NHL Trades: Can one find the exact language of every trade?

Question

The question says it all, but to be more specific, I've scoured the internet for the specifics of the conditional pick traded from the Wild to the Coyotes in the Hanzal-White trade. Neither team's news or transaction logs describe the conditions of this pick, and the many NHL trade trackers I've found simply call it a "4th-round conditional pick in 2019". What levels must the Wild reach this season to advance the pick to earlier rounds?

But more generally, are the specifics of all NHL trades made public?

Answer 1

What levels must the Wild reach this season to advance the pick to earlier rounds?

From ProSportsTransactions.com, the Minnesota Wild relinquished, among other things, a 2019 conditional pick (second round if Wild advance to third round of 2017 playoffs and Hanzal plays in at least 50% of games, third round if Wild advance to second round of 2017 playoffs and Hanzal plays in at least 50% of games, else fourth round).

But more generally, are the specifics of all NHL trades made public?

I emailed Frank Marousek, the webmaster for ProSportsTransactions.com, asking where and how the NHL releases official trade information. The short answer to this question is No, the specifics of each official trade are not released to the general public.

From our correspondence: There is a thing called the "central registry" where all the specifics are supposed to be kept. I don't have access to that. But it's usually out there if you dig deep enough. If it's not specified in the official release, a lot of time a local beat reporter will dig for it and report it. For example, the Hanzel trade conditions were eventually reported here. Still, you'll see quite a few trades that have conditions where I have no better alternative than to say "conditions are unconfirmed."

The NHL does not require that the details of any trade be released publicly, but some reporters may be granted access to the central registry (the official NHL database) or obtain details in interviews with team employees. The details spread by word-of-mouth from then on.

Answer 2

Here are the details concerning that specific trade. Typically, trades are made public and conditional picks information can be found somewhere. Whether it is on Internet or not most likely depends on the importance of the pick. For this case, here is what Bob McKenzie twitted:

Conditional pick: If MIN wins one playoff round this year, it becomes 3rd round pick; if MIN wins two rounds, it becomes 2nd round pick.

Every trade in the NHL must be made public. Some specific details are not usually found though like how much salary the team will retain, and what the conditions are (how far the team goes in playoff usually). But this is up to the NHL website to reveal those conditions or the team website itself. This year, particularly, a lot of conditional picks were added to trades upon playoff performances.