Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Anthony Beauvillier from Bridgeport (AHL) under emergency conditions.
Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA
NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have sent Travis Dermott to Toronto (AHL).
Dermott had one assist while averaging 14:12 TOI/GM in his two-game stint with the Maple Leafs. The Leafs bye week starts on Thursday so Dermott heads back to the Marlies to keep playing but could return to the big club after their break.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have sent Frederik Gauthier to Toronto (AHL).
Gauthier had no points with seven shots and a minus-4 rating while averaging 8:27 TOI/GM during his five-game call-up. Gauthier heads back to the Marlies to continue playing while the Maple Leafs are on their bye week. Expected the fourth line centre to return to the team after their break.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have recalled Joonas Korpisalo from Cleveland (AHL).
The Blue Jackets had a few days off so Korpisalo went down to get a start because Sergei Bobrovsky is on a roll right now. Korpisalo stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 1-0 loss to Milwaukee (AHL)—Juuse Saros was doing the same thing for the Predators and he stopped all 27 shots that he faced in a great AHL goaltending duel.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have recalled Anders Lindback from Milwaukee (AHL).
Lindback’s call-up is likely just a paper transaction with Juuse Saros going down to get some starts during the Predators bye week.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have reassigned Juuse Saros to Milwaukee (AHL).
Saros, 22, has gone 1-4-0 with a 3.80 GAA and .872 SV% in six games with the Admirals. Saros will head to Milwaukee to get some starts during the Predators bye week.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have assigned Tage Thompson to San Antonio (AHL).
Thompson has picked up five points (3G / 2A) in 15 games with the Blues since being called up. With the Blues bye week start on Wednesday, he heads back to the AHL to keep playing. He has 16 points (7G / 9A) in 24 games with the Rampage this season.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have assigned Ivan Barbashev to San Antonio (AHL).
The Blues have the next six days off so Barbashev will head to the AHL to keep playing. Barbashev has split his time between the AHL and NHL this season, picking up five points (1G / 4A) with the Blues and eight points (4G / 4A) in 18 games with the Wolves.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have assigned Vince Dunn to San Antonio (AHL).
The Blues have the next six days off so they will allow Dunn to get some playing time in San Antonio. Dunn has not played in a 11 days, so this will allow him to get back up to speed during the bye week.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have assigned Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland (AHL).
Korpisalo has sat for the last four games and eight of the last nine games so he heads to Cleveland to get some playing time. Korpisalo returning to the AHL for now, suggests that Sergei Bobrovsky could start both games of their back-to-back on Thursday/Friday.
Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have recalled Erik Gustafsson from Rockford (AHL).
Gustafsson, 25, has picked up three goals and 14 assists (17 points) in 25 games with the IceHogs this season. There is no word whether or not Gustafsson will make his season debut this week, but if Cody Franson couldn’t get into the lineup then Gustafsson will likely have a tough time as well.
Call up / Send down
Franson has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Rockford (AHL).
Franson has had a nice year in Chicago but the emergence of Jordan Oesterle made him disposable to the Blackhawks. However, clearing waivers increases his trade value for a team interested in acquiring him because now he can be assigned to the AHL if need be. Don’t be surprised if he gets traded in the next few days.
Call up / Send down
The Jets sent Tucker Poolman to Manitoba (AHL).
With the Jets blueline getting healthy and Adam Lowry upfront, Poolman has been sent to Manitoba in favour of a forward (Brendan Lemieux). Poolman had one goal in 13 games with the Jets and has two assists in eight games with the Moose.
Call up / Send down
The Jets recalled Brendan Lemieux from Manitoba (AHL).
Lemieux, 21, had one goal in seven games with the Jets earlier this season but has spent most of the year in Manitoba, where he has 24 points (9G / 15A) in 24 games. He could draw into the Jets lineup on Tuesday with Adam Lowry sidelined.
Call up / Send down
The Hurricanes have sent Lucas Wallmark to Charlotte (AHL).
Wallmark was a healthy scratch for the last two games after appearing in two games a week ago. With Lee Stempniak set to make his season debut on Tuesday, Wallamark returns to the AHL, where he has 23 points (7G / 16A) in 20 games.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have reassigned Jake Walman to Chicago (AHL).
Walman served as the Blues extra defnseman during their brief road-trip. With Vince Dunn (illness) returning from IR, Walman goes back to the Wolves, where he had two goals and 11 assists (13 points) in 34 games.
Call up / Send down
The Rangers have sent Vinnie Lettieri to Hartford (AHL).
Lettieri, 22, had one goal and one assist in three games during his call-up. With the Rangers getting healthy, Lettieri returns to Hartford, where he has 21 points (12G / 9A) in 31 games this season.
Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have reassigned John Hayden to Rockford (AHL).
Hayden played just 6:07 TOI on Friday and was a healthy scratch on Saturday, so he will get a chance to continue to work on his game in the AHL. Tomas Jurco has been recalled to take his spot on the roster.
Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have recalled Tomas Jurco from Rockford (AHL).
Jurco appeared in 13 games with the Blackhawks last season but has spent all of this season in the AHL so far. The 25-year-old has collected 25 points (13G / 12A) in 36 games with the IceHogs and it looks like he could make his season debut this week.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL).
Ullmark has enjoyed a lot of success at the AHL level this season, going 17-5-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .928 SV% in 26 starts with the Americans. There isn’t believed to be any injuries to either Robin Lehner or Chad Johnson so Ullmark’s call-up is a bit of a head scratcher unless they have something in the works.
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.