QMJHL trade period opens Monday

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

It's that time of year.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League trade period officially opens on Monday and will run until Jan. 6, the day after the gold medal game of the IIHF World Junior Championship.

The Saint John Sea Dogs are expected to make at least one major trade, which will involve captain Eriks Mateiko. The 19-year-old forward is one of the top import players in the league and is expected to be dealt to a contender.

The Washington Capitals prospect has appeared in just 23 games this season due to NHL camp and injuries but has posted an impressive 14 goals and five assists. He's been out of Saint John's lineup since Nov. 29 due to an injury and is now off to play for Latvia at the world juniors.

Mateiko is the only obvious candidate for the Sea Dogs to move but, especially with a new general manager in place, the team is expected to make some other roster moves whether that be through trades or signings.

Saint John is still on the rebuilding side of this cycle – but there's a chance this could be the last trade period where the team is amongst the sellers. One thing to keep an eye on is that the team is still lacking in draft picks for the next couple drafts, which will likely be a priority for Travis Crickard.

Here's Saint John's current bank of picks, via the French fan boards.

2025: 1-1CB-2-6-6Rim-7-8-11-12

2026: 1-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-12Sha 

2027: 1-2-3-6-6gat-7-8-9-10-11-12

The wildcard for the Sea Dogs in this year's trade period is Crickard. Obviously, we don't know his style as a GM yet. It's also his team now, and there could very well be some moves that weren't expected.

Overall, this year's trade period is likely to be a bit unusual. There aren't a lot of big names on selling teams, so the major deals may not be as huge as we often see – even with the Memorial Cup being hosted within the league. But we'll see what happens.

Plus, there's the NCAA rule change that will no doubt make an impact. Some teams may look to make moves just to open up roster spots for new signings.