There have been a few GMs that have given out no-movement clauses (NMC), no-trade clauses (NTC) or modified no-trade clauses (M-NTC) like candy over the past two decades. An NMC protects the player from being traded or sent to the minors while the clause in effect, while an NTC protects a player from being traded and an M-NTC is an agreed-upon clause that allows the team to submit to the team owning the contract either a list of teams that the player can be traded (trade list) to or a list of teams that the player has no interest in being sent to (no-trade list).

All three clauses are intended to be incentives to have the player sign for a lesser amount or give the player stability in a city they wish to stay in for an extended period. When a player is at the top of their game these clauses are rarely an issue, but when a player is not, they can become an albatross for the team to deal with and perhaps a burden for the player.

We will look at each team in the West and see what players are under these existing clauses and see which teams are the most flexible or seem to be set for the next three or four seasons with their core locked up.

Anaheim

Ryan Getzlaf – Has one more year remaining with an NMC at an $8.25 million cap hit, and he might be asked to waive before the trade deadline (whenever that is). One would think he might be interested in moving to a playoff-bound team for 2020-21.

Adam Henrique – Has an M-NTC where he submits a no-trade list of 10 teams for the next four seasons of his $5.825 million cap hit. That still makes him available to 21 or 22 teams in the next few seasons and won't prevent the Ducks from moving him.

Jakub Silfverberg – Has four seasons remaining at a cap hit of $5.25 million where he can submit a no-trade list of 12 teams. Much like Henrique this will make him available to 19 or 20 teams, which is enough of a market to find a buyer.

David Backes – Has one year remaining with $4.5 million in cap space while his list has grown from eight to 15 teams that he can be traded to in 2020-21. The market has essentially doubled from the prior year and the Ducks can move him if needed.

Cam Fowler – Has six more seasons with a cap hit of $6.5 million, while submitting a list of only four teams that he can be traded to. The Ducks are going to have a difficult time moving Fowler at any point with a very limited market and this contract will be an issue sooner than later for management.

Josh Manson – Has two more seasons with a cap hit of $4.1 million, while having a no-trade list of 12 teams. This won't prevent the Ducks from finding a suitor this year or next if they wish.

Kevin Shattenkirk – Recently signed to a three-year contract at $3.9 million AAV, he can submit a no-trade list of 12 teams like Manson. I'm sure it's considered bad form to trade a guy in the first year as a free agent so maybe look at year two or three, before the team considers its options with Shattenkirk.

Anaheim has seven players with clauses which seems like more than a team should have that has struggled in recent seasons. The good news is that only the Fowler deal seems like a deal that could come to haunt them in a few years.

Arizona

Phil Kessel – He has two years left on his contract that has a cap hit of $8 million AAV, while he has an eight-team list he can submit while he also has an NMC that prevents him from being sent to the minors. With only two years remaining on the deal, the Coyotes might find a partner among the eight teams next year to get some value for him.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – With seven years left at $8.25 million AAV, Ekman-Larsson had a very public shopping period where he allowed the Coyotes permission to talk with Boston and Vancouver to try to swing a trade. When the team couldn't finalize a deal with the two teams he had allowed, he closed the window for the time being and will stick to his NMC. Where there is smoke there is usually fire and if he is contemplating moving now he will contemplate moving in the future.

Alex Goligoski – He is in the last year of his $5.475 million contract with a clause that allows him to present a no-trade list of only eight teams. If the Coyotes wish to move him this year before he becomes a UFA they shouldn't have much of a problem.

Niklas Hjalmarsson – He is in the last year of his $5.0 million contract and possesses a full NMC, so the Coyotes will have to ask him to waive it if they can move him at any point.

Ekman-Larsson and his contract will be an issue for Arizona sooner than later as his allowance to have a trade list of two teams might grow to four and then to six, but it will always be a tight market for the Coyotes to get proper value in return. Otherwise, you have a disgruntled captain in year two of an eight-year contract. That is not ideal for a player or team.

