The Five Types of NHL Trade Deadline GMs (The DNA Summary)
After watching deadlines for years, most general managers tend to fall into one of five personality types. No one fits perfectly into just one box forever, but the patterns are real — and they repeat.
1) The Aggressive Builder
These GMs believe in action.
They:
Move early
Make multiple trades
Aren’t afraid to reshape a roster fast
If they’re contending, they add.If they’re rebuilding, they accelerate it.
They help set the market rather than react to it.
2) The Calculated Closer
These are the patient ones.
They:
Wait out the market
Study prices
Strike late and precisely
They don’t make a lot of moves — but when they do, it’s usually for a very specific need.
Their belief:
One right move beats three risky ones.
3) The Conservative Protector
These GMs trust their core.
They:
Prefer stability
Avoid big deadline splashes
Lean on development and chemistry
They’ll make a move if they have to…But they don’t like disrupting a room that’s already working.
4) The Opportunist
These are the hardest to predict.
They:
Buy one year
Sell the next
Flip direction quickly based on the standings
They read the moment and adjust.They don’t lock into one philosophy.
5) The Old-School Horse Trader
This is the rarest type today.
These GMs still love:
Hockey trades
Player-for-player deals
Fixing needs with needs
They’re less interested in:
Rentals
Pick hoarding
Cap gymnastics
They believe if your team needs a defenseman and you have an extra forward, you go find another GM with the opposite problem and make a real trade.
This was once the backbone of the league.Now, in the cap era, it’s becoming more of a lost art.
But when these deals happen, they tend to be the most interesting ones — because they’re about roster construction, not just asset management.
WHAT IS YOUR GM?
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