 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame class received their rings in a ceremony in Toronto on Saturday afternoon. The group of six includes Brian Burke in the builder category, as well as Cindy Curley and Keith Tkachuk in the player category.
Also in the player category were goaltenders Pekka Rinne and Carey Price, and center Patrice Bergeron, all of whom spent their entire NHL careers with one team. That trait is becoming less common in today’s NHL, with players such as Connor Hellebuyck, Quinn Hughes, and Matthew and Brady Tkachuk having requested trades and controlled their destinations with their no-movement clauses.
“I don’t like it,” Burke said when asked about the recent trend. He later told The Athletic, “We have to do something about (the no-trade clauses).
If a guy demands a trade, he’s going to have to give a list of five or 10 (teams) or something. There’s got to be some solution.
It’s not right.”
Rinne won a Vezina Trophy and 369 career games in parts of 15 seasons in Nashville, leading the Nashville Predators to a Stanley Cup final in 2018. Throughout that time, he never thought he would play for another club.
“(After) I signed my long-term deal (with the Predators), it was just very easy to picture myself playing for the same team for the rest of my career,” Rinne said. “I was so fortunate that I could do it, and that really means a lot that I got to represent Nashville for the entire duration of my career.”
Price likewise spent 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, leading them in career victories (361) and winning the Hart, Vezina, and Bill Masterton Trophies, all in 2014-15. While reaching those achievements, he acknowledged that he had little control over his fate.
“I’ve always been a pretty loyal person, and I’ve never been traded before,” he said. “Even in junior, I played the same place my whole junior career.
I’ve always felt like it wasn’t going to be my decision.”
Price added that he always felt he was where he was supposed to be, and that even at times when he felt that might not be the case, he worked as hard as he could and let the cards fall where they may.
Bergeron, who scored over 1,000 points, won a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 and six Selke Trophies in 19 seasons. He was more understanding of players who want to move on from clubs they have spent their whole careers with.
“Everyone has their own opinion and their own way of doing things,” he said. “I think for myself, I’m very proud to say that I was a Boston Bruin for my whole career.
But who am I to judge? What people want to say and do with their own careers.
I think that’s on them to decide.”
The common thread between the three new inductees is that they were all pleased to stay where they were, but also recognized that they had little or no control over the situation if their clubs wanted to trade them. The recent trend has shifted the power dynamic from the teams to the players, and it is a trend that will likely continue.
