NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Ben Meyers(C)|SEA
Call Up
Call Up
Ben Meyers has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).

Meyers made his season debut for the Avalanche on December 11th, scoring one point (1G / 0A). He played three more games and was held without a point. Yesterday, he was reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, where he has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 17 games this season, but will make his return to the Avalanche today.

Source:
Colorado Avalanche 2023-12-21T16:28:54.272Z
Ben Meyers
Calle Clang(G)|ANA
Send Down
Send Down
Calle Clang has been reassigned to San Diego (AHL).

Clang did not appear during his very brief stint with the Ducks and will head back to San Diego as Alex Stallock replaces him as John Gibson's (personal) placeholder for the time being. The 21-year-old Clang returns to the Gulls, where he struggled early in the season with his 2-7-2 record, .882 SV% and 3.76 GAA.

Source:
Anaheim Ducks 2023-12-20T21:18:45.221Z
Calle Clang
Alex Stalock(G)|ANA
Call Up
Call Up
Alex Stalock has been recalled from San Diego (AHL).

John Gibson (personal) remains away from the team due to the birth of his child so Alex Stalock has been recalled from San Diego (AHL) to be his placeholder in the meantime. The 36-year-old has struggled in the minors this season, with his 1-4-1 record, 3.78 GAA and .893 SV%.

Source:
Anaheim Ducks 2023-12-20T21:23:17.909Z
Alex Stalock
Vinnie Hinostroza(C)|MIN
Call Up
Call Up
Vinnie Hinostroza has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Hinostroza was reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL on Tuesday but was immediately recalled on Wednesday. He played three consecutive games for Pittsburgh last week, averaging over 13 minutes per night, but was held off the score sheet. He has four points (2G / 2A) in five games this season with Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

Source:
Andrew Destin 2023-12-20T17:33:57.202Z
Vinnie Hinostroza
Hugh McGing(LW)|STL
Send Down
Send Down
Hugh McGing has been reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL).

McGing made his season debut on December 9th and played five straight games for the Blues, but we held without a point and registered a -5 plus/minus while averaging under nine minutes on the ice. He has been reassigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, where he has 14 points (4G / 11A) in 21 games.

Source:
St. Louis Blues 2023-12-20T16:26:10.159Z
Hugh McGing
Ben Meyers(C)|SEA
Send Down
Send Down
Ben Meyers has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL).

Meyers made his season debut for the Avalanche on December 11th, scoring one point (1G / 0A). He played three more games and was held without a point. He has now been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, where he has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 17 games this season.

Source:
Colorado Avalanche 2023-12-20T16:09:17.120Z
Ben Meyers
Nico Daws(G)|NJD
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Send Down
Nico Daws has been returned to Utica (AHL) from his emergency loan.

Daws played his first games of the season last week with the Utica Comets (AHL), posting a 2.04 GAA and .937 SV% in two games (1-1-0), making his season debut after being activated from long-term injured reserve. Last season with the Comets, Daws posted a 2.70 GAA and .904 SV% in 33 games (16-14-3). The 22-year-old netminder is no stranger to the NHL, playing 25 games (10-11-1) with the Devils as a rookie, posting a 3.11 GAA and .893 SV%. Depending on how he fares with the Comets, Daws could be an option at the NHL level at some point this season, especially if the goaltending tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid continues to falter.

Source:
James Nichols 2023-12-20T15:33:03.960Z
Nico Daws
Maxime Lajoie(D)|FA
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Send Down
Maxime Lajoie has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

Lajoie played three games with the Maple Leafs over the last two weeks, recording two hits and zero points while averaging just over 10 minutes on the ice. Lajoie will return to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, where he has five points (0G / 5A) and a +4 plus/minus in 14 games this season.

Source:
Leafs PR 2023-12-20T15:29:56.547Z
Maxime Lajoie
Cal Petersen(G)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Cal Petersen has been recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL) and will backup Tuesday vs. Vegas.

Petersen has a 4-6-1 record, .898 SV% and 3.20 GAA in 11 games with Lehigh Valley (AHL) this season and has been recalled to Philadelphia for a second time this season. The 29-year-old veteran of six years struggled in his previous call up, with his 1-1-0 record, .896 SV% and 3.50 GAA and will back up Samuel Ersson Tuesday while Carter Hart (illness) continues to recover.

Source:
Philadelphia Flyers 2023-12-19T22:36:02.376Z
Cal Petersen
Vinnie Hinostroza(C)|MIN
Send Down
Send Down
Vinnie Hinostroza has been reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Hinostroza played three consecutive games for Pittsburgh, averaging over 13 minutes per night, but was held off the score sheet and has been reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. He has four points (2G / 2A) in five games this season with Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

Source:
Pittsburgh Penguins 2023-12-19T19:49:10.304Z
Vinnie Hinostroza
Ryan Shea(D)|PIT
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Send Down
Ryan Shea has cleared waivers Tuesday and is expected to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Shea has been a regular in the lineup for the Penguins this season but has been a healthy scratch for the last three games. His placement on unconditional waivers coincides with Chad Ruhwedel preparing to return to the Penguins lineup and Pierre-Olivier Joseph returning last week.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2023-12-19T19:24:21.425Z
Ryan Shea
Jacob Bryson(D)|BUF
Send Down
Send Down
Jacob Bryson has cleared waivers and is expected to be reassigned to Rochester (AHL).

Bryson has spent most of the season from the press box, regularly as a healthy scratch for the Sabres, and has been placed on unconditional waivers. After appearing in 59 games in the 2022-23 campaign, Bryson has been limited to only three games this season.

Source:
Chris Johnston 2023-12-19T19:23:51.011Z
Jacob Bryson
Lucas Johansen(D)|FA
Send Down
Send Down
Lucas Johansen has cleared waivers and been reassigned to Hershey (AHL).

Johansen was the 28th overall pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and has remained with the organization the entire time, playing predominantly with the Hershey Bears of the AHL. He has played nine total games with the Capitals in his career, including six this season, tallying one point (0G / 1A) and a +1 plus/minus.

Source:
Sammi Silber 2023-12-19T19:21:35.347Z
Lucas Johansen
Rhett Gardner(C)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Rhett Gardner has been recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Olle Lycksell was reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, allowing the Flyers to recall Gardner. Gardner has spent the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, scoring four points (3G / 1A) and 39 penalty minutes in 21 games with the Phantoms.

Source:
Dylan Robillard 2023-12-19T18:21:12.500Z
Rhett Gardner
Austin Czarnik(C)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Austin Czarnik has been recalled from the Grand Rapid Griffins (AHL).

Czarnik was sent down to Grand Rapids (AHL) ahead of Monday's game but was immediately recalled on Tuesday morning as Klim Kostin suffered an upper-body injury. Czarnik has split time this season between Detroit and Grand Rapids, where he has seven points (3G / 4A) in nine games playing for the Griffins.

Source:
Detroit Red Wings 2023-12-19T16:46:29.285Z
Austin Czarnik

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.