The Sabres have assigned Matt Savoie to Wenatchee (WHL).
NHL Hockey Player News
The Blackhawks have recalled Isaak Phillips from Rockford (AHL).
The Maple Leafs have reassigned Pontus Holmberg to Toronto (AHL).
Holmberg has sat as a healthy scratch since being recalled, so he'll swap places with Bobby McMann, who will likely play Saturday for Ryan Reaves.
The Maple Leafs have recalled Bobby McMann from Toronto (AHL).
McMann is a candidate to draw into the Maple Leafs lineup to replace Ryan Reaves on Saturday. McMann has one assist in 10 career NHL games and three points (2G / 1A) in six AHL games this season.
The Blue Jackets have reassigned David Jiricek to Cleveland (AHL).
Jiricek has been a healthy scratch for the last two games, so he heads back to the AHL to make room for Patrik Laine, who will return from an upper-body injury. Jiricek had one goal and two assists in 10 games with Columbus during his call-up.
Daemon Hunt has been reassigned to Iowa (AHL).
Hunt failed to pick up a point through five games played while averaging only 8:36 TOI/GP and has been reassigned to Iowa (AHL) Friday. The 21-year-old returns to Iowa, where he had seven PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in four games played.
Parker Wotherspoon has been reassigned to Providence (AHL).
Wotherspoon recorded one point (0G / 1A), averaging 13:51 time-on-ice in three games with the Bruins. His reassignment to Providence (AHL) signals the team will welcome back Charlie McAvoy from his four-game suspension on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel has been recalled from Hershey (AHL) and is expected to make his season debut Friday.
Aube-Kubel is expected to make his season debut on Friday with news that Anthony Mantha (upper-body) is being placed on the injured reserve. In 11 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL) this season, Aube-Kubel has three points (1G / 2A). He has primarily been an NHL-level player over the past several seasons, with 222 games and 62 points (25G / 37A) to his name. He was paired with Nic Dowd and Beck Malenstyn at morning skate on Friday.
Hunter Shepard has been recalled from Hershey (AHL).
28-year-old Hunter Shepard played his first career NHL game earlier this season, saving 18 of 22 shots in a 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils. It is unclear if his call-up is due to a potential injury for Darcy Kuemper or Charlie Lindgren, but if either of them is unable to dress for the Capitals, expect Shepard to serve as the teams' backup goalie.
Dylan Garand has been reassigned to Hartford (AHL).
Garand was originally called up as a precautionary measure with Jonathan Quick dealing with an injury in addition to the already-injured Igor Shesterkin. Garand's reassignment to Hartford is a good sign the Quick, Shesterkin, or both are ready to return to the lineup.
Send Down
Cal Foote has been reassigned to Utica (AHL).
Foote spent most of the last two weeks with the Devils as a depth defenceman but was never given the opportunity to crack the lineup. Before his call-up, Foote had two points (1G / 1A) in three games with the Utica Comets of the AHL.
Nikolas Matinpalo has been reassigned to Belleville (AHL).
Michael Sgarbossa has been reassigned to the Hershey Bears (AHL).
Philippe Myers has been recalled from Syracuse (AHL).
Myers has been recalled to Tampa Bay for the first time this season from Syracuse (AHL) after scoring a goal and three points in 11 games played in his first season in Tampa in 2022-23. He has spent the early part of 2023-24 in the minors, where he had two assists, 19 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus in nine games played so far. The 26-year-old is entering his sixth NHL season and is expected to replace Zack Bogosian, who was traded to Minnesota on Wednesday.
Matthew Highmore has been recalled from Belleville (AHL) and will draw into the lineup Thursday vs. Vancouver.
Highmore had two goals, five assists, four PIMs and a -9 plus/minus in nine games with Belleville (AHL) and has been recalled Thursday and is expected to draw right into the lineup vs. Vancouver. The 27-year-old forward will replace Zach MacEwen in the Senators' lineup and will hope to add to his 12 goals and 27 points across 139 career games played as he enters his seventh NHL season.
Vinnie Hinostroza has been assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Hinostroza had a goal, an assist, four SOG, two PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in two games played so far in 2023-24 but has been reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) Thursday. The 29-year-old winger heads back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he was succeeding prior to his NHL promotion with two goals, four points and two PIMs in five games played.
Dustin Wolf has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Highly touted goaltending prospect Dustin Wolf has been recalled by the struggling Calgary Flames after posting an impressive 2.34 GAA and .924 SV% in six games (5-1-0) with the Calgary Wranglers. The Flames seem intent on carrying three goaltenders for the time being, but Wolf will likely see game action at some point and be given the opportunity to showcase his talents.
Pontus Holmberg has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Holmberg was recalled to give the Maple Leafs some defensive depth as Maxime Lajoie was sent down to the Marlies (AHL). Holmberg has spent seven games with the Maple Leafs this season, recording zero points, a -2 plus/minus, four blocks, and three hits.
Maxime Lajoie has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Lajoie played one game for the Maple Leafs after being recalled from the Marlies (AHL) on November 4th. The 26-year-old defenseman played 4:54, accumulating one hit and a -1 plus/minus rating.
Riley Tufte has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Valeri Nichushkin did not practice with the Avalanche on Wednesday as he was away from the team for the birth of his child. He has not been ruled out of Thursday's game against the Settle Kraken but if he is unable to go, look for Tufte to slot into the lineup. In his only game this season, Tufte recorded zero points and four shots in 11:28 time-on-ice.
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.