NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Curtis Lazar(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Curtis Lazar from Binghamton (AHL).

Lazar has spent the start of the year in Binghamton, where he collected three goals and one assist in 13 games. Lazar’s return to the NHL means the Senators are concerned that they could be without Mike Hoffman and Bobby Ryan on Saturday.

Source:
Bruce Garrioch 2016-11-19T10:17:25.000Z
Curtis Lazar
Joel Eriksson Ek(C)|MIN
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Wild have assigned Joel Eriksson Ek to Farjestad (Sweden).

Eriksson Ek, 19, had two goals and three assists (five points) in nine games with Minnesota. Before burning the first year of his entry-level contract, they’ve sent him back to Sweden. The former first round pick (No.20 overall in 2015) had 15 points (9G / 6A) in 41 games with Farjestad last season.

Source:
Michael Russo 2016-11-17T11:07:50.000Z
Joel Eriksson Ek
Max McCormick(LW)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Max McCormick from Binghamton (AHL).

McCormick, 24, has picked up three goals in 10 games with Binghamton this season. He failed to record a point in his only game with Ottawa and has four points (2G / 2A) in 21 career NHL games. McCormick is skating with Matt Puempel and Chris Neil this morning because Mike Hoffman is not on the ice for the morning skate.

Source:
Brent Wallace 2016-11-17T10:43:59.000Z
Max McCormick
Taylor Fedun(D)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Taylor Fedun from Rochester (AHL).

Fedun, 28, has picked up two goals and 10 assists (12 points) in 14 games with Rochester. With Casey Nelson going down to Rochester, Fedun comes up and is expected to make his Sabres debut on Thursday. He has seven points (2G / 5A) in 12 career NHL games.

Source:
Bill Hoppe 2016-11-17T10:24:55.000Z
Taylor Fedun
Tyler Bertuzzi(LW)|CHI
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have recalled Tyler Bertuzzi from Grand Rapids (AHL).

Bertuzzi, 21, has picked up three goals and three assists (six points) in 10 games with Grand Rapids, but failed to record a point in three games with the Red Wings. With Darren Helm out and Thomas Vanek not ready until Sunday, Bertuzzi will get another chance on Friday vs. the Capitals.

Source:
Helene St. James 2016-11-17T10:13:32.000Z
Tyler Bertuzzi
Juuse Saros(G)|NSH
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Predators have sent Juuse Saros to Milwaukee (AHL).

Saros was recalled from Milwaukee and was expected to replace Marek Mazanec as the Predators’ backup, but that wasn’t the case. He backed up Pekka Rinne for a few games, before Mazanec came back up and actually got the start while Rinne was out. With Rinne back for Thursday’s game, Saros is the goalie who heads back to Milwaukee.

Source:
Adam Vingan 2016-11-17T10:03:53.000Z
Juuse Saros
Jake Virtanen(RW)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Canucks have sent Jake Virtanen to Utica (AHL).

Virtanen was a healthy scratch for the last two games and will return to Utica, where he has no points in two games. The former No.6 overall pick (2014) has struggled in the first 65 games of his NHL career—collecting just 14 points (7G / 7A). Expect Virtanen to stay in Utica until his game gets back on track.

Source:
Vancouver Canucks 2016-11-16T13:45:57.000Z
Jake Virtanen
Tyler Bertuzzi(LW)|CHI
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have sent Tyler Bertuzzi to Grand Rapids (AHL).

Bertuzzi failed to record a point while averaging 9:58 TOI in three games with the Red Wings during his call-up. With Anthony Mantha playing well in his season debut and the Red Wings wanting to get Drew Miller back into the lineup, they have returned Bertuzzi to the AHL, where he’ll get more playing time.

Source:
Helene St. James 2016-11-15T12:23:59.000Z
Tyler Bertuzzi
Evan Rodrigues(C)|FLA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Evan Rodrigues from Rochester (AHL).

The Sabres have a number of forwards banged up, so Rodrigues earned his first call-up of the season. Rodrigues has picked up three goals and five assists (eight points) in 13 games with Rochester and tonight he will make his NHL season debut.

Source:
Paul Hamilton 2016-11-15T10:21:07.000Z
Evan Rodrigues
Nick Baptiste(RW)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Nick Baptiste from Rochester (AHL).

The Sabres had Sunday and Monday off, so they sent Baptiste down for a few days, but with Ryan O’Reilly still questionable, Baptiste has been recalled. Baptiste has two goals and 10 shots on goal in 10 games with the Sabres this season.

Source:
Paul Hamilton 2016-11-15T10:19:45.000Z
Nick Baptiste
Justin Falk(LD)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Justin Falk from Rochester (AHL).

Dmitry Kulikov did not travel to St. Louis, so Falk is back with the Sabres and will be in the lineup. Falk has no points, two shots on goal while playing 13:35 TOI per game in his first two games with the Sabres.

Source:
Paul Hamilton 2016-11-15T10:17:18.000Z
Justin Falk
Chase De Leo(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Jets have recalled Chase De Leo from Manitoba (AHL).

De Leo, 21, has picked up three goals and four assists (seven points) in 12 games with Manitoba. De Leo has been recalled because Kyle Connor (upper-body) has been moved to IR. De Leo has appeared in two career NHL games and his third is expected to come on Tuesday.

Source:
Winnipeg Jets 2016-11-14T13:30:10.000Z
Chase De Leo
Marek Mazanec(G)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Predators have recalled Marek Mazanec from Milwaukee (AHL).

Mazanec is now the Predators’ third goalie, joining Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros on the roster. Mazanec posted a 3.90 GAA and .849 SV% in two games with Milwaukee after being sent down last week. His call-up suggests that Rinne could be battling an injury.

Source:
Nashville Predators 2016-11-14T11:45:51.000Z
Marek Mazanec
Anthony Stolarz(G)|TOR
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled Anthony Stolarz from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Stolarz has been recalled because Michal Neuvirth is out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury. The 22-year-old netminder has gone 6-2-0 with a 2.39 GAA and .927 SV% in eight games with the Phantoms this season. He has been called-up before, but has never made his NHL debut. Expect it happen this time around, especially considering how Steve Mason has struggled.

Source:
Dave Isaac 2016-11-14T10:32:22.000Z
Anthony Stolarz
Shane Prince(C)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
Prince will be a healthy scratch on Monday.

Prince appeared in the last eight games, but will come out of the lineup on Monday. The Islanders will go with seven defensemen with Travis Hamonic returning tonight, so Prince will head to the press box.

Source:
Arthur Staple 2016-11-14T10:21:10.000Z
Shane Prince
Scott Mayfield(D)|NYI
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Scott Mayfield from Bridgeport (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Mayfield, 24, has picked up one goal and one assists (two points) in 12 games with Bridgeport this season. Mayfield has picked up one goal in 11 career NHL games and he is expected to make his season debut tonight with Dennis Seidenberg (upper-body) out.

Source:
Shannon Hogan 2016-11-14T10:14:03.000Z
Scott Mayfield

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.