What 2 teams are likely to be on a players no trade list. Spoiler alert, LA isn't listed. Some amusing responses though:
So I’ve asked this question a lot over the years and it tends to get the same answer. Smaller, cold weather cities are a tough sell. Until they’re good.
The Edmonton Oilers used to dominate this question, but the addition of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl has bumped them down a couple of slots. Winnipeg, as you might have guessed, has the top spot on lockdown. And as long as Eugene Melnyk owns the Senators, they’re going to be on a lot of no-trade lists.
“Winnipeg. They’re going to win this every year.”
“It’s changed over the years but consistently I would have to say Winnipeg and Ottawa.”
“I don’t see Edmonton as being a bad spot except for the weather. You have an exciting young team. If you want to win, you’ve got to think with all those picks and players and Kenny (Holland) and (Dave Tippett) they’re going to be winning.”
“It’s just the comparability of living. Do you want to live in Chicago, Nashville, Vegas or do you want to live in Winnipeg?”
“I have guys who put New York right away because it’s just too big.”
“Ottawa. Everything you hear. The ownership. They haven’t won anything. The Canadian dollar. It’s like the dumping ground in the NHL of Canada.”
“I don’t want to say Winnipeg. Those guys are classy, it’s a great organization. The players I’ve had there love it. Love it. Those cold weather small cities are too easy of a target.”
“Florida because of how they treat their players.”
“Toronto. The impression is you can’t miss a pass in practice without being questioned about it afterward.”
“Winnipeg will develop guys. They’ll make them into hockey players. Usually, it’s the quality of the owner or management. So Ottawa, because of Melnyk.”
“San Jose. Someone has to speak the truth.”
“Winnipeg and Buffalo. I can’t tell you why but I’ve just had a lot of guys tell me, ‘I’m not going to f***ing Buffalo. It’s good hockey country. I think a lot of guys just fly in there and it looks miserable. That’s all they see is one day and it’s cloudy, snowing and cold.”
“Edmonton is off the lists because guys want to play with Draisaitl and McDavid. They used to be on the lists. Montreal, because it’s just so hard to play there. You win two in a row, they’re planning a parade. They lose two in a row and the whole city is on suicide watch.”
“Ottawa. It’s still an organizational upheaval at this point. The team is far away from looking like they’re going to win. There’s not a ton of direction there. They have good, young pieces but they’re really young and they’re not THAT good.”
“Winnipeg … Once you’re in the rink, it’s great. The other 22 hours of the day, it’s not so good.”
“Montreal because of taxes. It’s pretty bad.”
“The easy answer is Winnipeg and Ottawa but some players making a lot of money know they don’t need to put Ottawa on the no-trade list because of their salary. Climate is a big thing. It’s the last thing a team has control over. … Some players don’t want to play in Canada. We’ve had players say I don’t want to play in Canada. I don’t think we’ve ever said, I don’t want to play in the U.S.”
“Ottawa because of the owner.”
