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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Scott Harrington(D)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Scott Harrington from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Harrington, 22, did not record a point in 10 games with the Penguins this season. While in the minors he had 12 points (2G / 10A) in 48 games with WBS. Harrington or Brian Dumoulin are expected to play in game 1 with Derrick Pouliot banged up.

Source:
Seth Rorabaugh 2015-04-13T13:10:04.000Z
Scott Harrington
Brian Dumoulin(D)|LAK
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Brian Dumoulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Dumoulin, 23, had one goal in eight games with the Penguins this season. Pittsburgh has been forced to play with five defensemen recently because of cap issues, but with the absence of the salary cap in the playoffs allows the Penguins to recall Dumoulin for the postseason. Dumoulin scored four goals with 29 assists (33 points) in 62 games with WBS.

Source:
Seth Rorabaugh 2015-04-13T13:08:03.000Z
Brian Dumoulin
Griffin Reinhart(D)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Griffin Reinhart from Bridgeport (AHL).

Reinhart, 21, had one assist in eight games with the Islanders this season. He has seven goals and 15 assists (22 points) in 59 games with Bridgeport. He will likely serve as an extra defenseman in the playoffs.

Source:
@NYIslanders 2015-04-13T10:46:55.000Z
Griffin Reinhart
Jason LaBarbera(G)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have reportedly recalled Jason LaBarbera from Norfolk (AHL).

Labarbera has gone 2-0-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .909 SV% in five games with the Ducks this season. In his time in Norfolk he has gone 9-16-7 with a 2.62 GAA and .912 SV%. He will likely back-up Frederik Andersen tonight if John Gibson is not available.

Source:
Eric Stephens 2015-04-11T17:53:51.000Z
Jason LaBarbera
Kevin Poulin(G)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Islanders have recalled Kevin Poulin from Bridgeport (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Poulin, 24, has been recalled because Michal Neuvirth is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. With Jaroslav Halak starting last night, there is a chance that Poulin could make his second start of the season. He has gone 16-19-7 with a 2.84 GAA and .913 SV% in 43 games with Bridgeport this season.

Source:
@NYIslanders 2015-04-11T17:25:10.000Z
Kevin Poulin
Duncan Siemens(LD)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Avalanche recalled Duncan Siemens and he will make his NHL debut on Saturday.

Siemens, 21, was a first round pick (11th overall) in 2011. The 6-foot-3 blue liner has six assists in 51 games with Lake Erie (AHL) this season. He will make his debut on a pair with Tyson Barrie.

Source:
@Avalanche 2015-04-11T13:42:24.000Z
Duncan Siemens
Jordan Weal(C)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Kings have recalled Jordan Weal from Manchester (AHL).

Weal, 22, has 19 goals and 46 assists (65 points) in 70 games with Manchester this season. With the Kings out of the playoffs, Weal will likely make his NHL debut on Saturday. He was a third round pick (70th overall) in 2010.

Source:
Jon Rosen 2015-04-11T13:26:52.000Z
Jordan Weal
Mark Alt(RD)|FA
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled Mark Alt from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Alt, 23, made his NHL debut with the Flyers on March 28th, he was a minus-1 in just 9:25 TOI. His recall suggests that one of the Flyers blue liners is banged up and won’t play this afternoon.

Source:
@NHLFlyers 2015-04-11T10:55:41.000Z
Mark Alt
Jason Akeson(C)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled Jason Akeson from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Akeson, 24, has no points in 12 games with the Flyers this season, but will get into the lineup for the season finale with Vincent Lecavalier out of the lineup with a head injury. Akeson has collected 51 points (22G / 29A) in 53 games at Lehigh Valley.

Source:
@NHLFlyers 2015-04-11T10:54:18.000Z
Jason Akeson
Alexey Marchenko(D)|
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have recalled Alexey Marchenko from Grand Rapids (AHL).

Marchenko, 23, has one goal and one assist in 12 games with the Red Wings this season. He has spent a lot of time in Grand Rapids, posting 20 points (3G / 17A) in 51 games this season. He is expected to get into the lineup on Saturday to give someone a rest.

Source:
@DetroitRedWings 2015-04-10T15:14:02.000Z
Alexey Marchenko
Connor Hellebuyck(G)|WPG
Call up / Send down
Call up / Send down
The Jets have recalled Connor Hellebuyck from St. John's (AHL).

Hellebuyck, 21, has gone 28-22-5 with a 2.58 GAA and .921 SV% in 58 games in his first season with St. John’s. He could make his NHL debut on Saturday to give Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec the day off, or he might just be here as the third goalie heading into the playoffs.

Source:
Paul Friesen 2015-04-10T13:10:40.000Z
Connor Hellebuyck

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.