from Matt Larkin of The Hockey News,

It’s the stretch run of the abbreviated 2020-21 NHL season. You’re the GM of a U.S.-based team in a dogfight for a wildcard spot. You have no cushion in the standings, no comfortable hold on a playoff position. If you make a trade leading up to the deadline, the player coming in must be ready to help your team immediately.

It’s a shame, then, that the guy you covet plays for a Canadian team. If you acquire him, he has to quarantine for two weeks since he’s been playing exclusively on the other side of the border against other Canadian teams in a custom divisional realignment. You can’t afford to give away a single point in the standings, so it’s not worth the risk of waiting for him. You therefore take your business to a fellow U.S.-based team instead. But even that brings complications. Do you trade within your own division, which has may cooked up some extra-bitter rivalries, to reduce travel time and potential quarantining? Do you make a move with a team playing in the U.S. but in a different division, potentially requiring a small delay in having the new player’s services?

All these scenarios could play out in the 2020-21 season. It’s shaping up to be the strangest of all-time from a trading perspective, and it’s likely to put GMs of the seven Canadian teams at a significant disadvantage.

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