Call up / Send down
The Coyotes have assigned Kyle Capobianco to Tucson (AHL).
Capobianco, 20, has only appeared in one game with the Coyotes this season but has picked up 15 points (2G / 13A) in 25 games with the Roadrunners.
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Blues have recalled Jake Walman from Chicago (AHL).
Walman, 21, was a third-round pick (No.82 overall) in 2014 and has 13 points (2G / 11A) in 34 games with the Wolves this season. Walman will likely serve as an extra defenseman during the Blues’ short trip with Vince Dunn (illness) on IR.
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Colin White from Belleville (AHL).
White, 20, missed the start of the season after fracturing his wrist in the preseason. Upon returning to Belleville’s lineup, White collected 13 points (5G / 8A) in 27 games. Look for the 2015 No.21 overall pick to make his season debut on Saturday.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have sent Joonas Korpisalo to Cleveland (AHL).
The Blue Jackets had Friday and Saturday off, so Korpisalo heads to the AHL to get a start over the weekend. This suggests that Sergei Bobrovsky will get the start on Sunday, which comes at no surprise.
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have sent Filip Chlapik to Belleville (AHL).
Chlapik had one assist in six games during his call-up but with Zack Smith expected to return on Friday he returns to the AHL. The 2015 second-round pick has 15 points (6G / 9A) in 27 AHL games this season.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have sent Martin Marincin to Toronto (AHL).
Marincin has only appeared in two games with the Maple Leafs this season and with the their third pairing struggling, Toronto has swapped Marincin for former second-round pick Travis Dermott. Marincin returns to the AHL where he has seven points (2G / 5A) and a plus-13 rating in 18 games.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have recalled Travis Dermott from Toronto (AHL).
The Maple Leafs lack depth on the blueline so Dermott will get his first shot with the big club after collecting two goals and 15 assists (17 points) in 26 games with the Marlies this season. The 2015 second round pick (No.34 overall) has seven goals and 34 assists (41 points) in 85 career AHL regular season games. Look for him to make his NHL debut on Saturday.
Call up / Send down
The Flames have recalled Marek Hrivik from Stockton (AHL).
Hrivik, 26, has recorded 10 goals and 19 assists (29 points) in 28 games with Stockton this season. The former Ranger has just three assists in 21 career NHL games. He will take Freddie Hamilton’s spot on the Flames roster.
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have sent Anders Bjork to Providence (AHL).
Bjork had a nice start to the season, but has just 12 points (4G / 8A) through 28 games so he will head to Providence to work on his craft. He has never appeared in an AHL game after going straight from the University of Notre Dame to the NHL this fall.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have recalled Zac Dalpe from Cleveland (AHL).
Dalpe has scored two goals with seven assists (nine points) in 13 games with the Monsters this season. There is no word whether he will be in the lineup on Thursday, but he has no points in 10 NHL games this season.
Call up / Send down
The Avalanche have recalled Andrew Hammond from Belleville (AHL).
Hammond has gone 7-6-2 with a 3.44 GAA and .899 SV% in 17 games with the Belleville Senators this season. With Semyon Varlamov out with a lower-body injury, Hammond has been recalled to backup Jonathan Bernier for at least two games.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have sent Calvin Pickard to Toronto (AHL).
Pickard allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Maple Leafs loss in Colorado last Friday. He got the nod because Curtis McElhinney was hurt but with McElhinney back at practice today, Pickard returns to the Marlies where he is enjoying a strong year.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have recalled Frederik Gauthier from Toronto (AHL).
Gauthier has five goals and three assists (eight points) in 25 games with the Marlies this season. Gauthier is expected to make his season debut on Tuesday with Nazem Kadri not expected to be available. The 22-year-old former first-round pick has four points (2G / 2A) in 28 career NHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins sent Casey DeSmith to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
DeSmith came up to backup Tristan Jarry while Matt Murray was out for one-game, but with Murray back over the weekend, he returns to the AHL where he has gone 10-5-1 with a 2.72 GAA and .911 SV% in 17 games.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Dominik Simon from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Simon has two assists in six games with the Penguins this season. During his time in the AHL, the 23-year-old has collected 17 points (4G / 13A) in 21 games.
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have reassigned Steve Bernier to Bridgeport (AHL).
Bernier has a healthy scratch for three of the last four games and didn’t pick up a point in four games during his call-up. The veteran returns to the Sound Tigers, where he has 10 goals and four assists (14 points) in 21 games.
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have reassigned Anthony Beauvillier to Bridgeport (AHL).
Beauvillier has struggled in his second NHL season, picking up just four goals and three assists (seven points) in 31 games this season. Beauvillier has some work to do, so he will head back to Bridgeport for the time being.
Call up / Send down
The Islanders recalled Tanner Fritz from Bridgeport (AHL).
Fritz has 35 points (10G / 25 A) in 29 games with Bridgeport this season and could make his NHL debut this week. He will take Anthony Beauvillier’s spot on the Islanders roster.
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have recalled Maxim Mamin from Springfield (AHL).
Mamin, 22, has 15 points (6G / 9A) in 23 games with the Thunderbirds this season. Mamin comes up likely to serve as an extra forward and isn’t expected to draw into the Panthers lineup.
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.