Daily Faceoff is a news site with no direct affiliation to the NHL, or NHLPA

NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Taylor Fedun(D)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Taylor Fedun from Rochester (AHL).

Fedun has split his 2017-18 season between the NHL and AHL so far this season. Fedun has one assist in two NHL games and two assists in four games with Rochester. He takes Zach Redmond’s spot on the roster.

Source:
Bill Hoppe 2017-10-31T09:24:30.000Z
Taylor Fedun
Casey DeSmith(G)|DAL
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have sent Casey DeSmith to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

DeSmith was recalled to serve as Matt Murray’s backup after Antti Niemi was claimed off of waivers by the Panthers. DeSmith made his NHL debut on Sunday, replacing Murray in the first period and went on to allow three goals on 15 shots.

Source:
Jason Mackey 2017-10-31T09:22:32.000Z
Casey DeSmith
Tristan Jarry(G)|EDM
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Penguins recalled Tristan Jarry from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Casey DeSmith was originally brought up to serve as Matt Murray’s backup, but Jarry took that spot on Monday. The 22-year-old, former second-round pick has gone 3-2-0 with a 3.18 GAA and .897 SV% in five AHL starts this season. It has been a disappointing start for Jarry, who was 28-15-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .925 SV% with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last year. He could start one of the Penguins’ back-to-back games on Wednesday/Thursday.

Source:
Jason Mackey 2017-10-31T09:20:57.000Z
Tristan Jarry
Janne Kuokkanen(LW)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Hurricanes have assigned Janne Kuokkanen to Charlotte (AHL).

Kuokkanen, 19, got into the lineup on Saturday but didn’t record a point in any of his four games with the Hurricanes. The 2016 second round pick (No.43 overall) will make his AHL debut this week; he turned pro this season after collecting 62 points (26G / 36A) in 60 games with London (OHL) last year.

Source:
Miles Terry 2017-10-30T12:55:10.000Z
Janne Kuokkanen
Anton Rodin(RW)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Canucks have recalled Anton Rodin from Utica (AHL).

Rodin, 26, has appeared in three games with Utica this season, recording two assists. Rodin has been limited over the past few seasons by knee injuries, but he looks healthy again. The Swedish winger has only appeared in three NHL games and his last full season was in Sweden—where he had 16 goals and 21 assists (37 points) in 33 games with Brynas IF Gavle.

Source:
Vancouver Canucks 2017-10-30T12:39:48.000Z
Anton Rodin
Griffin Reinhart(D)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Golden Knights have assigned Griffin Reinhart to Chicago (AHL).

Reinhart did not appear in a game after being taken by the Golden Knights this summer, but has been with Chicago on a conditioning stint. After clearing waivers over the weekend, Reinhart has officially been assigned to the Wolves.

Source:
@GoldenKnights 2017-10-30T12:35:38.000Z
Griffin Reinhart
Shea Theodore(D)|VGK
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
Theodore is expected to be recalled from Chicago (AHL) on Monday.

Theodore was only sent to the AHL to start the season because the Golden Knights had a ton of defensemen and he was one of the only players that was waiver exempt. Vegas has been working to clear a spot to bring him up and it looks like the time has finally arrived. Theodore has scored five goals with six assists (11 points) in eight AHL games and just might be the Golden Knights’ best defenseman.

Source:
Steve Carp 2017-10-30T12:23:53.000Z
Shea Theodore
Jason Garrison(D)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
Garrison has officially joined Chicago (AHL).

Garrison cleared waivers over the weekend after picking up just one assist in four games with the Golden Knights. He will report to Chicago and Shea Theodore is expected to be recalled on Monday. Garrison has fallen on hard times after points three-straight 30-plus point (full) seasons from 2012-to-2015.

Source:
Danny Webster 2017-10-30T11:44:35.000Z
Jason Garrison
Mark Alt(RD)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
Alt is expected to be recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL) and make his season debut on Monday.

Shayne Gostisbehere is banged up, so Samuel Morin was called-up, but it sounds like he is also dealing with an injury, so look for Alt to come up and appear in his second career NHL game. The 26-year-old has scored two goals with four assists (six points) in 10 AHL games this season.

Source:
Dave Isaac 2017-10-30T11:02:10.000Z
Mark Alt
Hunter Miska(G)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Coyotes have recalled Hunter Miska from Tucson (AHL).

Miska, 22, has gone 3-0-0 despite posting a 4.02 GAA and .884 SV% in four games with Tucson this season. Miska getting called up suggests that Antti Raanta (lower-body) isn’t ready to go on Monday. Look for Miska to backup Scott Wedgewood, who will likely make his Coyotes debut tonight.

Source:
@ArizonaCoyotes 2017-10-30T10:46:31.000Z
Hunter Miska
Tyler Motte(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have recalled Tyler Motte from Cleveland (AHL).

Motte was acquired along with Artemi Panarin this offseason and it looks like he could make his Blue Jackets debut on Monday. Motte has been recalled because Cam Atkinson (lower-body) is banged up. Motte has collected five goals and two assists (seven points) in seven AHL games and has seven career NHL points (4G / 3A) in 33 games with the Blackhawks.

Source:
Mark Scheig 2017-10-30T10:08:14.000Z
Tyler Motte
Max McCormick(LW)|SEA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Belleville (AHL).

The Senators had the weekend off so they sent McCormick down for salary savings but have recalled him for Monday’s game vs. Montreal. The 25-year-old has no points in two NHL games but has picked up one goal and two assists (three points) in seven AHL contests.

Source:
Dean Brown 2017-10-30T10:04:19.000Z
Max McCormick
Zane McIntyre(G)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have recalled Zane McIntyre from Providence (AHL) on an emergency basis.

McIntyre, 25, has gone 4-1-0 with a 1.81 GAA and .928 SV% in five starts with Providence this season. He was up with Boston to backup Anton Khudobin while Tuukka Rask was out, but now he will backup Rask with Khudobin staying in Boston for Monday’s game.

Source:
Joe Haggerty 2017-10-30T09:20:48.000Z
Zane McIntyre
Max McCormick(LW)|SEA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have sent Max McCormick to Belleville (AHL).

McCormick had no points in two games during his call-up. With the Senators off for the weekend, there’s no point in keeping on the active roster for the next few days. He could be recalled prior to Monday’s game. https://twitter.com/SunGarrioch/status/924271085222318081

Source:
Bruce Garrioch 2017-10-28T10:30:11.000Z
Max McCormick
Filip Chlapik(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have sent Filip Chlapik to Belleville (AHL).

Chlapik, 20, picked up one assist in his only game during his call-up but with the Senators off until Monday, he returns to Belleville for the time being. He could return prior to that contest, but if not he’ll stay in Belleville where he has three assists in seven games.

Source:
Bruce Garrioch 2017-10-28T10:23:31.000Z
Filip Chlapik
Colin White(C)|SJS
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have sent Colin White to Belleville (AHL).

White missed the start of the season with a fractured wrist that he suffered in the preseason but it looks like he is ready to return to action, but that will happen in the AHL instead of the NHL. He will make his season debut on November 1st and will likely be brought back to the Senators at some point this season.

Source:
@Senators 2018-01-06T10:14:17.000Z
Colin White

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.