Call up / Send down
Bertuzzi has been recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) and he will make his season debut on Saturday.
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Blues have recalled Sammy Blais from San Antonio (AHL).
Call up / Send down
Kero has cleared waivers and has been assigned to Rockford (AHL).
Kero appeared in just eight games with the Blackhawks this season, collecting just one goal and two assists while averaging just 11:26 TOI/GM. He returns to Rockford where he had 20 points (7G / 13A) in 28 games with last season.
Call up / Send down
Hinostroza has been recalled from Rockford (AHL) and will play on Friday.
Hinostroza has been great in Rockford this season, scoring nine goals with 13 assists (22 points) in 23 games. The 23-year-old has 14 points (6G/ 8A) in 56 career NHL games and will make his season debut tonight vs. the Sabres. The Blackhawks did not announce who he will replace in the lineup, but look for him to take Lance Bouma’ spot in the bottom-6.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have reassigned Juuse Saros to Milwaukee (AHL).
After tonight’s game, the Predators are off until Wednesday so they are sending Saros to Milwaukee to get him a few starts. The 22-year-old has gone 0-3-0 with a 3.53 GAA and .874 SV% in four games with Milwaukee this season.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have recalled Anders Lindback from Milwaukee (AHL).
The Predators continue to flip-flop Lindberg and Juuse Saros to get Saros some starts and Lindberg serves as Pekka Rinne’s backup.
Call up / Send down
The Capitals have sent Travis Boyd to Hershey (AHL).
Boyd, 24, failed to record a point in two games with the Capitals and returns to Hershey where he has 20 points (3G / 17A) in 23 games. Boyd’s return suggests that Andre Burakovsky will be back in the lineup on Friday.
Call up / Send down
The Stars have recalled Mike McKenna from Texas (AHL).
McKenna has gone 6-5-1 with a 3.53 GAA and .871 SV% in 13 games with Texas this season. McKenna has been recalled to serve as Kari Lehtonen’s backup tonight because Ben Bishop is out with a sore back.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Frank Corrado from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Corrado has recorded one goal and four assists (five points) in 12 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, but has failed to register a point in three games with the Penguins. Corrado has been recalled to fill the roster spot that was opened up by Justin Schultz going on IR.
Call up / Send down
The Wild have recalled Joel Eriksson Ek from Iowa (AHL).
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have recalled Harri Sateri from Springfield (AHL).
Roberto Luongo was hurt in the Panthers shootout loss to the Islanders on Monday, so Sateri has been called up to serve as the Panthers’ No.2 behind James Reimer. The 27-year-old has gone 5-6-0 with a 2.76 GAA and .906 SV% in 12 games with the Thunderbirds this season.
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled TJ Brennan from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
The Flyers placed Brandon Manning on IR this morning, so Brennan comes up to take his spot on the roster. The 28-year-old continues to be a force in the AHL, collecting 15 points (2G / 13A) in 17 games with the Phantoms this season. Since 2009-10, Brennan has 394 points (136G / 258A) in 536 AHL games, but has just 13 points (5G / 8A) in 53 career NHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled Alex Lyon from Lehigh Valley (AHL).
The Flyers placed Michal Neuvirth on IR this morning, so Lyon has been recalled to serve as Brian Elliott’s backup in Wednesday’s game in Edmonton. Lyon has gone 8-6-1 with a 3.31 GAA and .894 SV% in 16 games with the Phantoms this season.
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have sent Henrik Haapala to Springfield (AHL).
Haapala spent five games with the Panthers and even saw some power-play one time, but picked up just one assist during that time. Haapala returns to the AHL where he has seven points (2G / 5A) in 11 games with Springfield.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks are expected to recall Jaycob Megna from San Diego (AHL) prior to Tuesday's game.
Megna, 24, has one assist in 11 games with the Ducks this season and one assist in three games with San Diego. Megna has been recalled because Hampus Lindholm is questionable for tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury.
Call up / Send down
Moulson has cleared waivers and been assigned to Rochester (AHL).
Moulson, 34, failed to record a point in 14 games with the Sabres this season, leading to him being placed on waivers on Monday. Moulson struggled since signing with the Sabres prior to the 2014-15 season, registering just 94 points (35G / 59A) in 253 games. He will play in the AHL for the first time since 2008-09.
Call up / Send down
The Coyotes have send Marek Langhamer to Tucson (AHL).
Langhamer’s return to the AHL suggests that the Coyotes may be getting Antti Raanta back in time for Thursday’s game in Boston. Langhamer stopped all 10 shots that he faced in relief of Scott Wedgewood on November 25th but that was the only action that he saw. He returns to the Roadrunners where he is 1-0-1 with a 1.59 GAA and .947 SV% in three games.
Call up / Send down
The Coyotes recalled Kyle Capobianco from Tucson (AHL) on Monday.
Capobianco, 20, was a third round pick (No.63 overall) in 2015 and has earned his first career call-up after posting two goals and 12 assists (14 points) in 17 games with the Roadrunners. The Coyotes recently got Jakob Chychrun back, so there’s no word who Capobianco would replace if he gets into the Coyotes lineup.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have sent Kalle Kossila to San Diego (AHL).
Kossila has one goal and one assist in 10 games with the Ducks and seven points (2G / 5A) in eight AHL contests. Kossila’s return to the AHL suggests that Rickard Rakell (upper-body) will be back on Tuesday.
Call up / Send down
The Avalanche have assigned Dominic Toninato to San Antonio (AHL).
Toninato, 23, recorded one assist in eight games with the Avalanche during his call-up. Toninato returns to the AHL with Colin Wilson back to 100 percent—he has three goals and three assists (six points) in 13 games with the Rampage.
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.