In the NHL, these rights have been blamed for the lack of trades that have been pulled off in recent years, with critics citing examples where "done deals" were blown up by "selfish players.
In one dramatic case in 2001, Tampa Bay Devil Rays first baseman Fred McGriff mulled over waiving his rights for nearly a month before ultimately accepting a deal which sent him to the Chicago Cubs.
[4] In 2017, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton rejected trades both to the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants, saying that he would refuse to waive his no-trade clause for any teams other than the contenders Chicago Cubs, hometown Los Angeles Dodgers, up-and-coming New York Yankees, and reigning 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros.
[5] Stanton was eventually traded to the Yankees for Starlin Castro, Jorge Guzman, and José Devers.
[6] In 2007, Kobe Bryant was willing to waive his no-trade clause with the Los Angeles Lakers in order to be dealt to either the Phoenix Suns or the Chicago Bulls, but in this case, Bryant's own pickiness as far as where he would like to play limited the Lakers' ability to move him, and eventually no trade was made at all.
Because of free agency and the lack of a salary cap in baseball, players in the final year of their contract are often put on the "trading block" by many of the non-playoff contending teams.
[15] The trade deadline was instituted by MLB in response to various attempts by two New York City-based ballclubs, the Giants and Yankees, to use their financial advantages to tilt their respective leagues' competitive balance in their favor from 1917 through 1922.
The American League (AL) established MLB's first-ever such rule in 1920 as an indirect result of the Red Sox's sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
A uniform rule serving both major leagues, which was adopted prior to the 1923 season, set the deadline at June 15.
The date, chosen by MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis based on a suggestion from Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss, remained in effect through the 1985 season.
[16] The National Basketball Association's deadline falls on the 16th Thursday of the season (usually in mid-February) at 3pm Eastern Time.
[19] In the NBA, post-deadline trades are forbidden, although teams are allowed to sign free agents and call up players from the G League until the end of the regular season.
[18] The National Football League's deadline is the Tuesday following Week 9 of the regular season, which is typically in early November.
Much like Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, the NHL's trade deadline is often a period of increased player movement; teams that are either making a final push to secure a playoff spot or hoping to go deep into the playoffs attempt to trade to acquire key veterans or proven scorers in order to solidify their rosters.
Like North America's trade deadline, there is greatly increased activity and interest as the close of a transfer window draws near.