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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Michal Neuvirth(G)|
Call Up
Call Up
The Flyers have recalled Michal Neuvirth from his conditioning stint with Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Neuvirth has missed the first nine games of the season with a groin injury, but could make his season debut this weekend. Neuvirth allowed three goals on 34 shots in a win with the Phantoms during his conditioning stint.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2018-10-25T15:03:05.760Z
Michal Neuvirth
Scott Darling(G)|
Call Up
Call Up
The Hurricanes have recalled Scott Darling from his conditioning stint with Charlotte (AHL).

Darling has missed the first nine games of the season with a lower-body injury, but appears ready to return to the Hurricanes crease following a one-game conditioning stint with Charlotte. Darling was sharp with the Checkers, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced to earn a 3-1 win against the Utica Comets on Wednesday. Darling could make his season debut Friday against the Sharks.

Source:
@NHLCanes 2018-10-25T14:15:38.569Z
Scott Darling
Luke Johnson(C)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
The Blackhawks have recalled Luke Johnson from Rockford (AHL).

Johnson has split the early part of the season between the NHL and AHL. The 24-year-old forward had no points in three games with the Blackhawks but picked up two points (1G / 1A) in two games with the IceHogs.

Source:
Jay Zawaski 2018-10-23T18:15:33.158Z
Luke Johnson
Sean Walker(D)|CAR
Call Up
Call Up
The Kings have recalled Sean Walker from Ontario (AHL).

Walker, 23, was an undrafted free agent out of Bowling Green State University. Walker had 28 points (7G / 21A) in 64 games during his first pro season with Ontario in 2017-18 and has amassed six points (3G / 3A) in his first seven games this season. His call-up means the Kings are carrying eight defenseman on their active roster right now.

Source:
Curtis Zupke 2018-10-22T17:45:21.152Z
Sean Walker
Jaret Anderson-Dolan(C)|WPG
Send Down
Send Down
The Kings have sent Jaret Anderson-Dolan to Spokane (WHL).

Anderson-Dolan, 19, had one assist in five games with the Kings and was given a look up and down the lineup, including PP1 usage at times. Overall, the Kings think it is best for the 2017 second-round pick to return to Juniors, where he had 91 points (40G / 51A) in 70 games last season.

Source:
Curtis Zupke 2018-10-22T17:42:22.458Z
Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Egor Yakovlev(LD)|
Call Up
Call Up
The Devils have recalled Yegor Yakovlev from Binghamton (AHL).

Yakovlev, 27, signed with the Devils this summer after six seasons in the KHL. Yakovlev had nine points (5G / 4A) in 35 KHL games last season and has picked up seven assists in seven AHL games this year. He could make his NHL debut on Thursday if Ben Lovejoy is still sidelined.

Source:
Amanda Stein 2018-10-22T15:28:56.989Z
Egor Yakovlev
Kevin Rooney(C)|UTA
Call Up
Call Up
The Devils have recalled Kevin Rooney from Binghamton (AHL).

Rooney made his season debut with the Devils on Saturday, but went back to the AHL post-game. Rooney is one of the best penalty killers in the Devils organization, but doesn’t bring a lot of offence to the table—just 34 points (14G / 20A) in 71 games with Binghamton last year.

Source:
Amanda Stein 2018-10-22T15:26:44.035Z
Kevin Rooney
Miroslav Svoboda(G)|
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Send Down
The Predators have reassigned Miroslav Svoboda to Milwaukee (AHL).

Svoboda was called up from the ECHL to backup Juuse Saros on Saturday, but switches spots with Troy Grosenick and earns a promotion from the ECHL to the AHL. He was 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .946 SV% in two starts with the Atlanta Gladiators this season.

Source:
Nashville Predators 2018-10-22T15:19:03.113Z
Miroslav Svoboda
Troy Grosenick(G)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
The Predators have recalled Troy Grosenick from Milwaukee (AHL).

Grosenick has gone 3-0-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .918 SV% in three starts with the Admirals this season. Grosenick was recalled to take Miroslav Svoboda’s spot as Juuse Saros’ backup while Pekka Rinne is on injured reserve. Grosenick has appeared in just two career NHL games, going 1-1-0 while allowing just three goals on 58 shots (.948 SV%).

Source:
Nashville Predators 2018-10-22T15:17:33.554Z
Troy Grosenick
Marek Mazanec(G)|
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Send Down
The Rangers have sent Marek Mazanec to Hartford (AHL).

Mazanec was called up to serve as Henrik Lundqvist's backup over the last two games. He swapped spots with Alexandar Georgiev, who needed to get some work in at the AHL-level to stay sharp.

Source:
@NYRangers 2018-10-22T14:59:16.396Z
Marek Mazanec
Alexandar Georgiev(G)|BUF
Call Up
Call Up
The Rangers have recalled Alexandar Georgiev from Hartford (AHL).

Georgiev got two starts with the Wolf Pack while Henrik Lundqvist started the Rangers’ three games last weeks. Georgiev went 1-1-0 while allowing six goals on 63 shots (.905 SV%) in his tow starts and returns to the NHL, where he might not start a game for a few weeks—their next back-to-back isn’t until Nov.9-Nov.10.

Source:
@NYRangers 2018-10-22T14:58:11.524Z
Alexandar Georgiev

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.