Fowler has been recalled from Laval (AHL).
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NHL Transactions & Roster Moves
Pitlick has been recalled from Iowa (AHL).
Pitlick has 111 points (58G / 53A) in 452 career NHL games, but has played almost exclusively in the AHL over the past few seasons. The 34-year-old forward has three points (1G / 2A) through three games this season with the Iowa Wild (AHL).
Harkins has cleared waivers and will be assigned to Syracuse (AHL).
Harkins is no stranger to the NHL, with 45 points (18G / 17A) in 306 career games, but has spent significant time in the AHL in recent seasons. He signed a one-year contract worth $850,000 with Tampa Bay in the offseason.
Pyyhtia has cleared waivers and been assigned to Cleveland (AHL).
Pyyhtia has spent most of his professional career in the AHL and will return there after clearing waivers. The 24-year-old forward scored 49 points (21G / 28A) last season in 59 games with the Cleveland Monsters (AHL).
Toninato has been recalled from Rockford (AHL).
Toninato is no stranger to the NHL, with 36 points (13G / 23A) in 197 career games, but he has spent most of his career in the AHL. The 32-year-old forward scored 43 points (16G / 27A) last season in 52 games with the Rockford IceHogs (AHL).
Suniev has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Suniev was drafted 80th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, but has yet to make his presence felt at the NHL level. The 21-year-old spent mot of the 2025-26 season in the AHL, where he tallied 24 points (16G / 8A) in 57 games with the Calgary Wranglers.
Castagna has been recalled from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) and is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday.
Castagna was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. The 21-year-old forward made his professional debut earlier this season, tallying two goals in two games with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL). He spent the previous three seasons playing for Cornell University.
Bump has been reassigned to Lehigh Valley (AHL).
To make room for the recently signed Michael Bunting, the Flyers have sent Bump down to Lehigh Valley (AHL). The 22-year-old Bump made his NHL debut last season, scoring nine points (5G / 4A) in 17 games with the Flyers.
Dries has been recalled from Grand Rapids (AHL) under emergency conditions and will make his season debut on Tuesday.
Pachal has cleared waivers and been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Pachal has been a solid NHL-level depth defenseman over the past several seasons, but has spent significant time in the AHL as well. The 27-year-old played a career high 76 games with the Flames in 2024-25, but saw that decrease to just 39 games last season.
Send Down
Zary has cleared waivers and been reassigned to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL).
Zary has shown some offensive promise in his first three seasons, but has struggled with consistency, and will report to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) after clearing waivers. The 25-year-old 24th-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft has one assist in two games with the Flames this season.
Robertson has been assigned to Hartford (AHL).
Robertson was solid last year in his rookie season, tallying 18 points (6G / 12A) in 72 games with thee Rangers. That said, the 25-year-old defenseman will head down to the AHL to spent some time with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Beaudoin has been recalled from Hartford (AHL)
Beaudoin was drafted 24th overall by Utah in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and is expected to make his NHL debut. The 20-year-old forward scored 88 points (33G / 55A) last season in 54 games with the Barrie Colts (OHL).
Donovan has been reassigned to Belleville (AHL).
With Jake Sanderson (lower body) expected to miss at least two more games, Ottawa recalled Donovan from Belleville (AHL) earlier in the week, but he will return back to the AHLL. The 22-year-old defenseman has spent the past two seasons playing primarily in the AHL. He scored 21 points (4G / 17A) in 61 games last season with Belleville.
Johansson has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Linus Ullmark (undisclosed) exited Ottawa's previous game in the third period, resulting in Johansson being recalled from Belleville (AHL). The 31-year-old Johansson appeared in 25 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season (11-10-2), posting a 3.29 GAA and .884 SV%.
Valimaki has been recalled from Chicago (AHL).
Valimaki was the Calgary Flames' 16th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but has struggled to become an NHL regular. The 28-year-old Finnish defenseman had a breakout 2022-23 season for the Arizona Coyotes, scoring 34 points (4G / 30A) in 78 games, but struggled to follow that up and has spent significant portions of the past two seasons in the AHL.
Murray has been recalled from Milwaukee (AHL).
Murray was recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Saturday to replace an injured Justus Annunen (undisclosed) as Juuse Saros' backup. Annunen returned to practice on Monday and, as a result, Murray was sent back to the AHL. That said, Annunen's injury appears to have resurfaced, resulting in Murray being recalled again. Expect Saros to see the majority of the action while Annunen is sidelined.
Donovan has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
With Jake Sanderson (lower body) expected to miss at least two more games, Ottawa has recalled Donovan from Belleville (AHL). The 22-year-old defenseman has spent the past two seasons playing primarily in the AHL. He scored 21 points (4G / 17A) in 61 games last season with Belleville.
Gustafsson cleared waivers on Sunday and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Gustafsson was placed on waivers Saturday but went unclaimed and has now been assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on Sunday. The 26-year-old was acquired in a trade with Winnipeg in June for Jack St. Ivany but has yet to appear for the Penguins after putting up two goals and six points in 36 games last season.
Murray has been reassigned to Milwaukee (AHL).
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.