Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Johan Larsson to Rochester (AHL).
Larsson had three assists in seven games during his call-up. He totalled four assists in 28 games this season.
NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Johan Sundstrom from Bridgeport (AHL).
Sundstrom was just sent back to the AHL on Tuesday, but is back in advance of Thursday's game in Montreal.
Call up / Send down
The Lightning have recalled Kristers Gudlevskis from Syracuse (AHL).
With Ben Bishop out with a wrist injury, Gudlevskis has been recalled and will serve as Anders Lindback's backup on Thursday. He has gone 18-11-4 with a 2.68 GAA and .901 SV%. You may remember the 21-year-old's name after his incredible night in goal vs. Team Canada in Sochi.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have reassigned Nicolas Deslauriers to Rochester (AHL).
Deslauriers averaged 13:10 TOI and scored one goal with a minus-9 rating in 16 games with the Sabres. He heads back to the AHL where he had 39 points (18G / 21A) in 60 games with Manchester. He has not suited up for the Rochester Americans after being acquired at the deadline from L.A.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have sent Andrew Ebbett to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Ebbett, 31, has played in nine games with Pittsburgh this season, collecting one assist. He has 37 points (15G / 27A) in 40 AHL games with WBS. He has been sent back to clear a roster spot for Kris Letang (stroke) who returns tonight.
Call up / Send down
The Sharks have recalled Bracken Kearns from Worcester (AHL).
Kearns has recorded three goals, one assist and six penalty minutes in 22 games this season with San Jose. He has recorded 25 points (6G / 19A) and 72 penalty minutes in 45 games with Worcester and ranks fifth in scoring on the team.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have recalled Carter Ashton from Toronto (AHL).
Ashton has been recalled and will likely play with Nazem Kadri and David Clarkson tonight with Dave Bolland likely out. Ashton has three assists in 31 games with the Leafs this season and is still searching for his first NHL goal. Tonight, will mark his 47th career NHL game and it will come against the team that drafted him 29th overall in 2009.
Call up / Send down
Vokoun (blod clot) has been assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment.
Vokoun has not played all season after having surgery for a blood clot in his pelvis in September. It is unlikely that Vokoun will play any part in the Penguins' playoff run, but this is great news for Vokoun.
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Brett Gallant from Bridgeport (AHL).
Gallant will make his NHL debut on Tuesday. Gallant is certainly known more for his fists than his hands. He has two points (1G / 1A) with 245 penalty minutes in 56 games with Bridgeport this season. This was his second consecutive season with 200-plus PIMs.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have reassigned Luke Adam to Rochester (AHL).
Adam played around 13 minutes in two games during his call-up. He recorded two shots and an EVEN plus/minus rating. He will return to the AHL because Marcus Foligno is set to return to the Sabres' lineup.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Mark Pysyk from Rochester (AHL).
Pysyk, 22, has registered six points (1G / 5A) in 42 games with the Sabres this season. While in the AHL, Pysyk has picked up 12 points (1G / 11A) in 27 games. He will play tonight if Christian Ehrhoff (ear) is unable to suit up.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Andrey Makarov from Rochester (AHL).
Makarov will serve as Matt Hackett's backup tonight vs. the Red Wings. Makarov spent most of this year with the Fort Wayne Comets of the ECHL, but with all the injuries to Sabres' goaltenders, he has made it through the system quickly. He is 3-3-0 with a 2.70 GAA and .912 SV% in six games with Rochester.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have sent Colton Sissons back to Milwaukee (AHL).
Sissons had one goal and three assists in 17 games with the Predators. With Paul Gaustad returning to the Predators lineup on Saturday, Sissons has been returned to the AHL.
Call up / Send down
The Rangers have recalled Jesper Fast from Hartford (AHL).
Fast has no points in eight games with the Rangers this season. He made the team at the start of the year, but was sent back and this is his first recall. He has recorded 17 goals and 17 assists (34 points) in 48 games with Hartford.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have recalled Carl Klingberg from St. John's (AHL).
Klingberg has not played for the Jets since the 2011-12 season, but has recorded 38 points (20G / 18A) in 62 games with St. John's this season. He has been recalled to fill-in for Dustin Byfuglien (upper-body) tonight.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Adam Payerl from WIlkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Payerl, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound forward, will be looking to make his NHL debut later today when the Penguins face the Colorado Avalanche. Payerl, 23, skated in two preseason games with Pittsburgh, collecting five penalty minutes. He has played in 38 AHL regular-season games with WBS, scoring three goals, six assists, nine points and 36 penalty minutes. Payerl missed two-plus months due to an upper-body injury.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins recalled Andrew Ebbett from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Ebbett has one assist in seven games with the Penguins this season. While with the Baby Penguins, Ebbett has totalled 37 points (12G / 25A) in 40 games. He will be in the lineup tonight with Jussi Jokinen sidelined.
Call up / Send down
The Panthers have sent Scott Clemmensen to the AHL.
Clemmensen allowed four goals on 40 shots in his only start during his recall. He was sent back after Roberto Luongo returned to the crease on Friday. Tuesday's start was likely his last as a Florida Panther.
Call up / Send down
The Lightning recalled Andrej Sustr and he will play Saturday.
Sustr, 23, has seven assists in 38 games with the Lightning this season. After he was sent down Sustr picked up one goal and two assists in 12 games with Syracuse (AHL).
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have sent Ryan Spooner back to Providence (AHL).
Spooner did not get into a game during his recall.
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.