In case you've forgotten what the trade deadline rules are, here's the pertinent ones for the Leafs this season.

  1. The deadline is 3 pm Eastern Time on Friday, March 7.
  2. The 23-man limit goes away at midnight Thursday night, March 6.
  3. The salary cap goes away when the regular season ends.
  4. Waivers exist to the end of the season and through the offseason to the beginning of training camp.
  5. Playoff Eligibility

To play in the AHL playoffs, an NHL-contracted player has to be on the AHL roster before 3 pm.

The only player on the Leafs roster who is waivers exempt is Matt Knies. Dakota Mermis still has his exemption active since the last time he cleared.

The main purpose of the deadline is to fix the playoff-eligible rosters. So once Friday at 3 pm arrives, no player can be added to the NHL roster with some exceptions: Players on a team's reserve list can be signed to a contract if necessary and brought on board if their seasons are over. So someone in junior hockey already under contract like Easton Cowan can be added whenever their seasons (including playoffs) end.

The reserve list includes all players on NHL contracts, no matter where they play, as well as drafted prospects and anyone else the Leafs hold the rights to. AHL-contracted players are not on this list and are not eligible to play in the NHL.

AHL teams load up with ATO players in the spring, but that is a minors-only method of adding players.

  1. Loans and Recalls

After the deadline, teams cannot loan players to the AHL unless they are on recall, but if they require waivers, they have to go through that process.

Teams have a limited number of recall slots they can use to bring players up from the minors to the NHL team. But the emergency and regular recall rules rarely cause teams significant problems.

After the Marlies season is over (including playoffs) the restrictions go away and anyone can be recalled.

  1. Trades after the deadline actually do happen, but the player cannot play in the NHL even in the regular season. Very occasionally, an NHL-contracted player in the AHL is traded post deadline.
  2. Cap hits of players added in-season are prorated to the amount of days left in the season. This only applies if the player is being counted under the salary cap. Any player added to the LTIR pool is priced at their full AAV, which is cap hit plus any bonuses that could be earned.
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