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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Yan Kuznetsov(D)|CGY
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Call Up
With Dennis Gilbert suffering an upper-body injury yesterday, the Flames have opted to recall Kuznetsov from the Wranglers (AHL), where he has seven points (2G / 5A) in 31 games this season. The 50th overall pick of the Flames in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft could be poised to make his NHL debut if Gilbert remains out of the lineup.

Kuznetsov has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).

Source:
Calgary Flames 2024-01-05T17:19:05.060Z
Yan Kuznetsov
Justin Kirkland(C)|CGY
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Call Up
Kirkland has been recalled from Tucson (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Kirkland has spent most of his eight-year professional career in the AHL, making his NHL debut last season with the Anaheim Ducks, being held without a point in seven contests. Kirkland has 13 points (1G / 12A) this season in 12 games with the Tuscon Roadrunners (AHL).

Source:
Arizona Coyotes PR 2024-01-05T15:26:58.232Z
Justin Kirkland
Nikita Alexandrov(C)|LAK
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Alexandrov has been reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL).

Alexandrov has been reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, allowing the Blues to recall Jakub Vrana. Alexandrov was held without a point in 10 games with the Blues this season and will likely make his 2023-24 Thunderbirds debut after scoring 38 points (19G / 19A) in 41 games with the AHL club last season.

Source:
St. Louis Blues 2024-01-04T20:24:14.139Z
Nikita Alexandrov
Ben Meyers(C)|SEA
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Meyers has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL).

Meyers has appeared in eight games for the Avalanche this season and has a goal, six SOG, and a -1 plus/minus while averaging 9:41 TOI/GP but has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) Thursday. The 25-year-old miraculously does not have an assist in 52 career NHL games played dispite having six goals. He returns to the Eagles, where he had 13 points (6G/7A) in 19 games prior to his previous call up.

Source:
Colorado Avalanche 2024-01-04T20:46:04.490Z
Ben Meyers
Grigori Denisenko(LW)|FA
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Call Up
Vegas has recalled Grigori Deniskenko from Henderson (AHL) on Thursday.

The Golden Knights recalled Denisenko on Thursday and he skated on a line with Michael Amadio and Brett Howden at practice, signalling he could make his season debut on Thursday. in 31 games with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL, Denisenko has 30 points (12G / 18A) and 26 penalty minutes.

Source:
Vegas Golden Knights 2024-01-04T19:23:54.380Z
Grigori Denisenko
Sean Day(D)|FA
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Day has been recalled from Syracuse (AHL).

Day has been recalled and reassigned several times in the last month but has not cracked the Lightning lineup during his stints at the NHL level. The 25-year-old Day was the third-round pick of the New York Rangers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and has eight points (0G / 8A) in 17 games this season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

Source:
Eduardo Encina 2024-01-04T15:41:59.915Z
Sean Day
Linus Karlsson(C)|VAN
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Linus Karlsson has been recalled from Abbotsford (AHL).

Karlsson had seven goals, 16 assists, 10 PIMs and +8 plus/minus through 25 games played with Abbotsford (AHL) and has been recalled to Vancouver for the second time this season. The 24-year-old last appeared on December 5th for the Canucks and has yet to pick up a point in three games and only 10:26 TOI/GP.

Source:
Vancouver Canucks 2024-01-03T22:12:59.124Z
Linus Karlsson
Brennan Othmann(LW)|NYR
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Brennan Othmann has been recalled from Hartford (AHL).

With the news of Tyler Pitlick (lower body) being out week-to-week, Brennan Othmann has been recalled from Hartford (AHL) for the first time in his career. The 20-year-old left-winger is the Rangers' 2021 first-round pick (16th overall) and had nine goals and 23 points in 28 games with Hartford prior to his promotion.

Source:
Arthur Staple 2024-01-03T22:14:19.513Z
Brennan Othmann
Dylan Holloway(LW)|STL
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Dylan Holloway (lower body) has been activated from the Long-Term Injured Reserve and loaned to Bakersfield (AHL).

Holloway has been out since November 13th due to a lower-body injury but has been activated off the Long-Term Injured Reserve Wednesday and loaned to Bakersfield (AHL) for a conditioning stint. The 22-year-old sophomore got out to a bit of a slump prior to his injury as he had only a goal, no assists, 29 SOG, 13 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in 14 games played.

