Call up / Send down
The Bruins have assigned Joe Morrow to Providence (AHL) on a conditioning stint.
NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have assigned Austin Czarnik to Providence (AHL).
Call up / Send down
The Lightning have recalled Cory Conacher from Syracuse (AHL).
With Jonathan Drouin listed as a game-time decision, Conacher has been called-up to potentially fill-in for him. Conacher has two points (1G / 1A) in seven games with the Lightning this season as well as 44 points (12G / 32A) in 42 games with the Crunch.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have recalled Jhonas Enroth to be Jonathan Bernier's backup on Wednesday.
Call up / Send down
The Coyotes have sent Marek Langhamer to Tucson (AHL).
Langhamer allowed one goal on eight shots to preserve the Coyotes’ win over the Ducks after replacing an injured Mike Smith on Monday. With Smith healthy and Louis Domingue now good to go, Langhamer will return to the Tucson, where he is 4-5-0 with a 2.90 GAA and .914 SV% this season.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have recalled Nicolas Kerdiles from San Diego (AHL).
Kerdiles, 23, has registered four goals with five assists (nine points) in 10 games with San Diego. The former second round pick (36th overall in 2012) could make his NHL debut on Wednesday as he’s skating with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell in the Ducks’ morning skate.
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Bracken Kearns from Bridgeport (AHL).
Kearns has registered 18 goals and 22 assists (40 points) in 51 games with Bridgeport this season. The 35-year-old AHL veteran has just 33 games of NHL experience compared to 88 ECHL games and 642 AHL contests. He could draw into the lineup on Thursday because Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas were hurt on Tuesday.
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have sent Jared Coreau to Grand Rapids (AHL) on a conditioning stint.
Coreau has only played once in the last 10 games and will go to Grand Rapids (AHL) during the Red Wings bye week. Coreau has gone 5-3-3 with a 3.27 GAA, .893 SV% and two shutouts in 13 games with the Red Wings this season. He should return to the Red Wings after the bye week.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have sent Julian Melchiori to Manitoba (AHL).
Melchiori played 22:02 TOI in last night’s game in Toronto, but will return to Manitoba with the Jets’ bye week starting on Wednesday. Melchiori has two goals and four assists (six points) in 32 games with the Moose this season.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have sent Brandon Tanev to Manitoba (AHL).
Tanev appeared in the last three games with the Jets, but will head down to Manitoba during the Jets’ bye week. Tanev has one goal and four assists (five points) in 10 games with the Moose.
Call up / Send down
The Coyotes have recalled Anthony DeAngelo from Tucson (AHL).
Call up / Send down
The Flames have sent Garnet Hathaway to Stockton (AHL).
Hathaway was a healthy scratch for the last two games and with the Flames acquiring Michael Stone on Monday, they needed to create room for him on the roster. Hathaway returns to the Heat, where he has three goals and three assists (six points) in eight games this season.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have sent Ivan Barbashev to Chicago (AHL).
Barbashev had two goals and one assist in 12 games during his call-up. The Blues bye week starts today, so Barbashev and Magnus Paajarvi have been returned to Chicago, but are expected to return to the Blues before their game on Sunday.
Call up / Send down
The Blues have sent Magnus Paajarvi to Chicago (AHL).
Paajarvi has scored three goals with one assist in seven games during his call-up. The Blues bye week starts today, so Paajarvi and Ivan Barbashev have been returned to Chicago, but are expected to return to the Blues before their game on Sunday.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have recalled Frederik Gauthier from Toronto (AHL).
Gauthier scored two goals with one assist in 18 games, but was sent back to the Marlies when Ben Smith returned from injury. With Smith struggling, Gauthier will return to the lineup tonight vs. the Jets. The 21-year-old has six points (1G / 5A) in 26 AHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Casey Bailey from Binghamton (AHL).
The Senators lost Bobby Ryan long-term and Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Tommy Wingels all left last night’s game with injuries. Bailey has 14 goals and nine assists (23 points) in 44 games with Binghamton this season and just one goal in 11 career NHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Binghamton (AHL).
The Senators lost Bobby Ryan long-term and Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Tommy Wingels all left last night’s game with injuries. McCormick has registered 16 goals and 10 assists (26 points) in 45 games with Binghamton this season. McCormick has four points (2G / 2A) in 25 career NHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Nick Baptiste to Rochester (AHL).
Baptiste, 21, had one goal and one assist in two games during his call-up. The Sabres are on their bye week, so Baptiste returns to the AHL, where he has 19 goals and 11 assists (30 points) in 42 games.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Evan Rodrigues to Rochester (AHL).
Rodrigues has two assists in six games during his call-up, but returns to Rochester over the Sabres’ bye week. The 23-year-old has collected nine goals and 18 assists (27 points) in 44 games with Rochester this season.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Justin Bailey to Rochester (AHL).
Bailey’s two goals and one assist in 19 games with the Sabres this season, but heads back to Rochester so he can continue to play throughout their bye week. The 21-year-old has 19 goals and 10 assists (29 points) in 39 games with Rochester 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.