NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Nikolai Kovalenko(RW)|SJS
Call Up
Call Up
Kovalenko has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL).

The 24-year-old Kovalenko made his NHL debut with the Avalanche this season but has struggled adapting to the North American rink after being dominant in the KHL the past several seasons. In his past two campaigns with the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo (KHL), Kovalenko scored 89 points (32G / 57A) in 98 games.

Source:
Colorado Avalanche 2024-10-16T15:11:37.632Z
Nikolai Kovalenko
Mads Sogaard(G)|OTT
Call Up
Call Up
Sogaard has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).

Sogaard's second call-up this week might indicate that Linus Ullmark (muscle strain) is not ready to return to the crease yet. The 23-year-old Sogaard was a last-minute emergency call-up on Monday and opened the contest against the Los Angeles Kings by backing up Anton Forsberg. Sogaard entered in relief of Forsberg midway through the game and allowed four goals on 17 shots (.765 SV%) but salvaged an 8-7 overtime victory.

Source:
Sens Communications 2024-10-16T14:21:50.112Z
Mads Sogaard
Adam Gaudette(RW)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Gaudette has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).

Gaudette drew into Ottawa's lineup on Monday due to a Ridly Greig injury and has been recalled again, an indication that Greig may not be ready to return to the lineup. Gaudette recorded an assist in 5:36 time-on-ice in Ottawa's exhilarating 8-7 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Source:
Sens Communications 2024-10-16T14:20:06.228Z
Adam Gaudette
Max McCue(C)|CBJ
Send Down
Send Down
McCue (undisclosed) has been activated from the Injured/Non-Roster list and loaned to Cleveland (AHL).

McCue will begin the season with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL) after being activated from Injured Reserve. The 21-year-old McCue was a fifth-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and is making his professional debut this season after tallying 61 points (27G / 34A) in 62 games with the London Knights (OHL) in 2023-24.

Source:
Blue Jackets PR 2024-10-15T19:02:05.940Z
Max McCue
Austin Watson(LW)|DET
Send Down
Send Down
Watson has been assigned to Grand Rapids (AHL).

Watson only saw 4:54 TOI in his only appearance for the Red Wings and has been reassigned to Grand Rapids (AHL) on Tuesday. The 32-year-old signed a one-year contract with Detroit after a successful PTO during training camp. He'll return to Grand Rapids, where he had three assists and seven PIMs in two games prior to his call-up.

Source:
Detroit Red Wings 2024-10-15T17:49:33.697Z
Austin Watson
Justin Holl(D)|DET
Send Down
Send Down
Holl has been reassigned to Grand Rapids (AHL).

After a brief two-game appearance, Justin Holl has been reassigned to Grand Rapids (AHL) after picking up an assist and two PIMs with the Red Wings. The 32-year-old defensemen will return to Grand Rapids likely as a paper move and is expected to return to Detroit for their game on Thursday. If he does appear in a game for Grand Rapids, it will be his first AHL experience since 2017-18.

Source:
Detroit Red Wings 2024-10-15T18:06:28.725Z
Justin Holl
Nikolai Kovalenko(RW)|SJS
Send Down
Send Down
Kovalenko has been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL).

The 24-year-old Kovalenko made his NHL debut with the Avalanche this season but has struggled adapting to the North American rink after being dominant in the KHL the past several seasons. In his past two campaigns with the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo (KHL), Kovalenko scored 89 points (32G / 57A) in 98 games.

Source:
Colorado Avalanche 2024-10-15T16:18:30.220Z
Nikolai Kovalenko
Mads Sogaard(G)|OTT
Send Down
Send Down
Sogaard has been loaned to the Belleville Senators (AHL).

Sogaard was a last-minute emergency call-up on Monday and opened the contest against the Los Angeles Kings by backing up Anton Forsberg. Sogaard entered in relief of Forsberg midway through the game and allowed four goals on 17 shots (.765 SV%) but salvaged an 8-7 overtime victory. His reassignment to Belleville (AHL) indicates that Linus Ullmark (strain) is likely nearing his return from a one-game absence.

Source:
Sens Communications 2024-10-15T15:21:22.909Z
Mads Sogaard
Alex Petrovic(RD)|DAL
Call Up
Call Up
Petrovic has been recalled from Texas (AHL).

Petrovic has only played one regular season NHL game in the last five years but had an impact in seven playoff games with Dallas this past postseason. His call-up to Dallas could coincide with the injury of Matt Dumba (lower body). Dumba did not play on Sunday and was replaced in the lineup by Brendan Smith.

Source:
Dallas Stars 2024-10-15T14:11:23.624Z
Alex Petrovic
Ville Husso(G)|FA
Send Down
Send Down
Husso has cleared waivers and been assigned to Grand Rapids (AHL).

Three days after allowing four goals on 14 shots (.714 SV%) in the Red Wings' season opener, Ville Husso was placed on waivers. The 29-year-old carries a $4.75 million cap hit this season and is expected to be sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) after clearing waivers on Monday.

Source:
Elliotte Friedman 2024-10-14T18:14:19.255Z
Ville Husso
Travis Boyd(C)|FA
Send Down
Send Down
Boyd has been reassigned to Iowa (AHL).

Boyd was recalled by Minnesota several days ago after Joel Eriksson Ek suffered a broken nose but has been reassigned to Iowa (AHL) with Eriksson Ek's impending return on Tuesday against the St. Louis Blues. The 31-year-old Boyd, a veteran of 296 NHL games, did not draw into the lineup for Minnesota and has two points (1G / 1A) in one game with Iowa (AHL) this season.

Source:
Minnesota Wild PR 2024-10-14T15:41:11.507Z
Travis Boyd
Mads Sogaard(G)|OTT
Call Up
Call Up
Sogaard has been recalled from Belleville (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Despite Senators head coach Travis Green referring to Linus Ullmark's absence from practice on Sunday as a "maintenance day," Sogard was recalled from the Belleville Senators (AHL) on an emergency basis. The 23-year-old Sogard was off to a terrific start with Belleville, posting a 0.92 GAA and .964 SV% after one game (1-0-0). That said, if Ullmark is unable to play, Ottawa will likely turn to Anton Forsberg between the pipes on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Source:
Sens Communications 2024-10-14T14:20:07.808Z
Mads Sogaard
Travis Boyd(C)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Boyd has been recalled from Iowa (AHL).

With Joel Eriksson Ek (upper-body) not travelling with the Wild on their upcoming seven day road trip, Travis Boyd has been recalled from Iowa (AHL) to provide some offensive depth. The 31-year-old appeared in 16 games with Arizona in 2023-24, scoring two goals, eight points and a +3 plus/minus.

Source:
Michael Russo 2024-10-13T16:43:51.722Z
Travis Boyd

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.