Source:
Edmonton Oilers 2024-01-03T21:20:32.817Z
Dylan Holloway
Ken Appleby(G)|FA
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Call Up
Ken Appleby has been recalled from Bridgeport (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Semyon Varlamov exited Tuesday's game against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period, his second injury in less than a week, prompting the Isaldners to recall Appleby again. If Varlamov is out for an extended period, Appleby will unlikely see much action between the pipes as Varlamov will take the reigns between the pipes.

Source:
New York Islanders 2024-01-03T19:22:12.638Z
Ken Appleby
Matthew Poitras(C)|BOS
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Matthew Poitras has returned from the World Junior Championships but will not be an option Thursday.

Poitras is making an earlier-than-anticipated return to the Bruins after an abrupt exit for him and the rest of the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship. In five tournament games, Poitras scored four points (2G / 2A). Before leaving the Bruins to join Team Canada, Poitras had only six points (1G / 5A) in his last 16 games after scoring seven points (4G / 3A) in his 11 games prior.

Source:
Scott McLaughlin 2024-01-03T18:03:54.944Z
Matthew Poitras
Ryan Shea(D)|PIT
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Call Up
Ryan Shea has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Shea has appeared in 22 games this season but has yet to pick up a point while collecting 13 SOG, six PIMs and a -2 plus/minus. He was reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on Tuesday but immediately recalled on Wednesday after John Ludvig (undisclosed) was placed on IR.

Source:
Matt Vensel 2024-01-03T17:06:32.457Z
Ryan Shea
Ryan Shea(D)|PIT
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Ryan Shea has been reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Shea has appeared in 22 games this season but has yet to pick up a point while collecting 13 SOG, six PIMs and a -2 plus/minus but has been reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) Tuesday. The 26-year-old will have to wait to acquire his first career NHL point as he heads back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he had no points in four games prior to his original promotion.

Source:
Pittsburgh Penguins 2024-01-02T22:38:29.031Z
Ryan Shea

NHL Roster Moves

NHL roster moves are essentially transactions that alter a team’s lineup. The roster move could make the team better or worse. In some cases, the move is inconsequential. Fan favourites could leave for greener pastures. A struggling player could get sent down to the farm team. A lousy contract might get put on waivers. Even worse, players may get strategically buried on the long-term injury reserve list because they’re not worth the cap hit. The possibilities are somewhat endless.

Types of NHL Roster Moves

Don’t worry; Daily Faceoff has you covered when trying to grasp the concept of a league ruled by the complexities of the almighty salary cap. Below, we break down the strategy behind roster moves so you can get a leg up in your DFS league.

Free agent signings

NHL rosters are primarily constructed by player signings. The front office reaches out to what are referred to as “free agents.” Both the front office and the player’s agent work out the terms of a deal. How teams sign deals varies depending on what type of free agents they’re dealing with.

Rookie Deals

Rookie’s sign something called an entry-level contract which is usually capped at a certain amount of money per year. Under the NHL’s current collective bargaining agreement, the longest an entry-level contract can be signed is three years.

Restricted Free Agent Contracts

After that, a player becomes a restricted free agent (RFA). Technically, they can sign with teams outside of who they played for in the past season by accepting an offer sheet. That said, if the player’s first team extends a qualifying offer, any team competing for the player’s services will have to offer up a certain amount of compensation in the form of draft picks. Of course, that’s if the player agrees to the offer sheet and their current team doesn’t match it.

Unrestricted Free Agent Contracts

Players can become unrestricted free agents (UFA) when their current RFA deal is up and they can go wherever they want. If they sign a contract extension, they can sign for up to eight years. Alternatively, they can sign a seven-year deal if they test the open market. Fun fact: pending UFAs might be motivated to play their hearts out to secure the bag in their next deal. Keep that in mind, fantasy players.

Blockbuster trades

Trades make for some of the most interesting NHL roster moves. To this day, the infamous Patrick Roy deal still gets talked about in NHL circles. What happens in a trade is that two or maybe even three teams link up and iron out a deal. There might be deals that are referred to as “hockey trades,” meaning that both teams get something of equal value. For example, one team gives up a first-line centre for a top-pairing right-handed defenceman. Some NHL trades involve bad teams selling off their moveable assets, such as upcoming free agents, for future considerations, including draft picks or prospects.