Calgary

Sean Monahan – Starting in 2020-21, Monahan can now submit a 10-team no-trade list for the remaining three seasons of his $6.375 million AAV contract. I don't figure that this will even be an issue until the last year of this contract, and even then the market is still sizeable.

Mikael Backlund – He has four years remaining with a cap hit of $5.3 million AAV. Next season is his last with a full NTC clause and beginning in 2021-22, he will need to submit a no-trade list of 10 teams. Much like the situation with Monahan, this won't be an issue for a few years.

Milan Lucic – With three years remaining with a cap hit of $5.25 million AAV, Lucic still has an NMC but has already waived it once to be dealt from Edmonton to Calgary, so perhaps he would waive again in the next three years. It is a given that the Flames will be asking in year two or three.

Mark Giordano – He has two seasons remaining at $6.75 million AAV and next season he moves from a full NTC to an M-NTC where will need to submit a list of 19 teams he can be traded to. This does give management a little more flexibility if things don't go as well as they hope next season.

Chris Tanev – Newly signed Tanev has a four-year deal at $4.5 million AAV with a no-trade list of 10 teams. This won't be an issue in year one or two, but Tanev is already pretty beat up so how will years three and four look? This clause might come into play in those years.

For the talent, the Flames have, the clauses they do have are pretty safe and shouldn't put any handcuffs on management in the next three or four seasons.

Chicago

Patrick Kane – He has three years remaining at $10.5 million AAV with a full NMC. It's tough to say where this team will be in three seasons, but Kane and Toews will probably still be here.

Jonathan Toews – His deal is identical to Kane. Both players and team will need to decide what the plan will be moving on from these two players that have brought three Stanley Cups to Chicago. Something tells me that if both players are still productive they will remain Blackhawks for their careers.

Duncan Keith – He has three years remaining at just over $5.5 million AAV with a full NMC. At 37-years old, he won't be brought back when his deal expires and will no doubt retire in Chicago.

Brent Seabrook – He has four years remaining at $6.75 million AAV with a full NMC. At 35-years old he might have played his last game in the NHL and is a potential buy-out if he is removed from the Injured Reserves.

Zack Smith – He has one year remaining on a $3.25 million contract that allows him to submit a no-trade list of 10 teams. This shouldn't be an issue for Chicago to move him this season at the deadline.

Chicago might run into similar issues that Vancouver had in keeping the Sedins for a few more seasons out of loyalty when it was probably time to transition to the next group of players. The team will need to be careful in what they do after Toews and Kane play out the next three seasons. Other than that Seabrook's contract is the only issue on the books and it is a costly one at that unless he remains in IR.

Colorado

Nathan MacKinnon – Starting in 2020-21 MacKinnon will be able to submit a list of 19 teams he can be traded to and that will be for the remaining three seasons at $6.3 million. The only way this clause gets used is if the team and player get so far apart in negotiating a new contract that they get a divorce.

Gabriel Landeskog – He is entering the final year of his contract at just over $5.5 million with a 19-team trade list that he can submit. The Avalanche should be in the playoffs next season and will not be looking to move Landeskog and will be looking to re-sign him.

Brandon Saad – He is entering the final year of his contract at $5 million with a 10-team trade list that he can submit. Unless the relationship between team and player sours in a hurry, this clause won't come into play.

Nazem Kadri – He has two years remaining at $4.5 million AAV with an M-NTC that allows Kadri to submit a 10-team no-trade list. Colorado should still be one of the favourites in the next few years so won't be moving significant roster pieces.

Erik Johnson – He has three years remaining on his contract for $6 million AAV and he has an M-NTC that allows him to submit a 19-team trade list while he also has an NMC that prevents him from being sent to the minors. With the development of Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Bowen Byram and the addition of Devon Toews, Johnson is much more likely to be moved than the others on this list. The clause won't prevent Colorado from doing so if they wish.

Colorado is in great shape here, but it will be interesting with potentially re-signing MacKinnon and Landeskog if both players are given full NMCs or not.

There were a few more players than I thought on each team so I will need to extend this over a few parts and continue on next week with Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota and Nashville.

Thanks for reading and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.