The NHL's Holiday Roster Freeze will begin at 12:01 AM on Saturday (Dec. 20) and go until 11:59 PM on Dec. 27.
During this time, NHL teams cannot make trades, place anyone on waivers, or loan players, but they can make emergency recalls and place players on IR and LTIR.
#NHL's Holiday Roster Freeze is coming up: 12:01 AM on Saturday (Dec. 20) through 11:59 PM on Dec. 27:
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 18, 2025
CAN'T make trades, place anyone on waivers, or loan players.
CAN make emergency recalls, place players on IR/LTIR.
For the New York Islanders, this week-long roster freeze shouldn't be much of an issue.
The roster currently has 13 healthy forwards and seven healthy defenseman, with Bo Horvat a candidate to return in the coming games despite not being in on Friday night against the Vancouver Canucks.
Had the Islanders placed Horvat on Injured Reserve and recalled someone to fill his role, they would not have been able to activate him if he was ready to go during the freeze because they wouldn't be able to loan the call-up back to Bridgeport.
The Islanders haven't done that, relying on Maxim Tsyplakov as the lone extra forward if need be.
It sounds like Horvat could travel this weekend to Buffalo, when the Islanders play the Sabres on Saturday evening at 5 PM ET.
Defenseman Marshall Warren was recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) on Thursday morning, meaning he will presumably stay in the NHL over the freeze, barring any last-minute transactions.
With Warren up and his $825,000 cap hit on the books, the Islanders are no longer accruing cap space as they are using some of their LTIR pool money.
That means that they will not be able to accrue at all during the roster freeze, something the team has tried to do when given the chance.
If necessary, the Islanders could make an emergency recall, but this is the group they will likely have throughout the three-game stretch.
The Islanders' final game before the freeze is on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils at UBS Arena.