After a long, sometimes chaotic, sometimes boring off-season, the NHL is officially back, and as of Friday, almost every team has begun their 2026/27 regular season in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
While the summer is a time for teams to get their rosters together, make free agency pickups, trades and utilize the draft to fill out their future, there’s still some lingering stories, with the two biggest in the league revolving around Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck. Both have requested trades from their team, but with both veterans trying to force their way out of their respective teams, they’ve utilized their no-trade clause to their advantage, and after Gary Bettman commented on NTC’s, Florida Panthers star Brad Marchand has responded.
Brad Marchand Calls Out Gary Bettman for Latest Comments
On Thursday, Bettman addressed no-trade clauses and how players are attempting to utilize them to their advantage, stating that he may need to take a look at how they were originally intended and getting it back to that.
Unsurprisingly, there were some people upset with that, and one player that’s never been one to hold back is Brad Marchand, who took to Instagram to respond to Bettman’s comments, calling out the double standard of the Commissioner.
“This goes both ways. I guess it’s ok if a team signs you to a long-term deal and wants to trade you, but not if you want out during that term. Broken system,” Marchand wrote.
Should the NHL Make Changes to Their NTC Process?
Right now, Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets fans are frustrated with the No-Trade Clause process, as both Hellebuyck and Larkin are flexing theirs to force a trade to a top, contending team. On paper, that makes sense, as both were given the power by their GM’s when signing a contract to give them NTC’s that give them a say in their future, but as most fans have said, perhaps it’s too much power to give a player.
From Marchand’s perspective, he sees that perhaps the front office’s had too much power before and wants to see the player getting a say in their future, and clearly, there needs to be some kind of balance and clarification around the system and the way things work.
That’s not going to happen immediately, as a massive, sweeping change like that would never be agreed upon by the NHL and the NHLPA during the season, but with fans simply wanting to see a balance between the players and the front office to avoid this type of drama moving forward, there has to be a middle ground that can satisfy both parties found some time in the near future.
Panthers Brad Marchand Fires Back at Gary Bettman’s Recent Comments