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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Jakub Jerabek(LD)|
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Jerabek has cleared waivers and has been assigned to San Antonio (AHL).

Jerabek was acquired from the Oilers before the season and only appeared in one game with the Blues. He heads to the AHL, where he had 11 points (1G / 10A) in 17 games with Laval (AHL) when he first game to North America.

Source:
Jim Thomas 2018-10-31T17:10:06.928Z
Jakub Jerabek
Ville Husso(G)|ANA
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The Blues have sent Ville Husso to San Antonio (AHL).

Husso was recalled on Monday because Jake Allen was dealing with an injury, but it was not as serious as originally expected. Husso’s return to the AHL means that Allen will at least be available to backup on Thursday.

Source:
Lou Korac 2018-10-31T16:12:38.716Z
Ville Husso
Sheldon Dries(C)|DET
Call Up
Call Up
The Avalanche recalled Sheldon Dries from Colorado (AHL).

Dries did not pick up a point in four games with the Avalanche earlier in the season, but has two points (1G / 1A) in five AHL games with the Eagles. The 24-year-old will likely play on the upcoming two-game road-trip because the Avalanche are without Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and Sven Andrighetto.

Source:
Mike Chambers 2018-10-31T15:23:14.317Z
Sheldon Dries
Darren Archibald(LW)|FA
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Call Up
The Canucks have recalled Darren Archibald from Utica (AHL).

Archibald recorded a goal in his only game with the Canucks this season, building off of the six points (4G / 2A) in eight AHL games to begin the year. Archibald and Brendan Gaunce have been recalled after the Canucks announced that Chris Tanev was moved to IR and Brandon Sutter will miss at least one month.

Source:
Patrick Johnston 2018-10-30T18:28:18.388Z
Darren Archibald
Colby Cave(C)|
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Call Up
The Bruins have recalled Colby Cave from Providence (AHL).

Cave has recorded 10 goals (5G / 5A) in eight games with Providence this season. Cave has been recalled to travel as an extra defenseman to Carolina. Cave will likely only play if Torey Krug doesn’t end up making his season debut.

Source:
Boston Bruins 2018-10-29T17:11:59.468Z
Colby Cave
Nikita Soshnikov(RW)|FA
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Call Up
The Blues have recalled Nikita Soshnikov from his conditioning stint with San Antonio (AHL).

Soshnikov had one goal in five games during a lengthy conditioning stint with San Antonio. Soshnikov returns to the NHL, where he’ll fight for playing time on the fourth line. He had two points (1G / 1A) in 12 games with the Blues a season ago.

Source:
St. Louis Blues 2018-10-29T16:33:28.599Z
Nikita Soshnikov
Robby Fabbri(C)|MIN
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The Blues have recalled Robby Fabbri from his conditioning stint with San Antonio (AHL).

Fabbri recorded a shorthanded goal and added an assist in three games with the Rampage during his conditioning stint. Fabbri looks ready to play for the first time since February 4th, 2017. The Blues return to action vs. the Golden Knights on Thursday.

Source:
St. Louis Blues 2018-10-29T16:32:22.798Z
Robby Fabbri
Eddie Lack(G)|
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The Devils have sent Eddie Lack to Binghamton (AHL) on a conditioning stint.

Lack has not appeared in a game this season with Keith Kinkaid starting all eight of the Devils games so far. With Cory Schneider back from his conditioning stint, the Devils have three goalies. Lack will get some work in the AHL before the Devils make a decision on what to do with him.

Source:
Amanda Stein 2018-10-29T14:28:58.359Z
Eddie Lack
Cory Schneider(G)|FA
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Call Up
The Devils have recalled Cory Schneider from his conditioning stint with Binghamton (AHL).

Schneider made three appearances during his conditioning stint, going 1-1-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .897 SV%. Schneider is set to make his season debut this week after a long recovery from hip surgery. Keith Kinkaid has played very well while Schneider was out, so the Devils will likely ease him back into action by splitting starts between the two netminders. The 32-year-old Schneider was 17-16-6 with a 2.93 GAA and .907 SV% last year—one of the worst seasons of his professional career.

Source:
Amanda Stein 2018-10-29T14:25:57.799Z
Cory Schneider

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.