The Coyotes have recalled Victor Soderstrom from Tucson (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
The Golden Knights have recalled Laurent Brossoit from Henderson (AHL).
Aliaksei Protas has been recalled from the Hershey Bears (AHL).
Protas was returned to Hershey (AHL) for the NHL all-star break to stay fresh but has been recalled Friday to Washington. The 22-year-old has three goals, seven assists, 54 SOG, and a +1 plus/minus through 42 games this season.
The Ducks have recalled Olle Eriksson Ek from San Diego (AHL).
Eriksson Ek has a 1-9-0 record, 4.79 GAA and .851 SV% through 13 games with the San Diego Gulls (AHL) and has been recalled from the Anaheim Ducks for the first time this season. The 23-year-old has never played in the NHL so he will make his debut if he can find his way into the Ducks lineup for some game action.
Tyler Tucker has been recalled from Springfield (AHL).
Mads Sogaard has been recalled from the Belleville Senators (AHL).
Sogaard is 6-9-2 with a 3.30 GAA and .898 SV% through 21 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) and has been recalled by Ottawa Thursday. He will backup Anton Forsberg while Cam Talbot is on the mend.
Ridly Greig has been recalled from the Belleville Senators (AHL).
Greig was returned to Belleville (AHL) for the NHL all-star break where he had 12 goals and 11 assists through 28 games but has been recalled Thursday now that Ottawa is returning to play. The 20-year-old left winger has two assists, and a +4 plus/minus through four games with Ottawa this season.
Jakub Lauko has been recalled from Providence (AHL).
Laura had nine goals, six assists, 53 PIMs and a +12 plus/minus through 30 games with Providence (AHL) and has been called up for another stint with the Boston Bruins. In his previous eight games this season with Boston, he has one goal, two assists, eight SOG and two PIMs.
Joseph Woll has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Woll has been incredible this season with the Toronto Marlies (AHL), with his impressive 13-1-0 record, .930 SV% and 2.36 GAA and has been recalled to the Maple Leafs Thursday. The 24-year-old has previously played in four NHL games, with a 3-1-0 record, 2.75 GAA and .911 SV%.
Alexander Steeves has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Steeves had 14 goals, 22 assists, 24 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 44 games with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and has earned his first call-up of the season to the Maple Leafs. The 23-year-old centre had previously played in three NHL games in 2021-22 where he picked up his first and only career assist.
Pontus Holmberg has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Holmberg returns to the Maple Leafs where he has five goals, eight assists, 20 SOG, 12 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus through 33 games this season. He was returned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) over the all-star break to stay active and get a few games while the Maple Leafs were off.
Tim Berni has been recalled from the Cleveland Monsters (AHL).
Berni was returned to the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) for the NHL all-star break where he has a goal, three assists, 12 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus but will head back to the Blue Jackets Thursday. In 28 games with Columbus this season, he has a goal, 30 SOG, 18 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus.
The Rangers have reassigned Will Cuylle to Hartford (AHL).
Cuylle failed to pick up a point, but had 10 PIMs and was a -2 plus/minus through four games with the Rangers but has been reassigned to Hartford (AHL) Thursday. Cuylle had 14 goals, seven assists, and 39 PIMs through 42 games with Hartford prior to his original call-up.
The Kraken have recalled John Hayden from Coachella Valley (AHL).
Hayden has 13 goals, 12 assists, 51 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 36 games with Coachella Valley (AHL) and has been recalled on Thursday for the second time this season. In Hayden's previous stint with Seattle this season, he had one goal, four SOG and a +1 plus/minus through three games and 8:02 TOI.
Marian Studenic has been recalled from Texas Stars (AHL).
Studenic had 14 goals, 16 assists, 24 PIMs and a +13 plus/minus through 43 games with Texas (AHL) but has been recalled for the first time Wednesday to the big club. He will be looking to build off the three goals and three assists he has across 41 career NHL games played throughout three seasons.
Dennis Gilbert has been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Gilbert was recalled Monday and reassigned Tuesday from the Flames back to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL). The 26-year-old returns to the minors where he had two goals, three assists, 41 PIMs and a +11 plus/minus through 26 games with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) prior to his previous promotion.
The Coyotes have assigned Jean-Sebastien Dea to Tucson (AHL).
Dea played one game for the Coyotes after getting the call-up from Tucson (AHL) and collected one shot across 12 shifts and 7:41 TOI but has been reassigned back to the Roadrunners on Tuesday. He returns to Tuscon, where he had 19 goals, 18 assists, 30 PIMs, 99 SOG and a -14 plus/minus through 46 games.
Send Down
The Panthers have reassigned Alex Lyon to Charlotte (AHL).
Lyon had a 3-2-1 record, .892 SV% and 3.89 GAA through six games with the Panthers but will head back to Charlotte (AHL) as Spencer Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky both return to Florida's lineup (injury). He returns to the Checkers, where he had a 9-8-1 record, 2.55 GAA and .909 SV% prior to his call-up.
The Coyotes have recalled Jean-Sebastien Dea from Tucson (AHL).
Dea had 19 goals, 18 assists, 30 PIMs and a -14 plus/minus through 46 games with Tucson (AHL) but has been recalled Monday to Arizona. The 28-year-old had previously played in 33 NHL games across four seasons and three different teams, picking up five goals, two assists and 33 SOG.
The Islanders have recalled Simon Holmstrom from Bridgeport (AHL).
Holmstrom had three goals, two assists, and four PIMs in 16 games with Bridgeport (AHL) but has been recalled to the Islanders Monday. The 21-year-old struggled in his previous stint with the big club, picking up only two goals, an assist, and 15 SOG through 24 games played earlier this season.
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.