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NHL Holiday Roster Freeze Explained: Penguins Beat Buzzer

Pittsburgh will soon have a break

The Penguins acquired defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph on Wednesday, which is good because that was their last chance to make a move for quite a while.

It’s time for the annual NHL Holiday Roster Freeze, folks!

If you’re unfamiliar with this practice, don’t worry. Pittsburgh didn’t break the league by trading for a defenseman who can’t score, it’s just something the NHL does that pauses all roster movement from 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 19 to 12:01 a.m. ET on Dec. 28.

NHL PR states that the freeze will halt all trades, loans and waiver activity for “all players on an active roster, injured reserve, or with non-roster and injured non-roster status… with respect to waivers, trades and loans, subject to the exceptions provided for in the CBA.” Dec. 24 through Dec. 26 is the annual Christmas break, where there are no scheduled practices or games with locker rooms remaining closed.

Yes, the NHL takes that big of a break once a year.

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The Penguins will play before Christmas, however, as they’ll take on the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers before getting a nice five-day break. You can catch both games live on SNP.

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Featured image via Steve Roberts/Imagn Images