Fix-Wolansky missed a team meeting and has been assigned to Cleveland (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Ben Meyers has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Meyers had five goals, 23 points, 15 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) and has been recalled to the Avalanche on Friday. He returns to the NHL, where he has one goal and six PIMs across 33 games so far this season.
Josh Dunne has been recalled from Cleveland (AHL) on an emergency basis.
Jacob Bernard-Docker has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Bernard-Docker had two goals, three assists, 27 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 38 games with Belleville (AHL) and has been recalled Friday to Ottawa.
Martin Kaut has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Kaut has three goals, two assists, 20 SOG and a -2 plus/minus in nine games since being traded to San Jose from Colorado but has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) after playing 18:53 TOI Thursday. The 23-year-old returns to the AHL, where he had eight goals, 13 assists, eight PIMs and a -6 plus/minus through 25 games with both San Jose (AHL) and Colorado (AHL).
Nolan Foote has been reassigned to Utica (AHL).
Foote had a goal, four SOG, and was a +2 plus/minus through six games this season with New Jersey but has been reassigned to Utica (AHL) on Friday. The 22-year-old returns to Utica, where he had 18 goals, 30 points and 25 PIMs through 49 games played this season.
Tobias Bjornfot has been recalled from Ontario (AHL) on an emergency basis.
Bjornfot has five goals, seven assists, eight PIMs and a +4 plus/minus through 47 games with Ontario (AHL) and has been recalled to Los Angeles Friday. The 21-year-old has an assist and six PIMs through eight games with the Kings already this season.
Samuel Ersson has been loaned to Lehigh-Valley (AHL) Friday.
Ersson was 6-1-0 with a .898 SV% and 3.07 GAA and has been loaned back to Lehigh-Valley (AHL) Friday as Carter Hart (lower-body) is expected to rejoin to the team. The 23-year-old returns to the minors, where he is 21-14-1 with a .904 SV% and 2.70 GAA.
The Maple Leafs recalled Radim Zohorna from Toronto (AHL) on emergency conditions.
Zohorna had 11 goals, 20 assists, 37 PIMs and a +20 plus/minus through 46 games with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) and Toronto Marlies (AHL) and has been recalled to the Maple Leafs for the first time this season on emergency conditions. The 26-year-old played in eight games for the Calgary Flames earlier in the season, failing to pick up a point, with three SOG and a -2 plus/minus.
Send Down
Marcus Bjork has been reassigned to Cleveland (AHL).
Bjork has three goals, eight assists, 30 SOG, 24 PIMs and a -7 plus/minus through 28 games but has been reassigned to Cleveland (AHL) a day after being called up. The 25-year-old returns to the Monsters, where he had six goals, 13 points, 18 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus.
Marco Kasper has been recalled from Rogle BK (SHL).
Kasper had eight goals, 15 assists, 72 PIMs and a +7 plus/minus through 52 games with Rogle BK of the SHL and has been recalled to the Detroit Red Wings late Thursday night. The 18-year-old is Detroit's 2022 first-round pick (eight overall).
The Blue Jackets have recalled Marcus Bjork from Cleveland (AHL).
Bjork has six goals, 13 points, 18 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus through 40 games with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) and has been recalled to Columbus Thursday. The 25-year-old returns to the Blue Jackets, where he had three goals, eight assists, 24 PIMs and a -7 plus/minus through 27 games earlier in the season.
The Sharks have reassigned Andrew Agozzino to San Jose (AHL).
Agozzino had a goal, two assists, nine SOG, and a -1 plus/minus through four games with San Jose and has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) Thursday. The 32-year-old returns to the minors, where he had 24 goals, 52 points and was a -3 plus/minus through 55 games this season.
Bordeleau was recalled from the AHL and will make his season debut on Thursday.
Bordeleau had 22 goals, 19 assists, 24 PIMs and a -18 plus/minus through 64 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) and has been recalled for the first time Thursday to the Sharks. The 21-year-old will make his season debut Thursday after playing in eight games with the Sharks last season and picking up five assists.
Mack Guzda has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL).
Guzda is 14-8-3 with a .899 SV%, 2.86 GAA and has been recalled to Florida to backup Wednesday vs. Toronto if Sergei Bobrovsky (game-time decision) is unable to go. The 22-year-old has never seen NHL action.
Brayden Pachal has been recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL).
Pachal has three goals, 12 assists, 90 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus with the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) and has been recalled to Vegas Wednesday. The 23-year-old has two assists, six PIMs and a +1 plus/minus in nine games with Vegas already this season.
Mike Hardman has been reassigned to Rockford (AHL).
Hardman had failed to pick up a point, had seven SOG and a -2 plus/minus through eight games this season but has been reassigned to Rockford (AHL) on Wednesday. The 24-year-old heads back to the IceHogs, where he had four goals, 12 assists, 30 PIMs and a -11 plus/minus through 49 games prior to his call-up.
Andrej Sustr has been recalled from San Diego (AHL).
Sustr has three goals, 11 assists, 41 PIMs, and a +10 plus/minus through 46 games with Iowa (AHL) and San Diego (AHL) and has been recalled Wednesday by Anaheim. The 32-year-old has played in 361 NHL games before this season, and has 11 goals and 69 points.
Send Down
Taro Hirose has been reassigned to Grand Rapids (AHL).
Hirose made his season debut Tuesday, playing 7:57 TOI with one SOG but has been reassigned to Grand Rapids (AHL) on Wednesday. The 26-year-old returns to the Griffins, where he has 15 goals, 39 assists, and 12 PIMs across 64 games played.
Samuel Ersson has been recalled from Lehigh-Valley (AHL) on an emergency basis.
Ersson had a 21-14-1 record, .904 SV% and 2.70 GAA with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) but has been recalled to Philadelphia Tuesday on an emergency basis due to an injury to Carter Hart (lower-body). The 23-year-old returns to the Flyers, where he is 6-1-0 with a .898 SV% and 3.07 GAA.
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.