The Flyers have recalled David Kase from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
Kase appeared in five games with the Flyers earlier in the year, scoring one goal on five shots in 10:44 ATOI. He has three goals and four assists (seven points) in 29 AHL games.
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
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The Flyers have assigned Mikhail Vorobyev to Lehigh Valley (AHL).
Vorobyev has appeared in the last two games with the Flyers and has suited up in 20 games overall, posting one goal and two assists. He returns to the AHL, where he has five goals and nine assists (14 points) in 19 games.
The Islanders have reassigned Sebastian Aho to Bridgeport (AHL).
Aho did not appear in a game during his call-up and goes back to the AHL with the Islanders off until Saturday. He could return to the team before their game vs. the Bruins but he's going to the Sound Tigers to get some playing time. He has two goals and 18 assists (20 points) in 34 games this season.
The Blackhawks have reassigned Kevin Lankinen to Rockford (AHL).
Lankinen served as Corey Crawford's backup for the last two games so his return to the AHL suggests that Robin Lehner will be available on Thursday.
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The Canadiens have assigned Lukas Vejdemo to Laval (AHL).
Vejdemo appeared in four of the last five games but failed to record a point while playing 7:30 ATOI. His return to the AHL suggests that Brendan Gallagher could be back in the lineup on Thursday. The 23-year-old heads back to Laval, where he has 16 points (8G / 8A) in 30 games.
The Coyotes have recalled Barrett Hayton from his loan with Team Canada (WJC).
Hayton served as captain for Team Canada, who won the gold medal at the World Juniors. Hayton finished seven in tournament scoring, scoring six goals with six assists (12 points) in seven games. He has posted four points (1G / 3A) in 14 NHL games this season.
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The Flyers have sent Andy Andreoff to Lehigh Valley (AHL).
Andreoff was set to be a healthy scratch for the second straight night, so he heads back to the AHL with Mark Friedman coming up to take his spot on the roster. Andreoff has four goals and four assists in 14 AHL games this season.
The Flyers have recalled Mark Friedman from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
Friedman, 24, was a third-round pick in 2014 (No.86 overall) and has played in just one career NHL game since then. The 5-foot-10, 192 lbs. defenseman has accumulated 10 points (2G / 8A) in 28 AHL games this season.
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The Stars have loaned Stephen Johns to Texas (AHL) on a conditioning stint.
Johns missed all of last season and the first half of this year with post-traumatic headaches but he's ready to play hockey again. Johns will get his start with Texas, where he'll likely play at least a couple of games before making his season debut with Dallas. The last time he suited up with Texas, he had three goals in two games.
The Stars recalled Joel Hanley from Texas (AHL).
With John Klingberg dealing with a lower-body injury, Hanley was called up to travel as an extra defenseman to Los Angeles. Hanley has two points in eight NHL games and six assists in 18 AHL games this season.
The Wild recalled Matt Bartkowski from Iowa (AHL).
Bartkowski appeared in two NHL games a season ago but has spent the entire 2019-20 season-to-date in the AHL. He has tallied one goal and 10 assists (11 points) in 36 AHL games.
The Kings assigned Kale Clague to Ontario (AHL).
Clague appeared in four games during his call-up but goes back to Ontario with Derek Forbert back with the Kings. The 21-year-old has 15 points (6G / 9A) in 27 AHL games.
The Sabres have recalled Lawrence Pilut from Rochester (AHL).
Pilut appeared in 33 NHL games last season but has spent the entire 2019-20 season in the AHL so far. The 24-year-old defenseman has picked up 21 points (5G / 16A) in 29 games with Rochester.
The Wild have recalled Kaapo Kahkonen from Iowa (AHL) under emergency conditions.
There is no word if Devan Dubnyk or Alex Stalock are dealing with injuries but it could be related to the personal reasons that forced Dubnyk to leave the team earlier in the year. The 23-year-old Kahkonen has gone 13-3-1 with a 2.56 GAA and .906 SV% in 17 AHL games this season.
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The Sabres have reassigned Dalton Smith to Rochester (AHL).
Smith appeared in just one game during his call-up and cleared waivers late last week. He heads back to the AHL to make room for the arrival of Michael Frolik.
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Tennyson has cleared waivers, been activated from IR and been assigned to Binghamton (AHL).
Tennyson has been sidelined by an upper-body injury since December 3rd and heads to the AHL with seven healthy defensemen already on the Devils roster. The 29-year-old has three assists in 19 NHL games and no points in one AHL game this season.
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Folin cleared waivers and has been assigned to Laval (AHL).
Folin was placed on waivers on Sunday and will go to Laval, where he has no points in seven games this season. He lost his place in Montreal when they acquired Marco Scandella from Buffalo.
The Blues have recalled Niko Mikkola from San Antonio (AHL).
Mikkola was a fifth-round pick of the Blues in n2015 and this is his first career call-up. The 23-year-old Finnish defenseman has registered two goals and nine assists (11 points) in 30 games this season, his second professional season in North America.
The Blues have sent Jake Walman to San Antonio (AHL).
Walman made his NHL debut in Colton Parayko's spot on Saturday but switched places with Niko Mikkola on Monday. Walman is back with the Rampage, where he has four goals and 14 assists (18 points) in 32 games.
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The Penguins have reassigned Thomas Di Pauli to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Di Pauli made his NHL debut on Saturday and played again on Sunday but will switch places with Andrew Agozzino and head back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has six goals and six assists (12 points) in 22 games.
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.