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What’s it Like Being an NHL Player Agent at the NHL Trade Deadline?

Published: Mar 5, 2025, 12:00 PM
1 min read
Updated: Jul 24, 2025, 12:33 PM
Fact checked by:
Sergey Demidov
Florida Panthers acquire defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago Blackhawks

Florida Panthers acquire defenseman Seth Jones from Chicago Blackhawks Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Longtime NHL player agent Matt Keator currently has 25 NHL player contracts amounting to $252,307,500 and a total cap hit of $54,062,024. Amongst those in his client stable are New York Rangers defenseman and 2021 Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox, Rangers forward Chris Kreider, and Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour. In addition to getting all those players signed, he has also helped navigate them throughout plenty of NHL trade deadlines.

With the 2025 NHL trade deadline this Friday at 3 p.m. ET, Keator gave RG a glimpse into what it’s like being an agent as the deadline approaches and also his take on the effects of the projected rising NHL salary cap.

What’s the NHL Trade Deadline like for agents now?

“You have the team side of things and then you have the agent side of things,” Keator told RG on Tuesday. “The team side of things is obviously all based on whether you are a buyer or a seller, but from the agent side of things you have to evaluate your client and what you know. Are they gonna get moved or are they gonna sign them?

“The deadline is more geared towards UFA’s unless you have a bigger deal like the Seth Jones trade we just saw. Mostly though, we’re seeing rentals and minor trades. Teams are hardly ever retaining more years in a bigger blockbuster type of deal and most of the action is based on guys going into their final years and a team that’s stellar will go for him.”

“As an agent, if your player likes where he is, you’re hoping to figure that out by now because if you haven’t, there’s a really good chance they’re getting moved. Like Ryan Donato, they’re either going to sign him or he’ll get traded,” he said of his longtime client.

“Some teams are waiting until [today] to put their players out there and the best possible deals will likely happen in the final 48 hours because everything is so tight,” Keator said. “Because of that, for agents and their clients, it’s becoming a lot like free agency and July 1. You’re getting your best sense of where it’s going at the deadline and everything is deadline driven now. So, there’s a lot of patience involved from all sides.”
Who has control at the deadline now? Agents/players or teams?

“You have to look at your client if you’re an agent, and you have to look at your player if you’re a GM and where they fit,” Keator pointed out.  “But again, the agent doesn’t control where his client goes unless he has a full no-move clause. So, it’s a business and the team will ultimately trade your client where they think the best fit for the trade is. Older players might have a little more say because the teams want to respect those players but everyone is in a different category and different stage of their careers. In the end, the player wants to do what’s best for him; the agent wants to do what’s best for the player and the teams want the best for them. So, it’s all about maximizing a deal one way or another depending on who you work for.”

In light of what happened with Barclay Goodrow getting waived and claimed by the San Jose Sharks after vetoing a trade there, and the Rangers also finding a way around Jacob Trouba’s no-trade-clause, do no-movement and no-trade clauses have less clout now?

“I mean yeah, would I have thought that would have happened one or two years ago? No. But with the cap, every team is constantly looking for an edge and it may happen again,” Keator acknowledged. “Same could be said with the Edmonton-St. Louis offer sheets right? So that could be happening more now too.

That being said, it allows more player movement which is excellent. We need that because it’s good for clicks and more exposure for the game.

With the cap going up will we see more hockey trades?

“Well, yes, with the cap going up, you’re going to see more trades and player for player,” Keator said. “But I think even more retaining now will help there be more trades. There’s more flexibility and you get a free year you can use so retention trades are great.”

Could the salary cap rising have a negative effect too?

“Just because the cap is projected to continually go up, doesn’t mean every team is going to spend the cap,” Keator pointed out. “Look at the Canadian teams. You know Toronto will; you know Montreal will, but I’m not sure about the others really. I don’t see Winnipeg or Ottawa, and same in the States. You’ll have the big teams like the Rangers spending to the cap but I think teams like Anaheim, just like Ottawa and Winnipeg will have artificial caps.”

NHL Reporter
James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist with 25 years of experience covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL, including two decades on the Boston Bruins beat. His work has appeared on NHL.com, NESN, ESPN Boston and more, and he’s made regular TV and radio appearances on NESN, ESPN, TSN and SiriusXM. A familiar face in the hockey world, Murphy has covered multiple Stanley Cup Finals, NHL drafts and playoffs, and now co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire, interviewing top NHL executives, coaches and players. He joined RG in 2024 after stints with Boston Hockey Now and LiveBarn.
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Hockey Writers

James Murphy
James Murphy
NHL Reporter

James Murphy is a veteran sports journalist covering the NHL, NCAA and CHL hockey for RG.

With 25 years of experience covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA, CHL and more, Murphy has seen it all when it comes to hockey. His hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a diverse array of hockey media personalities who have lived and worked in and around the game. Murphy also currently co-hosts The Eye Test podcast with Pierre McGuire and, along with McGuire, interviews NHL owners and executives, as well as NHL and NCAA head coaches and players daily.

The Arlington, Massachusetts, native began his writing career in hockey in 2001, when the Boston Bruins raised one of his childhood idols, Ray Bourque’s No. 77, to the rafters before their 2001–02 season opener. For 22 of his 25 years as a hockey reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins daily, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals, multiple NHL drafts and countless Stanley Cup playoffs. He did all that for the Boston Metro, NHL.com, NESN.com and ESPN Boston.

In addition to his print work covering the Bruins, Murphy also made regular TV appearances on NESN, Fox 25 Boston, ESPN and NHL Network. From 2008 to 2012, Murphy hosted The Hockey Primetime Show on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and made numerous appearances on national and international radio shows.

Ironically, his three years not covering the Bruins were spent covering their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens. From 2012 to 2015, Murphy was based in Montreal and covered the Canadiens for NHL.com and TSN.ca. He also appeared regularly on TSN 690 radio and CTV.

Murphy returned to Boston in 2015 and left the media business to work in sales and marketing for LiveBarn, a Montreal-based sports streaming company, for four years. In 2019, Murphy once again became a Bruins beat reporter, this time writing for Boston Hockey Now. He spent four seasons working for BHN before arriving at RG in 2024 and also dedicated more time to The Eye Test podcast.

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