NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Zach Sill(LW)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Capitals have recalled Zach Sill from Hershey (AHL).

With Marcus Johansson likely out on Tuesday, the Capitals have recalled Sill to fill-in. Sill has one goal in seven games with the Capitals and nine points (2G / 7A) in 35 games with Hershey this season.

Source:
Stephen Whyno 2016-02-01T19:19:15.000Z
Zach Sill
Scott Wilson(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Scott Wilson from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Wilson has just one assist in five games with the Penguins this season, but is tied for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lead in points with 36 (22G / 14A) in 34 games. He is expected to play on the Penguins fourth line on Tuesday.

Source:
Dave Molinari 2016-02-01T18:58:53.000Z
Scott Wilson
David Dziurzynski(LW)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Dave Dziurzynski from Binghamton (AHL).

Dziurzynski had three assists in 12 games with Senators earlier in the season and has 18 points (7G / 11A) in 31 games with Binghamton. He is expected to be back in the Sens’ lineup on Tuesday.

Source:
Bruce Garrioch 2016-02-01T18:48:34.000Z
David Dziurzynski
Jean-Francois Berube(G)|FLA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled J-F Berube from his conditioning stint with Bridgeport (AHL).

After missing three months with a lower-body injury, Berube went to Bridgeport on a conditioning stint, where he went 4-1-0 with a 1.25 GAA and .960 SV%. He had to be recalled because his conditioning stint was up, so he will likely be traded or put on waivers because the Islanders already have Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.

Source:
@NYIslanders 2016-02-01T18:48:18.000Z
Jean-Francois Berube
Joseph Blandisi(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Devils recalled Joseph Blandisi from Albany (AHL).

Blandisi skated on the Devils top line on Monday and is expected to be there in Tuesday’s game with Mike Cammalleri back on IR. Blandisi has one goal and five assists in 11 games with the Devils and 21 points (7G / 14A) in 24 AHL games.

Source:
Tom Gulitti 2016-02-01T18:38:47.000Z
Joseph Blandisi
Lucas Lessio(LW)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Canadiens have recalled Lucas Lessio from St. John’s (AHL).

Since being acquired from Arizona, Lessio has nine points (3G / 6A) in 18 games with St. John’s. There is no word whether or not he will make his Canadiens debut on Tuesday—he comes in with two goals and three assists in 29 career NHL games.

Source:
Stu Cowan 2016-02-01T18:39:30.000Z
Lucas Lessio
Griffin Reinhart(D)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Oilers have recalled Griffin Reinhart from Bakersfield (AHL).

Reinhart, 22, has split his time between the Oilers and Condors this season and has picked up one assist in 13 games with Edmonton and six points (1G / 5A) in 17 games with Bakersfield. Reinhart is expected to serve as the Oilers seventh defensemen on Tuesday.

Source:
Mark Spector 2016-02-01T18:39:42.000Z
Griffin Reinhart
Connor McDavid(C)|EDM
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
McDavid (clavicle) will return to the Oilers lineup on Tuesday vs. Columbus.

McDavid spent the NHL All-Star break practicing with Bakersfield (AHL) and is set to return to the Oilers lineup on Tuesday. McDavid has been been out with a broken clavicle since November 3rd and his much anticipated return will come tomorrow vs. the Blue Jackets. McDavid is a must-start in his return—he has 12 points (5G / 7A) in his first 13 NHL games.

Source:
Ryan Rishaug 2016-02-01T18:25:43.000Z
Connor McDavid
Ryan Murphy(RD)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Hurricanes have recalled Ryan Murphy from Charlotte (AHL).

After spending the start of the season with Carolina, Murphy has collected 16 points (5G / 11A) in 22 games with Charlotte this season. He has been recalled with Brett Pesce on IR and has recorded four assists in 18 NHL games.

Source:
Chip Alexander 2016-02-01T18:25:50.000Z
Ryan Murphy
Malcolm Subban(G)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have recalled Malcolm Subban from Providence (AHL).

Subban, 22, has gone 14-8-4 with a 2.45 GAA and .913 SV% with Providence this season. With Jonas Gustavsson (illness) on IR, Subban has been recalled to be Tuukka Rask’s backup. He allowed three goals on six shots in his NHL debut on February 20th, 2015.

Source:
Joe Haggerty 2016-02-01T18:26:14.000Z
Malcolm Subban

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.