NHL Transactions & Roster Moves

Isaiah Saville(G)|VGK
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The Golden Knights reassigned Saville to Henderson (AHL).

Saville will rejoin the AHL's Silver Knights now that Adin Hill and Logan Thompson are both finally back healthy for the Golden Knights. Saville has posted a respectable .913 SV% in eight games with Henderson this season, though he's yet to see any game action with the Golden Knights.

Source:
@GoldenKnights 2024-01-25T03:00:26.156Z
Isaiah Saville
Jake Leschyshyn(C)|NYR
Call Up
Call Up
Leschyshyn has been recalled from Hartford (AHL).

Leschyshyn had four goals, three assists, and 10 PIMs in 16 games with Hartford (AHL) this season and has earned his second call up of the year to the Rangers on Wednesday. Leschyshyn appeared in one game previously this season for the Rangers on the 11th of January and was a -1 plus/minus across 10 shifts and only 6:28 TOI. He's played 77 career NHL games in four seasons.

Source:
New York Rangers PR 2024-01-24T22:48:21.526Z
Jake Leschyshyn
Adam Erne(LW)|FA
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Erne cleared waivers and has been reassigned to Bakersfield (AHL).

Erne cleared waivers Tuesday in a move that made to help make room for the addition of Corey Perry on the Oilers. Erne has struggled to establish himself in the Oilers roster this season, being limited to only two points (1G / 1A) in 23 games.

Source:
Edmonton Oilers 2024-01-24T22:04:36.166Z
Adam Erne
Joshua Roy(RW)|MON
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Roy has been loaned to the Laval Rocket (AHL).

Roy made his NHL debut earlier this month and played six straight games, recording two points (1G / 1A). The 20-year-old was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL draft and has excelled in his first year as a pro, picking up 30 points (12G / 18A) in his first 34 AHL games, good for second on the team.

Source:
Montreal Canadiens 2024-01-24T19:15:08.095Z
Joshua Roy
Brogan Rafferty(D)|FA
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Rafferty has been reassigned to the Grand Rapid Griffins (AHL).

Rafferty had two goals, 13 assists, six PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 35 games played with Grand Rapids (AHL) but served as a healthy scratch for the Red Wings on Tuesday. The 28-year-old defenseman last appeared in the NHL in 2020-21 with Vancouver and has an assist in three career NHL games played.

Source:
Detroit Red Wings 2024-01-24T15:50:37.012Z
Brogan Rafferty
Juuso Parssinen(C)|NYR
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Parssinen has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL).

Parssinen was one game from tying his career high in games played for a season (44) but has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL) Tuesday. The 22-year-old returns to the minors for the first time this season after putting up eight goals, four assists, 54 SOG, 12 PIMs and a -6 plus/minus in 44 games played this year.

Source:
Nashville Predators 2024-01-23T22:50:02.201Z
Juuso Parssinen
Phil Kemp(D)|FA
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Kemp has been loaned to Bakersfield (AHL).

Kemp made his NHL debut 10 days ago when he appeared vs. Montreal and has been a healthy scratch since resulting in the defensemen being loaned back to Bakersfield (AHL) Tuesday. The 24-year-old played a minuscule three shifts and 2:03 TOI in his debut but heads back to Bakersfield where he had five assists, 13 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus in 26 games prior to his call up.

Source:
Edmonton Oilers 2024-01-23T21:24:27.875Z
Phil Kemp
Cal Petersen(G)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Petersen has been recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL).

With Carter Hart being granted an indefinite leave of absence, Cal Petersen has been recalled from Lehigh Valley (AHL) on Tuesday. The 29-year-old veteran netminder returns to the NHL for a second time this season after posting 1-1-0 record, 3.50 GAA and .896 SV% the last time Hart was out.

Source:
Philadelphia Flyers 2024-01-23T21:39:21.523Z
Cal Petersen
Brogan Rafferty(D)|FA
Call Up
Call Up
Rafferty has been recalled from the Grand Rapid Griffins (AHL).

Rafferty had two goals, 13 assists, six PIMs and a +2 plus/minus in 35 games played with Grand Rapids (AHL) and has earned his first call up of the season to Detroit on Tuesday. The 28-year-old defensemen last appeared in the NHL in 2020-21 with Vancouver and has an assist in three career NHL games played.

Source:
Detroit Red Wings 2024-01-23T21:38:04.925Z
Brogan Rafferty
Chris Driedger(G)|FA
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Driedger has been reassigned to Coachella Valley (AHL).

With Philipp Grubauer (lower body) being activated off the Injured Reserve Tuesday, Chris Driedger has been reassigned to Coachella Valley (AHL) after appearing in two games for Seattle. The 29-year-old made his first NHL appearance since 2021-22 this season after overcoming multiple injuries and posted a 1-1-0 record, 2.51 GAA and a .917 SV%.

Source:
Seattle Kraken PR 2024-01-23T21:26:37.059Z
Chris Driedger
Jiri Patera(G)|VAN
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Patera has been reassigned to the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL).

Patera's reassignment to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL indicates that Adin Hill is finally ready to make his return to the crease for the Golden Knights. Patera was serviceable in limited action over the last two months, posting a 3.75 GAA and .901 SV% in five appearances (1-3-0).

Source:
Vegas Golden Knights 2024-01-23T18:53:10.596Z
Jiri Patera
Daniil Miromanov(D)|CAL
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Miromanov has been reassigned to Henderson (AHL) on a long-term injury conditioning loan.

Miromanov spent last season split between Vegas and Henderson (AHL) but suffered an injury that has kept him sidelined so far this season. The 26-year-old Miromanov appeared in 14 games last season and picked up two goals, four assists, 22 SOG, two PIMs and a -6 plus/minus before his injury.

Source:
Vegas Golden Knights 2024-01-23T18:51:52.415Z
Daniil Miromanov

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.