Spacek has been reassigned to Iowa (AHL).
Spacek made his NHL debut with Minnesota before the Olympic Break, playing two games, but will return to the AHL. The 23-year-old defenseman has 20 points (4G / 16A) in 37 games with Iowa (AHL) this season.
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Savoie has been recalled from Bakersfield (AHL) and will play vs. Anaheim on Wednesday.
Savoie had only played five NHL games heading into this season, but the 22-year-old forward has eclipsed those totals in 2025-26, playing in all 58 games. He is averaging 13:50 time-on-ice and has 18 points (9G / 9A).
Lamoureux has been reassigned to Tucson (AHL).
Lamoureux recorded one assist in five games with Utah earlier this season, but has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL. The 22-year-old first-round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft has 14 points (3G / 11A) in 42 games with Tucson (AHL) this season.
Simashev has been reassigned to Tucson (AHL).
Simashev was drafted sixth-overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut this season, scoring one assist in 24 games with the Mammoth. That said, the 21-year-old defenseman has spent the last couple of months in the AHL, where he has excelled, with 25 points (7G / 18A) in 27 games with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Send Down
Poirier has been loaned back to Texas (AHL).
With Jake Oettinger returning from the Olympics, Poirier was recalled for precautionary reasons on Tuesday, but will head back to Texas (AHL) on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Poirier has been serviceable in the AHL this season, posting a 2.74 GAA and .906 SV% in 34 games (16-14-4).
Hyry has been recalled from Texas (AHL).
Hyry is an undrafted Finnish forward who made his NHL debut last season, scoring one assist in five games with the Dallas Stars. The 24-year-old has 17 points (7G / 10A) in 26 games with Texas (AHL) this season and has been recalled by Dallas, which finds itself with a myriad of injured players after the Olympics.
Leddy has been re-assigned to San Jose (AHL).
Leddy has seen very little deployment this season, scoring four assists in 19 games, and will report to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL). The 34-year-old veteran has 1061 NHL games played and has not suited up in the AHL since the 2012-13 season.
Portillo has been recalled from Ontario (AHL).
Portillo being recalled from Ontario (AHL) indicates that Los Angeles is unsure if Darcy Kuemper will be ready to suit up on Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights. after returning from his stint with Team Canada at the Winter Olympics. The 25-year-old Portillo has a 2.47 GAA and .905 SV% in 20 games (14-3-1) with the Ontario Reign this season.
Lamoureux has been recalled from Tucson (AHL).
Lamoureux recorded one assist in five games with Utah earlier this season, but has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL. The 22-year-old first-round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft has 14 points (3G / 11A) in 42 games with Tucson (AHL) this season.
Simashev has been recalled from Tucson (AHL).
Simashev was drafted sixth-overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut this season, scoring one assist in 24 games with the Mammoth. That said, the 21-year-old defenseman has spent the last couple of months in the AHL, where he has excelled, with 25 points (7G / 18A) in 27 games with the Tucson Roadrunners.
DiPietro has been recalled from Providence (AHL) under emergency conditions.
With Jeremy Swayman returning from his stint with Team USA at the Olympics, the Bruins have recalled DiPietro, as Swayman is unlikely to suit up when Boston returns to action on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old DiPietro is having a marvellous season in the AHL with Providence, posting a dazzling 1.76 GAA and .938 SV% in 30 games (22-6-0).
Wahlberg has been recalled from Rochester (AHL).
Wahlberg was drafted 39th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and has yet to play an NHL game. The 20-year-old Swedish forward has 25 points (6G / 19A) in 47 games with the Rochester Americans (AHL) this season.
Clague has been recalled from Manitoba (AHL).
Klague was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, but has never played more than 33 games in an NHL season. The 27-year-old defenseman has spent the entirety of the previous two seasons in the AHL and has 21 points (8G / 13A) in 44 games with the Manitoba Moose this season.
Poirier has been recalled from Texas (AHL).
With Jake Oettinger returning from the Olympics, he will not be ready to suit when Dallas returns to action on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Poirier has been serviceable in the AHL this season, posting a 2.74 GAA and .906 SV% in 34 games (16-14-4). That said, he is not expected to play and should exclusively serve as Casey DeSmith's backup until Oettinger is ready to return.
The Predators reassigned Wood to Milwaukee (AHL) on Thursday.
Wood was reassigned to able to spend the Olympic break playing in AHL games for the Admirals. The 2023 first-rounder has nine goals and eight assists in 46 games this season.
Shepard has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
With Linus Ullmark battling an illness, Shepard has been recalled from Belleville (AHL) to serve as James Reimer's backup against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 30-year-old goalie has a 3.63 GAA and .888 SV% in 14 games with Belleville this season (6-6-2).
Pickard has cleared waivers and been assigned to Bakersfield (AHL).
With the emergence of Connor Ingram in Edmonton's crease, Pickard had not played since January 8th and will now be assigned to Bakersfield (AHL) after clearing waivers. The 33-year-old Pickard struggled between the pipes this season, with a 3.68 GAA and .871 SV% in 16 appearances (5-6-2).
Bjorklund has been reassigned to Hershey (AHL).
With a myriad of injuries in Washington's crease, the team recalled Bjorklund from Hershey (AHL) to serve as Clay Stevenson's backup for the past couple of games. The 23-year-old goalie has yet to paly an NHL game and has a 3.43 GAA and .879 SV% through 11 games (4-5-2) with Hershey this season.
Hovorka has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL).
Hovorka is an undrafted Czech defenseman that has yet to play an NHL game. The 24-year-old Hovorka has spent the past two seasons in the AHL and has 10 points (2G / 8A) through 30 games with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) this season.
Hayes has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Hayes has yet to play an NHL game, but has impressed this season at the AHL level. The undrafted 23-year-old forward has 23 points (13G / 10A) in 31 games this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
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.