Call up / Send down
The Rangers have recalled J.T Miler on an emergency basis.
Miller could suit up this evening with Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan battling the flu.
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Call up / Send down
The Blue Jackets have recalled defenseman Tim Erixon from Springfield (AHL).
Erixon, 23, has scored five goals and dished out 28 assists for 33 points in 36 games with Springfield in 2013-14. He leads all Falcons defensemen in assists and points. The 6-2, 200-pound blueliner has also skated in two games with Columbus this season, recording one blocked shot, one hit and one shot on goal in 28:41 of action.
Call up / Send down
The Stars announced that forward Chris Mueller has been reassigned to Texas.
Mueller, 28, has posted seven shots in eight games for Dallas this season. The 5-foot-11, 210-pound forward leads Texas with 14 power play goals this season and ranks fourth overall in points with 54 (24G / 30A) in 58 games played in the AHL.
Call up / Send down
The Stars have recalled forward Dustin Jeffrey from Texas (AHL).
Jeffrey, 26, has earned 10 points (4G / 6A) and a plus-6 rating in 21 games for Texas this season. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound forward has skated in 22 NHL games with Dallas and Pittsburgh this season, recording two assists.
Call up / Send down
The Flyers have recalled Tye McGinn from Adirondack (AHL).
McGinn has three goals in eight games with the Flyers this season. While in the AHL he has recorded 20 goals and 15 assists (35 points) in 54 games. He has been recalled with Steve Downie day-to-day and Michael Raffl banged up.
Call up / Send down
The Red Wings have sent Teemu Pulkkinen back to Grand Rapids (AHL).
Pulkkinen shuffled in and out of the lineup during his first recall. In total he played three of five games, registering no points, two penalty minutes and four shots on goal. He has a rocket from the point on the power-play, and should be a solid scorer in a few years.
Call up / Send down
The Wild have recalled Jon Blum from Iowa (AHL).
Blum will slide into the lineup tonight in Detroit because Clayton Stoner did not make the trip after suffering an injury yesterday. Blum has no points in his first four games with the Wild this season. However, in Iowa he has seven goals and 22 assists (29 points) which is tied for second on the team in scoring.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have recalled Filip Forsberg from Milwaukee (AHL).
Forsberg has five points (1G / 4A) in 12 games with the Predators this season. While in Milwaukee he has 10 goals and 17 assists (27 points) in 36 games. He is expected to skate on a line with Colton Sissons and Richard Clune tonight in Chicago.
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Mark Stone from Binghamton (AHL).
Stone has one goal and one assist in seven games with the Senators this season. While with Binghamton he has 38 points (15G / 23A) in 35 games. He has been recalled with Bobby Ryan questionable for Monday's game in Tampa Bay.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have sent Peter Holland to Toronto (AHL).
Holland has tallied five goals and five assists in 38 games since coming to Toronto. He goes down with Carter Ashton to clear cap space for Dave Bolland to be activated from IR.
Call up / Send down
The Maple Leafs have reassigned Carter Ashton to Toronto (AHL).
Moving Ashton back to the minors opens up the roster spot needed to activate Dave Bolland from IR.
Call up / Send down
The Jets have sent John Albert back to St. John's (AHL).
Albert only suited up for one game during his most recent call-up. He was injured in that game and with Jim Slater ready to return, Albert returns to the AHL.
Call up / Send down
The Flames have sent Joni Ortio back to Abbotsford (AHL).
His return is not performance based, but is mandated by the CBA. The Flames can recall him and send Joey MacDonald back to the AHL, but will burn one of their recalls after the trade deadline. Ortio was 4-4-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .891 SV% with the Flames.
Call up / Send down
The Predators have recalled Calle Jarnkrok form Milwaukee (AHL).
Jarnkrok, who was acquired from the Red Wings at the trade deadline in a deal that sent veteran David Legwand to Detroit, is expected to make his NHL debut on Friday. Jarnkrok's recall was prompted by an upper-body injury to Paul Gaustad. Jarnkrok earned the recall after scoring five goals with two assists (seven points) in his first five games with Milwaukee. He is expected to centre Gabriel Bourque and Craig Smith.
Call up / Send down
Bennett (wrist) will be assigned to Wikes-Barre/Scranton for a conditioning assignment start Saturday.
Bennett has been skating with the Penguins lately, but will need some AHL game action before returning to the Penguins lineup. Bennett has missed four months with a wrist injury that he called "fluky". Expect Bennett to play two or three games with the Baby Penguins.
Call up / Send down
Teravainen was officially recalled from Jokerit of SM-Liija in Finland, as the Blackhawks prepare to host the Carolina Hurricanes Friday.
It is very unlikely that Teravainen will be in the lineup on Friday, but with the injury to Patrick Kane (knee), it definitely opens the door for the talented Finn to potentially move into a top-6 role relatively quickly. He is undersized, but tremendously skilled, something other NHL teams probably don't think the Blackhawks need.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have recalled Emerson Etem from Norfolk (AHL).
With Cam Fowler and Nick Bonino out with injuries, the Ducks have recalled Etem and Rickard Rakell. Etem has registered seven goals and four assists (11 points) in 28 games with the Ducks this season. While with Norfolk he has 42 points (16G / 26A) in 39 games.
Call up / Send down
The Ducks have recalled Rickard Rakell from Norfolk (AHL).
With Cam Fowler and Nick Bonino out with injuries, the Ducks have recalled Rakell along with Emerson Etem. Rakell, 20, has one assist in nine games with the Ducks this season. While in the AHL he has tallied 14 goals and 23 assists (37 points) in 46 games.
Call up / Send down
The Senators have recalled Andrew Hammond from Binghamton (AHL).
With Craig Anderson (undisclosed) still not ready to suit up tonight, Hammond has been recalled. There is no word on if the Senators pan to start him tonight, or stick with the struggling Robin Lehner.
Call up / Send down
The Oilers have recalled Steve MacIntyre from Oklahoma City (AHL).
MacIntyre has been recalled because Matt Hendricks and Nail Yakupov are both questionable for Thursday.
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.