Vasily Ponomarev (knee) has been activated from the non-roster/injured reserve and assigned to Tucson (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Riley Tufte has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Tufte played 11:28 in his Avalanche debut on Wednesday, recording four shots, one hit, and a -1 plus/minus rating. He has now been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles where he has eight points (6G / 2A) in six games.
Caleb Jones has been reassigned to Colorado (AHL).
Jones was a precautionary call-up by the Avalanche on Wednesday but did not make it into the lineup as, game-time decisions Cale Makar and Bowen Byram were both deemed fit to play. Jones has now been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL where he has four points (0G / 4A) in eight games.
Rasmus Asplund has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL).
The Panthers have recalled Asplund from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, where he has five points (2G / 3A) in seven games this season. Asplund spent last season split between the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, registering eight points (2G / 6A) in 46 games.
Daemon Hunt has been recalled from Iowa (AHL).
Hunt has been recalled from Iowa (AHL) for a second time this season after failing to put up a point in four games but has seven PIMs and a -3 plus/minus. He returns to Minnesota, where he made his NHL debut earlier this season in two games, playing only 4:52 TOI/GP.
Alex Stalock will draw into the Ducks' lineup and backup Lukas Dostal on Wednesday.
With John Gibson out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury, Stalock finds himself in the Ducks' lineup and should serve as the backup to Dostal until Gibson is ready to return after being recalled from San Diego (AHL). In three games (1-2-0) with the San Diego Gulls, Stalock has a 2.74 GAA and .919 SV%.
Send Down
Adam Erne has been sent down to Bakersfield (AHL) after clearing waivers.
Erne cleared waivers on Tuesday and has now been sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. In six games with the Oilers, Erne recorded zero points, five penalty minutes, and a -1 plus/minus rating. The move was made to allow the Oilers to sign Sam Gagner on Monday.
Parker Wotherspoon has been recalled from Providence (AHL).
Wotherspoon was recalled along with Mason Lohrei and Ian Mitchell to give the Bruins options on their blueline as they will be without Charlie McAvoy (suspension) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body). Wotherspoon was a fourth-round pick of the New York Islanders in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and played his first 12 NHL games with the Islanders last season, recording one point (0G / 1A) four penalty minutes, and a +5 plus/minus rating.
Ian Mitchell has been recalled from Providence (AHL).
Mitchell was recalled along with Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon to aid a Bruins' blueline that is currently without Charlie McAvoy (suspension) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper body). Mitchell was the 57th overall pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and already had a two-game stint with the Bruins earlier this season, recording one point (0G / 1A) and four penalty minutes.
Mason Lohrei has been recalled from Providence (AHL).
Lohrei is likely to make his NHL debut on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lohrei was one of three defensemen recalled by Boston from Providence (AHL), along with Ian Mitchell and Parker Wotherspoon, as they will be without regulars Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body) and Charlie McAvoy (suspension). Lohrei was the Bruins' 58th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and has four points (0G / 4A) in seven games at the AHL level this season.
Sam Gagner has been recalled from Bakersfield (AHL).
Gagner has played four games with the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL this season, registering five points in three games (1G / 4A) and has now been signed by the Edmonton Oilers to a one-year, $775,000 contract. This will mark Gagner's third stint with the Oilers, who played with the organization from 2007-2014 and again from 2018-2020. He is expected to replace Adam Erne, who was placed on waivers by the Oilers earlier today.
Carter Mazur was activated from the injured non-roster and assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL).
Nikita Okhotyuk has been recalled from his conditioning stint with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Connor Zary has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Zary was the 24th overall pick of the Calgary Flames in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old Alberta native was off to a blistering start in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers this season, posting 10 points (1G / 9A) through six games.
Send Down
Felix Sandstrom has been reassigned to Lehigh Valley (AHL) on a conditioning assignment.
Sandstrom played 20 games for the Flyers last season, recording a 3.72 GAA and .880 SV% and could end up being the backup option for the Flyers after his conditioning stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Carter Hart has been terrific for the Flyers this season, starting seven of nine games, but the Flyers have been blown out in the two games Samuel Ersson started, being outscored 12-8 (0-1-1).
Caleb Jones has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Jones was recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, where he has four points (0G / 4A) in eight games this season. The Texas-born defenseman has yet to play at the NHL level this season after playing 73 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, recording 16 points (4G / 12A).
Riley Tufte has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
After a terrific start to the AHL season with the Colorado Eagles, recording eight points (6G / 2A) in six games, Tufte has been recalled by the Avalanche. Tufte has only played 13 games in his NHL career, all with the Dallas Stars, in which he has recorded one point (1G / 0A).
Brandon Biro has been recalled from Rochester (AHL).
Biro was recalled from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The undrafted 25-year-old has six points (2G / 4A) in five games with the Americans this season. The roster spot opened up for Biro with Eric Comrie (lower-body) being placed on the injured reserve.
Ilya Solovyov has been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Solovyov had two PIMs, one SOG, and a -3 plus/minus in his first two career games with the Flames but has been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) on Monday. The 23-year-old defenseman returns to the Wranglers, where he had a goal, an assist, and two PIMs in four games prior to his promotion. Solovyov heads down due to Rasmus Andersson returning from a four-game suspension.
Marc Del Gazio has been recalled from Milwaukee (AHL).
Del Gazio has an assist and two PIMs in five games with Milwaukee (AHL) in 2023-24 so far and has earned his first career call-up to Nashville on Monday. The 24-year-old defenseman was the Predators' 2019 fourth-round pick (109th overall) and has played four seasons in the AHL prior to his promotion.
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.