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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Cale Fleury(D)|SEA
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Fleury has been recalled from Coachella Valley (AHL) on Friday.

Fleury was recalled last week as well but did not draw into Seatle's lineup and has yet to play an NHL game this season. The 25-year-old defenseman has 33 points (6G / 27A) in 61 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL).

Source:
John Lu 2024-04-05T17:12:55.365Z
Cale Fleury
Maxwell Willman(C)|FA
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Wilman has been reassigned to Utica (AHL) on Friday.

Willman played the last four games for the Devils and scored two goals while averaging less than seven minutes of ice time but will return to the Utica Comets (AHL). The 29-year-old Willman has 21 points (11G / 10A) in 31 games with Utica this season.

Source:
New Jersey Devils 2024-04-05T15:45:55.032Z
Maxwell Willman
Mavrik Bourque(C)|DAL
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Bourque has been recalled from Texas (AHL) on Friday.

Bourque was the 30th overall pick of the Dallas Stars in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old leads the AHL with 72 points (26G / 46A) in 66 games but has yet to play an NHL game. He could be reunited in Dallas with Logan Stankoven, his linemate in Texas for the first 47 games of the season.

Source:
Dallas Stars 2024-04-05T15:34:35.628Z
Mavrik Bourque
Hunter Shepard(G)|MTL
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Shepard has been recalled from the Hershey Bears (AHL).

It would appear that Darcy Kuemper is not fully confident that he will play on Thursday after leaving practice early due to an injury a day before as Hunter Shephard has been recalled from Hershey (AHL). The 28-year-old has appeared in four games this season with Washington and has a 2-1-1 record with a 3.19 GAA and .894 SV%.

Source:
Washington Capitals 2024-04-04T21:02:19.051Z
Hunter Shepard
Arshdeep Bains(LW)|VAN
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Bains has been reassigned to Abbotsford (AHL) on Thursday.

Bains second stint with Vancouver did not go as planned after the forward appeared in three games and averaged less than 10 minutes per game TOI while picking up a -2 plus/minus. The 23-year-old was re-assigned to Abbotsford (AHL) on Thursday, where he has 14 goals and 49 points in 53 games played this season.

Source:
Vancouver Canucks 2024-04-04T19:54:36.249Z
Arshdeep Bains
Trey Fix-Wolansky(RW)|NYR
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Fix-Wolansky has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Fix-Wolansky has become an elite offensive contributor at the AHL level but has not been able to translate that into NHL success. The 24-year-old has 58 points (24G / 34A) in 54 games with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) this season but only has four points (2G / 2A) in 24 career NHL games.

Source:
Jeff Svoboda 2024-04-04T14:27:22.379Z
Trey Fix-Wolansky
Uvis Balinskis(D)|FLA
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Balinskis has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL) on Wednesday.

Balinskis started the season with the Panthers due to several injuries on the blueline but has spent most of the season with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL), scoring 21 points (3G / 18A) in 37 games. He had a four-game stint with the Panthers in mid-March, last playing on March 26th.

Source:
Alex Baumgartner 2024-04-03T17:18:37.424Z
Uvis Balinskis
Devon Levi(G)|BUF
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Levi has been loaned to Rochester (AHL) on Wednesday.

Levi played well in his most recent stint with the Sabres, saving an impressive 90 of 95 shots (.947 SV%) across three outings (1-1-0). The 22-year-old netminder will return to the Rochester Americans (AHL), where he has amassed an 11-5-3 record to go along with a .927 SV% across 19 appearances.

Source:
Buffalo Sabres PR 2024-04-03T14:40:44.611Z
Devon Levi
David Jiricek(D)|PHI
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Jiricek has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis on Tuesday.

Jiricek was sent down to Cleveland (AHL) earlier in the week but has been recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday ahead of Columbus' game Thursday vs. the Islanders. The 20-year-old budding superstar has appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jackets this season and has a goal, nine points, 20 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus.

Source:
Mark Scheig 2024-04-02T21:31:12.832Z
David Jiricek
Joel Blomqvist(G)|PIT
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Blomqvist has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on Tuesday.

With Tristan Jarry set to miss his second consecutive contest due to illness, Joel Blomqvist has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and will backup Alex Nedeljkovic on Tuesday. The 22-year-old netminder is Pittsburgh's 2020 second round pick (52nd overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut. He posted a 22-10-6 with a 2.15 GAA and .919 SV% with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) this season.

Source:
Taylor Haase 2024-04-02T21:16:37.246Z
Joel Blomqvist
Cale Fleury(D)|SEA
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Fleury has been reassigned to Coachella Valley (AHL) on Tuesday.

Fleury was recalled by Seattle on Monday on an emergency basis after putting up 32 points (6G/26A) in 60 games with the Coachella Valley Firebirds (AHL). The 25-year-old has appeared in 12 games for the Kraken so far this season and has an assist, and two PIMs with limited ice time.

Source:
Seattle Kraken PR 2024-04-02T18:51:45.095Z
Cale Fleury

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.