Five factors in CFL trades

While the CFL's trade deadline doesn't have the frenzy of media coverage surrounding the NHL one (and part of that's for a good reason, as it sometimes doesn't even see a trade), it still can be an interesting time. The deadline is at 4 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, and while there hadn't been much action as of 2 p.m. Eastern (the biggest deal thus far is still Winnipeg sending Alex Hall and a second-round pick to Saskatchewan for Patrick Neufeld and a fourth-rounder, which happened Sunday), that doesn't mean nothing will happen. However, there are a lot of factors that go into a CFL trade, making these more complicated than they are in many other leagues. Here's a look at five of them:

1. Canadians versus imports: This is based around the league roster rules, which require teams to have a 42-man roster with 20 non-imports (generally Canadians), 19 imports and three quarterbacks whose nationalities don't count(generally Americans). Furthermore, seven of your 24 starters must be non-imports. Some say that "you never trade a Canadian for an import," and that's clearly not true; trades like the Hall-Neufeld one aren't that uncommon, and neither are trades of import players for picks used to select Canadians (such the Odell Willis one). What is true here is that Canadian players have more value than just their raw skill. Canadian depth is crucially important and much harder to build than import depth, so a player like Neufeld carries value well beyond his on-field performance.

2. The expansion draft: This is a factor that only applies this year, but it's an incredibly significant one. The Ottawa expansion draft is happening after this season, and teams will generally only be able to protect one quarterback, 10 imports, and 14 non-imports (in two different stages); the numbers change slightly based on who they lose in each rounds, but that's a basic overview of it. Thus, teams have to already be evaluating who they really want to hang on to and who they might have to leave unprotected. That was rumoured to be a factor in the Hall-Neufeld trade, too, with Saskatchewan figuring that while Neufeld can be a useful player, he likely wouldn't be one of the top six non-imports they protected in the first non-import round. Meanwhile, Winnipeg might place higher value on him given their Canadian content and offensive line depth issues. Figuring out who you're going to protect in this draft has a lot to do with any moves you make at this deadline.

3. This year versus next year: The playoff berths aren't officially locked yet, but they're all but set, and 2-12 Winnipeg and 3-11 Edmonton are going to be on the outside looking in barring something miraculous. That creates strong incentives for those teams to be "sellers" of players they're likely to lose in the expansion draft or in free agency after this season. This season's no longer that important to them. By contrast, you can make a case for every other team to be a buyer, but that's a particularly strong case for the league's four top teams by record at this point: 11-3 Calgary and 9-5 Saskatchewan, B.C. and Toronto. All would appear to be serious Grey Cup contenders. However, none of those teams will want to mortgage the future too extensively in an attempt to make a run this year. There are a lot of solid teams this year, and anything can happen in the playoffs. Saskatchewan's move for Hall is a good example: while it boosts the Riders this year, it doesn't give up too much down the road, and it even improves their draft position.

4. The salary cap: The CFL has a relatively low salary cap of just $4.4 million this year. That limits what teams can do in trades; if they're picking up a well-compensated player, they're probably going to have to send one in return. If you're a ways under the cap, though, that gives you options like trading picks instead of players. It's important to remember that the cap can be exceeded by up to $100,000 with just a fine as penalty, though. Beyond that, you lose a first-round pick, and that's a stiff consequence.

5. Quarterbacks: Although Winnipeg would love to haul in a proven and promising quarterback, it's unlikely that will happen at this trade deadline. Given the rash of quarterback injuries this year, even pivot-deep teams like Calgary probably want to hang on to all of their options heading into the playoffs unless they're given a remarkable offer. However, considering that teams can only protect one quarterback in the expansion draft, it seems very probable that we might see a backup pivot traded after the season and before that draft. The Bombers currently don't seem to have a quarterback worth protecting, and there are plenty of promising options out there. Keep an eye on this one in the offseason.