Injuries

Depending on how badly a player gets injured, several things can happen. They can be out of a game or two, with the team opting to keep the severity of the injury private (a common pet peeve for fantasy players). Players can be put on the injury reserve for injuries that can keep them out for a calendar week. This frees up a roster spot so someone from within the team’s system, or sometimes outside of it, can come in and replace them while they’re getting back in tip-top shape. If the player needs over a week to recover after a serious injury, they will get put on long-term injury reserve.

Waivers

In typical NHL roster moves jargon, when a player goes on waivers, other teams can claim them from their current team. A player usually goes on waivers when they’re signed to a one-way deal, meaning they can’t be sent down to the minors willy-nilly like a rookie on a two-way deal. Before the player gets sent down, other teams can claim the player on the “waiver wire.” If the player isn’t claimed, they go to the minors to play in the AHL.

Call Ups

Outside of signings, player callups are one of the most popular NHL transactions. Most teams call up players when they’re performing well in the AHL or if there’s an injury on the main roster. Usually, when a player gets called up to the NHL, one gets sent down to the minors.

Contract Buyouts

Of course, you’ve probably worked with someone who’s pretty lazy. People from afar think that person is a “good fit,” but internally, everyone hates the person. Oftentimes, that person finds a way to get fired. Well, newsflash: the same thing happens in NHL dressing rooms. Sometime players who have a history of poor performance have the audacity to ask for more money come contract time. Their team has the option to buyout their contract, or in extreme cases of misconduct, their contract can be terminated. If they’re not being bought out, the front office is laughing while the player’s agent is showing themselves out of the building. For the players who are actually good and could command big bucks on the open market, teams hustle to get them signed up for a new deal. If the player hits the open market, all bets are off…. Coaching Changes

Losing a head coach that sucked at their job and replacing them with a new one can ignite a team. Historically, decent teams perform strongly when they get a new coach. For how long those “strong performances” sustain themselves over the course of a season is a whole other story.

Rules Around NHL Roster Moves

NHL rules aren’t made to be broken. If they’re written in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), you may as well say they’re written in stone. Let’s talk about those “set in stone” rules.

Trade Deadline

Teams have a certain amount of time each season to make NHL trades and signings. The date varies from season to season, but it usually falls between the end of February and early March so that roster’s are set before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. After the deadline, players can still be moved, but they will not be eligible to play for the rest of the regular season or playoffs. You’ll usually see prospects who are playing abroad get dealt after the deadline, if any trades are made at all.

[Editor’s note: can include link to new DFO Stanley Cup page here]

Strategy Behind NHL Roster Moves

General managers and hands-on hockey ops executives are always thinking about the future. If their team is going to miss the playoffs and it’s a good draft year, they might be inclined to sell, meaning they’ll try to offload decent players in return for cap space, draft picks and younger players. The opposite can be said for good teams. They’ll be looking to add to what they already have to make a run for the cup.

If you’re a DFS player or even in a dynasty league, you can exploit that by buying low on players who are playing for bad teams but have the potential to increase their production if they get traded to a good team. Having access to a good data set can help ease the trouble of anticipating how good a player will be going to and from a certain team.

The Salary Cap

When general managers sleep at night, they probably have nightmares about the salary cap. “The cap,” as hockey insiders like Frank Seravalli refer to it when discussing NHL transactions, dictates how much a team can spend on its roster. There’s a “floor,” meaning a team has to spend at least this much per year. Then, there’s a “ceiling” that teams can’t go over lest they pay the price in draft pick compensation and fines, amongst other things. The salary cap makes it difficult for teams to trade players with high cap hits. It also creates a market in itself for teams that want to get over the “floor” by taking on other teams’ bad contracts. In a world beyond reality, most would favour a luxury tax system like the one Major League Baseball implements.

How NHL Roster Moves Impact Sports Betting

Look, if you don’t want to put up with another year of getting beat by your co-worker’s child in fantasy, you have to put as much effort into your team as that 10-year-old weasel will. That means keeping up with the news. Changing your lineups on a daily basis. Trading players at their peak value. Buying them from others when they’re at their lowest. For the love all of things good, change your injured players out for healthy ones. If you’re a sports bettor, any NHL roster can change the money line or the total in a game, especially if a star player is hurt or a team is playing its third-string goalie. Staying in the loop will give bettors a better chance at finding an edge.