NHL Hockey Player News

The Flyers recalled Adam Ginning from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Ginning had three goals, 16 assists, 61 PIMs and a +25 plus/minus through 65 games played with Lehigh Valley (AHL) this season and has been recalled by Philadelphia for the first time this season. The 23-year-old was the Flyers' 2018 second-round pick (50th overall).

Adam Ginning
The Senators have recalled Maxence Guenette from Belleville (AHL).

Guenette had four goals, 34 assists, 23 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus in 69 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) and has been recalled to Ottawa Tuesday for the first time in his career. The 21-year-old has yet to see any NHL action in his career and was Ottawa's 2019 seventh-round pick (187th overall).

Max Guenette
The Penguins have recalled Alex Nylander from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) under emergency conditions.

Nylander has 25 goals, 25 assists, eight PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 55 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and has been recalled on an emergency basis to Pittsburgh Tuesday. The 25-year-old returns to Pittsburgh, where he had a goal and two points in seven games earlier in the season.

Alex Nylander
David Jiricek has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Jiricek had six goals, 32 assists, 34 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus in 52 games with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) and has been recalled to Columbus on an emergency basis Tuesday. The 19-year-old has played in three games with the Blue Jackets so far this season, failing to pick up a point and collecting a -5 plus/minus rating.

David Jiricek
Carson Meyer has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Meyer has nine goals, 17 assists, 34 PIMs and a +8 plus/minus through 31 games played with Cleveland (AHL) and has been recalled Tuesday to Columbus on an emergency basis. The 25-year-old returns to Columbus, where he failed to pick up a point and has four PIMs across 13 games so far this season.

Carson Meyer
Trey Fix-Wolansky has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Fix-Wolansky had 19 goals, 70 points, 38 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 58 games with Cleveland (AHL) and has been recalled to Columbus on an emergency basis Tuesday. The 23-year-old returns to Columbus, where he failed to pick up a point through eight games so far this season and is a -6 plus/minus.

Trey Fix-Wolansky
Josh Dunne has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Dunne had 20 goals, 17 assists, 69 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 62 games with Cleveland (AHL) and has been recalled on an emergency basis Tuesday. The 24-year-old has yet to pick up a point in seven games with the Blue Jackets this season, but has four PIMs and a -6 plus/minus.

Josh Dunne
Jake Christiansen has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Christiansen had eight goals, 22 assists, 53 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 47 games with Cleveland (AHL) and has been recalled to Columbus on an emergency basis Tuesday. The 23-year-old returns to the NHL, where he had three assists, four PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 23 games in his previous call ups.

Jake Christiansen
The Red Wings have recalled Danny O'Regan from Grand Rapids (AHL) under emergency conditions.

O'Regan had 17 goals, 31 assists, 16 PIMs and a -21 plus/minus in 64 games between Grand Rapids (AHL) and San Diego (AHL) but has been recalled to Detroit under emergency conditions Tuesday. The 29-year-old centre has previously played in 30 NHL games before this season, picking up a goal and five assists.

Daniel O'Regan
The Red Wings have reassigned Simon Edvinsson to Grand Rapids (AHL).

Edvinsson played his ninth NHL game of the season on Monday, so he'll go to the AHL for the rest of the season to preserve the first year of his entry-level contract. Edvinsson had two goals in games with Detroit and returned to AHL, where he has 27 points (5G / 22A) in 51 games.

Simon Edvinsson
Joel Hofer has been recalled from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL).

Hofer had a 25-15-5 record, 2.57 GAA and .918 SV% with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) and has been recalled Monday to the St. Louis Blues. The 22-year-old returns to St. Louis, where he was 3-0-1 with a 2.79 GAA and .915 SV% earlier in the season.

Joel Hofer
The Kings have reassigned Jordan Spence to Ontario (AHL).

Spence had an assist, six SOG and a +1 plus/minus through six games with Los Angeles but has been reassigned to Ontario (AHL) Monday. The 22-year-old returns to Ontario, where he had four goals, 38 assists, 34 PIMs and a -15 plus/minus through 53 games this season prior to his call up.

Jordan Spence
The Kings have recalled Tobias Bjornfot from Ontario (AHL).

Bjornfot had five goals, seven assists, eight PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 47 games with the Ontario Reign (AHL) and has been recalled to Los Angeles on Monday. The 22-year-old returns to the Los Angeles Kings, where he has an assist, six PIMs and a +1 plus/minus through 10 games with the Kings during his previous call up.

Tobias Bjornfot
The Blackhawks have recalled Buddy Robinson from Rockford (AHL).

Robison had nine goals, 11 assists, 61 PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 50 games played with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) but has been recalled to Chicago Monday. The 31-year-old returns to the Blackhawks, where he has failed to pick up a point through seven games played with the team earlier this season.

Buddy Robinson
The Blackhawks have reassigned Lukas Reichel to Rockford (AHL).

Reichel had seven goals, eight assists, 42 SOG, six PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 23 games played with the Blackhawks' but has been reassigned to Rockford (AHL) in time for their playoff run. The 20-year-old returns to the IceHogs, where he has 17 goals, 29 assists, 12 PIMs and a -13 plus/minus through 51 games this season.

Lukas Reichel
The Red Wings have recalled Taro Hirose from Grand Rapids (AHL) under emergency conditions.

Hirose had 15 goals, 41 assists, 12 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 69 games played with Grand Rapids (AHL) and has been recalled to Detroit on Monday. The 26-year-old makes his second call-up to the big squad, failing to pick up a point in one game during his previous time with the Red Wings this season.

Taro Hirose

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.