Billy Sweezey has been reassigned to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Jet Greaves has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL).
Devin Shore has been recalled from Bakersfield (AHL).
Shore had two goals, and five points in five games with Bakersfield (AHL) and has been recalled to Edmonton on Tuesday. The 28-year-old has a goal, four assists, two PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through 33 games this season with the Oilers.
Justus Annunen has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Annunen had a 17-8-4 record, 2.53 GAA and .913 SV% with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and has been recalled to the Avalanche on Tuesday. The 22-year-old started one game so far for the Avalanche in 2022-23, stopping 19 of 20 shots (.950 SV%) for his first victory of the season.
Luke Evangelista has been recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) for the first time in his career.
Evangelista had nine goals, 32 assists, 18 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus through 49 games in his first full season in Milwaukee (AHL) and has been recalled for the first time in his career Tuesday. The 21-year-old is Nashville's 2020, 2nd round pick (42 overall).
Arturs Silovs has been reassigned to Abbotsford (AHL).
Silovs was 2-2-0 with a .908 SV% and 2.73 GAA but will be sent back down to Abbotsford (AHL) with the return of Thatcher Demko (groin) to the Canucks. The 21-year-old heads back to the minors where he had an impressive 21-9-4 record, 2.48 GAA and .906 SV%.
Kevin Gravel has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL).
Gravel has an assist, 12 SOG, two PIMs and a -6 plus/minus through 14 games with the Predators but has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL) Monday. He returns to the minors, where he had a goal, 10 assists, 16 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus through 39 games prior to his last promotion.
Nikita Alexandrov has been recalled from Springfield (AHL).
Alexandrov had 13 goals, 10 assists, 12 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 29 games with Springfield (AHL) but has been recalled to St. Louis Monday. The 22-year-old previously played in 20 games with the Blues this season, picking up three goals and two assists.
Michael Hutchinson has been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL).
Hutchinson has a 1-5-1 record, .897 SV% and 2.74 GAA with the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) and has been recalled Monday. He has yet to play in the NHL this season but has backed up the Golden Knights' crease on several occasions.
Martin Kaut has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Kaut has two goals, two assists, 32 SOG and four PIMs through 30 games between San Jose and Colorado this season but has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) Monday. The 23-year-old heads back to the Barracuda, where he had a goal and six assists through seven games played prior to his last promotion.
Jonas Johansson has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Johansson has a 12-9-2 record, .917 SV% and 2.44 GAA through 24 games played with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and has been recalled Monday to the Avalanche. The 27-year-old has appeared in one game with the Avalanche this season, stopping all seven of the seven shots he faced.
Ben Meyers has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Meyers had three goals, six assists, 11 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 17 games played with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and has been recalled Monday by the Avalanche. The 24-year-old has a goal, 25 SOG, six PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 31 games played in the NHL this season.
Brad Hunt has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Hunt had seven goals, 21 points, 12 PIMs and a +12 plus/minus through 24 games played with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and has been recalled to the Avalanche Monday. The 34-year-old also has three goals, three assists, 10 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 31 games played with the Avalanche this season.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has been reassigned to the Manitoba Moose (AHL).
Jonsson-Fjalby had four goals, seven assists, 51 SOG and a -3 plus/minus through 47 games this season with Winnipeg but will head back to the Manitoba Moose (AHL) Monday. The 25-year-old will hope to be up soon but has to head down as Nino Niedereiter joins the team from Nashville.
Elliot Desnoyers has been recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
Desnoyers made his NHL debut on Saturday before being returned to the AHL and then recalled again Monday. The 21-year-old has 19 goals, 18 assists, 14 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus in 49 games with Lehigh Valley prior to his promotion.
Frederik Karlstrom has been recalled from the Texas Stars (AHL).
Karlstrom has 10 goals, 13 assists, 16 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 43 games played with the Texas Stars (AHL) and has been recalled to the Dallas Stars Monday for his second stint this season. In his previous showing with the big club, he had no points and a +1 plus/minus across two games.
Frederik Olofsson has been recalled from Texas (AHL).
Olofsson was sent down to Texas (AHL) over the weekend in a paper transaction to accrue cap space but has been recalled Monday to Dallas. Olofsson has a goal, three assists, 21 SOG and two PIMs in 16 games with Dallas this season.
The Canucks have recalled Noah Juulsen from Abbotsford (AHL).
Juulsen has three goals, 17 assists, 34 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus in 49 games with Abbotsford (AHL) but has been recalled for a second time to the Vancouver Canucks with the injury announcement to Ethan Bear (upper body). It will be Juulsen's second stint with the Canucks this season, having picked up a SOG and a -1 plus/minus through both games.
Send Down
The Blackhawks have assigned Jaxson Stauber to Rockford (AHL).
Stauber was fantastic in his short six-game showing with the Blackhawks as he picked up a 5-1-0 record, 2.81 GAA and .911 SV% but will head back to Rockford (AHL) with the announcement that Alex Stalock (head) has been activated from the injured reserve. Stauber returns to the minors, where he was 6-4-0 with a .896 SV% and 3.06 GAA with Rockford.
The Rangers have assigned Braden Schneider to Hartford (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.