Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have assigned Kent Simpson to Rockford (AHL).
Simpson only 20 minutes of NHL action while with the Blackhawks. He relieved Antti Raanta on December 14, he allowed two goals on seven shots.
NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have recalled Jason LaBarbera from Rockford (AHL).
LaBarbera was acquired from the Oilers on December 14 and will likely serve as Antti Raanta's backup until Corey Crawford is healthy. Even when Crawford is healthy LaBarbera could stay with the club if they want Raanta to get more playing time in Rockford.
Call up / Send down
The Wild have recalled Johan Gustafsson from Iowa (AHL).
With Josh Harding going on injured reserve, Gustafsson has been recalled to serve as Niklas Backstrom's backup while Harding is out. Gustafsson has never played a game in the NHL and is in his first season with Iowa. He is 4-4-0 with a 2.95 GAA and .898 SV% in nine games.
Call up / Send down
Leafs recall Smithson.
Smithson is replacing Trevor Smith's spot on the roster but will have little fantasy significance.
Call up / Send down
The #RedWings have recalled Jordin Tootoo from @griffinshockey.
Tootoo is not expected to have any fantasy relevance.
Call up / Send down
The Penguins have recalled Brian Gibbons from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Gibbons has nine goals and 18 assists (27 points) in 23 games in the AHL. He appeared in his first five NHL games earlier this season, Gibbons totalled one goal and one assist.
Call up / Send down
The Stars have recalled defenseman Cameron Gaunce from Texas (AHL).
Gaunce, 23, has skated in 28 games for Texas this season, earning seven points (1G / 6A) and 25 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound defenseman has played 11 career NHL games, all with the Colorado Avalanche, collecting one goal and 16 penalty minutes. Originally selected by Colorado in the second-round (50th overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft, Gaunce was acquired by Dallas via trade from Colorado in exchange for forward Tomas Vincour on April 2, 2013.
Call up / Send down
Jeremy Smith has been assigned to Springfield (AHL).
Smith did not appear in a game during his call-up. His assignment to the AHL means that Curtis McElhinney is good to return after missing the last two games.
Call up / Send down
Jack Skille has been recalled from the American Hockey League’s Springfield Falcons.
Skille, 26, has tallied two goals, two penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating in seven appearances with Columbus. He has also recorded two goals and one assist and a plus-1 rating in six games with Springfield.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have recalled Eric O'Dell from St. John's (AHL).
O'Dell was the 39th overall pick in 2008 and has spent the last three years in the AHL. O'Dell has 12 goals and 17 assists (29 points) in 28 games with St. John's. He could make his NHL debut tonight against the Sabres.
Call up / Send down
The Washington Capitals have recalled center Casey Wellman from the Hershey Bears (AHL).
Wellman, 26, has appeared in 23 games for the Bears this season, registering 13 points (seven goals, six assists) and four penalty minutes. The 6’0”, 183-pound center recorded a hat trick against Charlotte on Nov. 14 and ranks tied for first among Hershey skaters in goals (7) and third on the team in points (13).
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Kevin Porter from Rochester (AHL).
Porter has registered no points in nine games with the Sabres during a call-up earlier in the season. While in Rochester he had six goals and four assists in 13 games.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have recalled Chad Ruhwedel from Rochester (AHL).
Ruhwedel is a 23-year-old defenseman who is in his first season with Rochester. He has recorded four goals and 10 assists with a plus-2 rating in 26 games. He appeared in seven games with the Sabres last season but failed to register a point.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Brayden McNabb to Rochester (AHL).
McNabb shuffled in and out of the Sabres lineup playing in five of a possible 10 games during his call-up. He failed to record a point and had an EVEN rating while averaging 16:12 TOI.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Luke Adam to Rochester (AHL).
Adam served as a healthy scratch on Saturday but had appeared in the previous nine games. He registered one goal and zero assists during his time with the Sabres. Kevin Porter has been recalled to take his place on the roster.
Call up / Send down
The Sabres have sent Mark Pysyk to Rochester (AHL).
Pysyk had no goals and four assists with a minus-11 rating in 31 games with the Sabres this season. He was a healthy scratch on Saturday and will be replaced by Chad Ruhwedel who is coming up from Rochester.
Call up / Send down
The Blackhawks have sent Jeremy Morin to Rockford (AHL).
Morin skated in 15 games with the Blackhawks recording one goal and four assists and a plus-2 rating. He has been reassigned with Bryan Bickell being activated from IR. He returns to Rockford where he has six goals and 12 points in 13 games.
Call up / Send down
The Bruins have recalled forward Craig Cunningham from Providence on an emergency basis.
Cunningham has skated in 27 games this season with Providence, notching nine goals (third on the team) and five assists for 14 points. The winger has skated in a total of 178 games with the Providence Bruins from 2010-13, accruing 54 goals and 42 assists for 96 points. Prior to joining the P-Bruins, the 23-year-old played in total of 330 games in the WHL (Western Hockey League) between his time with Vancouver Giants (2006-11) and the Portland Winterhawks (2010-11).
Call up / Send down
The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Harry Zolnierczyk from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Zolnierczyk, 26, is in his third stint of the season with the Penguins. He was scoreless in three regular-season contests earlier in the year. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Zolnierczyk has scored a team-leading (tied) 10 goals in 21 games with WBS this season. He has added four helpers for a total of 14 points. He has appeared in 47 career NHL games with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, totaling seven points (3G-4A) and 71 penalty minutes.
Call up / Send down
The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled defenseman Philip Samuelsson from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Samuelsson was the 61st overall pick in 2009 and this marks the first time that he has been recalled to the NHL in his career. This season he has totaled six assists and a plus-3 in 26 AHL games with WBS. He will fill the void left by the large number of injuries on the Penguins blueline.
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.