Olli Maatta wasn’t sure what number would be on the back of his jersey.
On July 2, he found out he was getting traded from Calgary to the Wild … while at the grocery store. The next day, he was playing in a charity golf tournament, part of what the defenseman described as a “whirlwind” after he and forward Blake Coleman were traded by the Flames for defenseman Jake Middleton and three draft picks.
“We’re going to figure that out,” Maatta said about his number, and he did, holding onto the No.3 he donned with Calgary.
Of all the specifics that have to get hashed out to pull off a trade in the NHL, jersey numbers aren’t a top priority.
That’s actually one of the last boxes to check in the step-by-step process the Wild follow when moving players.
“I don’t think you ever really know if you’re getting traded or not,” said Maatta, who’s been dealt five times in his 13-year NHL career. “You might have a little bit of an idea. But at the end of the day, when it happens, you get notified pretty much a couple minutes before [the media].”
After two teams agree to a trade, one side will e-mail the NHL with the details of the deal, and the other side will respond to that e-mail confirming the details are correct.
Then the league will verify that each team can actually make the trade.
The NHL will check that both teams have enough salary cap space and aren’t already at the 50-player contract limit. If a no-trade or no-movement clause is involved, that will get looked at, too, and the league will also ensure a team has the draft picks that it intends to send to the other team.
Finally, the NHL will call both teams and go over what it’s been reviewing and confirm all aspects of the trade.
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