NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Dominic Toninato(C)|FA
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Toninato has cleared waivers and has been reassigned to Manitoba (AHL).

Toninato has cleared waivers for the second time this season and will be reassigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL, a move designed to create space for David Gustafsson, who has been activated off IR. In 15 games this season, the 29-year-old Toninato has four points (1G / 4A) while averaging 10:11 time-on-ice.

Source:
Ken Wiebe 2024-02-12T19:10:45.816Z
Dominic Toninato
Jiri Patera(G)|VAN
Call Up
Call Up
Patera has been recalled from Hendersen (AHL) on Monday.

Patera was recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) on Monday as Logan Thompson is battling an illness and is unable to suit up. Patera has played five games with Vegas this season but has spent most of his time with Henderson, posting a 3.08 GAA and .903 SV% in 17 games (7-7-3).

Source:
Vegas Golden Knights 2024-02-12T18:59:43.020Z
Jiri Patera
Jett Woo(D)|VAN
Call Up
Call Up
Woo has been recalled from Abbotsford (AHL).

With Carson Soucy (hand) being placed on IR, Vancouver recalled Woo from Abbotsford (AHL). Woo was the 37th overall pick of the Canucks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but has yet to play a game at the NHL level. The 23-year-old defender has 16 points (5G / 11A) in 42 games with Abbotsford.

Source:
Vancouver Canucks 2024-02-12T17:36:36.376Z
Jett Woo
Mark Jankowski(C)|CAR
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Call Up
Jankowski was recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Monday.

Jankowski was recalled along with Egor Afanasyev on Monday in moves corresponding to Philip Tomasino being reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). The 29-year-old Jankowski has 324 NHL games under his belt but has spent the majority of the 2023-24 campaign with Milwaukee in the AHL, scoring an impressive 47 points (15G / 32A) in 42 games.

Source:
Nick Kieser 2024-02-12T16:19:32.631Z
Mark Jankowski
Egor Afanasyev(LW)|SJS
Call Up
Call Up
Afanasyev has been recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Monday.

Afanasyev was recalled along with Mark Jankowski on Monday in moves corresponding to Philip Tomasino being reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). Afanasyev was the 45th overall pick of the Predators in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and has been enjoying a terrific season at the AHL level, scoring 42 points (21G / 21A) in 42 games.

Source:
Nick Kieser 2024-02-12T16:16:55.437Z
Egor Afanasyev
Philip Tomasino(C)|PIT
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Tomasino has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL) on Monday.

Tomasino has been reassigned to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL as Egor Afanasyev and Mark Jankowski were recalled in adjacent moves. Before scoring three points (2G / 1A) in his last three games, Tomasino was limited to only three points (1G / 2A) in his previous 12 and has failed to translate his pedigree from being Nashville's first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft to the NHL level this season.

Source:
Nick Kieser 2024-02-12T16:14:23.002Z
Philip Tomasino
Simon Benoit(D)|TOR
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Call Up
Benoit has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).

The Maple Leafs do not appear to have anyone noticeably injured so Beniot's recall may be due to precautionary reasons but nonetheless, he finds himself back up with the Maple Leafs after the All-Star break. The 25-year-old signed a one-year minimum contract in the offseason but has been useful for Toronto, with two points (1G/1A), 34 SOG, 33 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus through 35 games this season.

Source:
Maple Leafs PR 2024-02-09T22:31:35.751Z
Simon Benoit
Lucas Condotta(LW)|MON
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Condotta has been loaned to the Laval Rocket (AHL).

Condotta played the last three games for the Canadiens and was held without a point while firing four shots on goal. Condotta had 16 goals, 14 assists, 61 PIMs and a +1 plus/minus in 71 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL) last season. The 25-year-old joined the Canadiens as an undrafted free agent in 2021-22 after finishing school at UMass-Lowell (NCAA).

Source:
Montreal Canadiens 2024-02-09T20:05:55.213Z
Lucas Condotta
Dustin Wolf(G)|CAL
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Call Up
Wolf has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).

With Dan Vladar being placed on IR with a lower-body injury, the Flames have recalled Wolf from the Wranglers (AHL). Wolf has played five games with the Flames this season, but most of his heavy lifting has been done with the Wranglers, where he has been sensational this season, posting a 2.27 GAA and .927 SV% in 28 games (18-7-2).

Source:
Calgary Flames 2024-02-09T17:35:37.685Z
Dustin Wolf
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby(LW)|FA
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Jonsson-Fjallby has cleared waivers and been loaned to Manitoba (AHL).

With newcomer Sean Monahan joining the Jets and Mark Scheifele being activated from IR, Jonsson-Fjallby was placed on waivers Tuesday and will report to the Manitoba Moose (AHL). In 26 games this season, the 25-year-old Jonsson-Fjallby has five points (2G / 3A), 23 shots, and 28 hits while averaging 8:07 time-on-ice.

Source:
Winnipeg Jets PR 2024-02-08T19:18:27.127Z
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby
Alex Turcotte(C)|LAK
Call Up
Call Up
Turcotte has been recalled from Ontario (AHL) on Thursday.

Turcotte was reassigned to the Ontario Reign of the AHL in correspondence with the All-Star and, after being recalled on Thursday, will likely draw back into the lineup in the Kings' first game back. In his last outing, Turcotte scored two points (1G / 1A) while playing 10:02 time-on-ice.

Source:
Russell Morgan 2024-02-08T18:06:50.226Z
Alex Turcotte
Calle Rosen(D)|FA
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Call Up
Rosen has been recalled from Springfield (AHL).

Rosen spent 49 games with the Blues last season, tallying 18 points (8G / 10A), but has spent the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. In 44 games with the Thunderbirds this season, the 30-year-old Rosen has 25 points (2G / 23A).

Source:
St. Louis Blues 2024-02-08T15:14:49.061Z
Calle Rosen
Sheldon Rempal(RW)|FA
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Rempal has been reassigned to Henderson (AHL).

Rempal has been limited to only 16 career NHL games but has been a solid contributor at the AHL level, scoring 163 points in 166 games over the past three seasons. The undrafted 28-year-old played four games with the Golden Knights last month and was held off the scoresheet in each contest.

Source:
Vegas Golden Knights 2024-02-07T20:34:15.201Z
Sheldon Rempal

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.