Call up / Send down
Halak has cleared waivers and been sent to Bridgeport (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have sent Kyle Rau to Springfield (AHL).
Rau, 24, has played in 24 games with the Panthers this season, registering just two goals and one assist. He will swap places with Greg McKegg and heads back to Springfield, where he has no points in two games.
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have recalled Greg McKegg from Springfield (AHL).
McKegg, 24, has registered four points (2G / 2A) in seven games with Springfield this season. In the 19 games he’s played with the Panthers, the former third round pick has two assists.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have recalled Andrew Copp from Manitoba (AHL).
Copp was sent down on Wednesday but did not get into a game with the Moose. With Marko Dano getting hurt last night and being placed on IR this afternoon, Copp is back with the Jets, where he has four goals and three assists (seven points) in 25 games this season.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Justin Bailey from Rochester (AHL).
Bailey, 21, has no points in two games with the Sabres, but has scored 13 goals with nine assists (22 points) in 31 AHL contests. Will Carrier was hurt on Thursday, so Bailey has been recalled and will likely draw into the lineup on Saturday.
Call up / Send down
The Lightning have recalled Yanni Gourde from Syracuse (AHL).
Gourde, 25, appeared in two games with the Lightning last season, but this is his first call-up of 2016-17. Gourde has 10 goals and 16 assists (26 points) in 29 games with Syracuse. He could make his season debut tonight with Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point both leaving last night’s game with injuries.
Call up / Send down
The Lightning have recalled Erik Condra from Syracuse (AHL).
Condra has been up and down between the NHL and AHL frequently this season. The veteran winger has no points in seven games with the Lightning, but 19 points (5G / 14A) in 21 games with Syracuse. He could draw into the lineup tonight with Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point both leaving Wednesday’s game with injuries.
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have recalled Michael Sgarbossa from Springfield (AHL).
Sgarbossa was traded from Anaheim to Florida earlier this season. He had two assists in nine games with the Ducks and has picked up 12 points (4G / 8A) in 14 games with Springfield since the trade. With Aleksander Barkov out, Sgarbossa could make his Panthers’ debut tonight.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have recalled Brandon Montour from San Diego (AHL).
Montour, 22, was a second round pick in 2014 (55th overall) and could make his NHL debut during the Ducks’ two-game road trip. He has been called up because Sami Vatanen is sick and will not be available on Thursday or Friday. Montour has seven goals and 14 assists (21 points) in 25 games with San Diego this season.
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have sent Brian Lashoff to Grand Rapids (AHL).
Lashoff has been a healthy scratch for the last six games, so he will return to Grand Rapids to get in some game action. Lashoff has one goal and two assists in 18 games with the Griffins.
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have sent Tyler Bertuzzi to Grand Rapids (AHL).
Bertuzzi has been sidelined since November 26th, but recently resumed skating and will return to Grand Rapids to get some playing time. Bertuzzi has six points (3G / 3A) in 10 games with the Griffins this season.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have reassigned Branndon Tanev to Manitoba (AHL).
Tanev, 24, has two goals and two assists (four points) in 35 games with the Jets this season. With the Jets getting healthier, Tanev has been a healthy scratch of the last two games and will head down to Manitoba.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have reassigned Andrew Copp to Manitoba (AHL).
Copp, 22, has seven points (4G / 3A) in 25 games with the Jets since being recalled from Manitoba on November 2nd. The former fourth round pick (104th overall in 2013) returns to the Moose where he has five assists in eight games.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have loaned Jhonas Enroth to Toronto (AHL).
The Maple Leafs have sent Enroth back to the Marlies in order to activate Tyler Bozak (lower-body) from IR. Enroth allowed three goals on 27 shots in a win in his only start with the Marlies.
Call up / Send down
The Lightning have recalled Matthew Peca from Syracuse (AHL).
Peca, 23, was a seventh round pick (201st overall) in 2011 and is expected to make his NHL debut on Wednesday. Peca has registered 17 points (5G / 12A) in 28 games with Syracuse this season. Peca is skating with Michael Bournival and J.T. Brown at the Lightning morning skate.
Call up / Send down
The Canadiens have recalled Ryan Johnston from St. John’s (AHL)
Johnston, 24, has picked up one goal and six assists (seven points) in 23 games with St. John’s this season. Andrei Markov will miss the Canadiens’ three-game road-trip before the New Year, so Johnston will travel with the team, but will likely serve as an extra defenseman.
Call up / Send down
The Devils have recalled Yohann Auvitu from Albany (AHL).
Auvutu has two goals and two assists in 23 games with the Devils this season. The 27-year-old French blueliner had one assist in five games with Albany before being called back up on Tuesday morning.
Call up / Send down
The Wild have recalled Jordan Schroeder from Iowa (AHL).
Schroeder was sent to Iowa over the Christmas break, but returns to Minnesota and should be in the lineup on Tuesday. He has one goal in four games with Minnesota and another 18 points (6G / 12A) in 25 AHL games.
Call up / Send down
The Stars have recalled Jason Dickinson from Texas (AHL).
Dickinson, 21, made his NHL debut on December 8th and has 14 points (4G / 10A) in 19 games with Texas this season. Expect him to draw into the lineup on Tuesday with Antoine Roussel on IR.
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have recalled Dalton Prout from his conditioning stint with Cleveland (AHL).
Prout had two assists in seven games with Cleveland during his conditioning stint. He returns to the Blue Jackets, where he will likely serve as an extra defenseman.
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.