Jonas Johansson has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Logan Brown has been assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) for a conditioning assignment (upper body).
Brown has missed the past 18 games due to an upper-body injury and will head to Springfield (AHL) for a conditioning assignment. Prior to his injury, he had no points, five SOG and was a -2 plus/minus through five games with the Blues.
Olle Lycksell has been recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL).
Lycksell has been recalled to the big club for the second time this season after a short one-game showing earlier in the year. The 23-year-old has had a successful season with Lehigh (AHL) prior to the call-up, with five goals, 16 points and a -3 plus/minus through 16 games in the minors.
Olle Eriksson Ek has been recalled from San Diego (AHL).
Eriksson Ek immediately enters a goalie tandem with Lukas Dostal as both John Gibson and Anthony Stolarz are currently dealing with injuries themselves as he was recalled from San Diego (AHL) Wednesday. It has not been a good season for Eriksson Ek in the minors, where he has yet to win a game with an 0-5-0 record, .844 SV% and 4.94 GAA.
Shane Bowers has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL).
Bowers has been injured for the last little bit but will head back to the Colorado Eagles (AHL) where he had two goals, six points, six PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 10 games prior to his promotion.
Send Down
Alex Lyon has been loaned back to Charlotte (AHL).
Lyon will head back to Charlotte (AHL) after not seeing any action with the Florida Panthers. He heads back to the AHL where he had been having a mediocre season in Charlotte prior to the promotion with a 6-5-2 record, .903 SV% and 2.80 GAA.
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Mac Hollowell has been loaned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Hollowell had a successful first career spell with the Maple Leafs, picking up two assists, four SOG and a +3 plus/minus while averaging just 12:56 TOI through six games. He will head back to the Marlies (AHL) where he had nine assists in 11 games prior to his promotion and demotion.
Elmer Soderblom has been recalled from the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL).
Soderblom heads back to the Red Wings for a second time this season after scoring two goals and getting six PIMs with a -5 plus/minus through 13 games to start his career. The towering, 6'8" forward had no points in his two games with Grand Rapids (AHL) prior to his callup.
Jake Lucchini has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Lucchini has been enjoying a strong start to the season with Belleville (AHL) collecting seven goals, 23 points, and a -11 plus/minus through 24 games prior to his promotion. If he does make the Senators' lineup, the 27-year-old will be making his NHL debut.
Dillon Heatherington has been recalled from the Belleville Senators (AHL).
Heatherington had two goals, five assists and 14 PIMs with Belleville (AHL) prior to his callup to the Senators Tuesday. The 27-year-old has previously played in 20 NHL games across three seasons, picking up two assists and 15 SOG during that span.
Grigori Denisenko has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL).
Denisenko has three goals, eight assists, 12 PIMs and is a -10 plus/minus through 24 games with Charlotte (AHL) prior to being called up Tuesday. The 2018 1st round pick (15th overall) has eight career NHL games prior to this season, collecting four assists and four PIMs.
Dysin Mayo has cleared waivers and been assigned to Tucson (AHL).
In 13 games with Arizona, Mayo failed to pick up a point while amassing a -7 plus/minus and six PIMs during only 11:58 ATOI. He heads to Tucson (AHL) after clearing waivers Tuesday.
Call Up
Steven Kampfer has been recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL).
Kampfer had three goals, seven assists and 12 PIMs in 19 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) prior to his promotion to the Red Wings Tuesday. Kampfer will have a chance to immediately enter the lineup as he was called up to replace Robert Hagg who was placed on the injured reserve retroactive to Dec. 8th.
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Filip Roos has been reassigned to Rockford (AHL).
Roos will head down to Rockford of the AHL for the first time in his career after collecting a goal, two assists and a -7 plus/minus in 15 games with the Blackhawks. The rookie will hope to be back in sooner, rather than later so he can build on his opening season numbers.
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Nic Petan has been reassigned to the Iowa Wild (AHL).
Petan had two assists, 12 SOG and was a +3 in his eight games with the Wild prior to being assigned to Iowa (AHL) while only averaging 11:16 TOI. He will head back to Iowa where he was dominant to start the year, with two goals, six assists and four PIMs through only five games played.
Kevin Stenlund has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose (AHL).
Stenlund did not get a chance to dress for the Winnipeg Jets during his last call-up but will head back to Winnipeg from Manitoba (AHL) where he had four goals, 14 points, 26 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus in 19 games prior to his promotion.
Mackenzie Blackwood has been assigned to Utica (AHL) on a conditioning loan.
Blackwood last played on Nov. 3rd and left early due to a knee injury. Monday he was reassigned to Utica (AHL) on a conditioning basis. When he does return he will be hoping for better luck than his first seven games with the Devils, where he was 4-2-0 with a .880 SV% and 2.79 GAA.
Send Down
Eetu Makiniemi has been reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL).
Makiniemi played well in his two San Jose Shark appearances with a 1-0-1 record, .906 SV% and 2.13 GAA. He heads back to the Barracuda (AHL) due to James Reimer returning to the team from a lower-body injury.
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Kevin Stenlund has been reassigned to the Manitoba Moose (AHL).
Stenlund did not get a chance to dress for the Winnipeg Jets and will head back to Manitoba (AHL) where he had four goals, 14 points, 26 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus in 19 games prior to his promotion.
Kaedan Korczak has been recalled from Henderson (AHL).
Korczak has a goal, five assists, 18 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus in 24 games with Henderson (AHL) prior to his promotion Monday. He has played in one NHL game previously, where he failed to pick up any points.
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.