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Sami Salo

#6 · Defence · Tampa Bay Lightning

Born Sep 2, 1974 in Turku, FIN · 6'3", 215 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 239th overall in 1996 by OTT (round 9)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2011-12. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jeff Petry EDM · 25 P in 73 GP Joe Corvo BOS · 25 P in 75 GP Andrej Meszaros PHI · 25 P in 62 GP Trevor Daley DAL · 25 P in 79 GP Fedor Tyutin CBJ · 26 P in 66 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

01020301998-99: 19 points1998-991999-00: 14 points142000-01: 18 points1800-012001-02: 18 points182002-03: 30 points3002-032003-04: 26 points262005-06: 33 points3305-062006-07: 37 points372007-08: 25 points2507-082008-09: 25 points252009-10: 28 points2809-102010-11: 7 points72011-12: 25 points2511-122012-13: 17 points172013-14: 17 points1713-14

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
1998-99 OTT 61 7 12 19 20 24 106 90 0.31
1999-00 OTT 37 6 8 14 6 2 85 52 0.38
2000-01 OTT 31 2 16 18 9 10 61 57 0.58
2001-02 OTT 66 4 14 18 1 14 122 84 0.27
2002-03 VAN 79 9 21 30 9 10 126 19 0.38
2003-04 VAN 74 7 19 26 8 22 143 75 0.35
2005-06 VAN 59 10 23 33 9 38 140 58 0.56
2006-07 VAN 67 14 23 37 21 26 143 40 0.55
2007-08 VAN 63 8 17 25 8 38 122 36 0.40
2008-09 VAN 60 5 20 25 5 26 110 46 0.42
2009-10 VAN 68 9 19 28 14 18 119 43 0.41
2010-11 VAN 27 3 4 7 -3 14 39 6 0.26
2011-12 VAN 69 9 16 25 7 10 136 29 0.36
2012-13 TBL 46 2 15 17 5 16 48 40 0.37 $3.75M
2013-14 TBL 71 4 13 17 11 18 81 57 0.24 $3.75M
15 seasons Career 878 99 240 339 130 286 1581 732 0.39

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
1998-99 OTT 4 0 0 0 -3 0 10 10 0.00
1999-00 OTT 6 1 1 2 -8 0 19 15 0.33
2000-01 OTT 4 0 0 0 0 0 14 14 0.00
2001-02 OTT 12 2 1 3 4 4 19 29 0.25
2002-03 VAN 12 1 3 4 -2 0 19 15 0.33
2006-07 VAN 10 0 1 1 0 4 27 10 0.10
2008-09 VAN 7 3 4 7 0 2 12 4 1.00
2009-10 VAN 12 1 5 6 2 2 18 20 0.50
2010-11 VAN 21 3 2 5 -4 2 33 21 0.24
2011-12 VAN 5 0 0 0 -3 2 5 3 0.00
2013-14 TBL 2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 4 0.00
11 seasons Playoffs 95 11 17 28 -16 16 176 145 0.29

2011-12 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
69 9 16 25 7 10 136 29 0.36 6.6 20:27

Contract

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2012-13 to 2013-14 $3.75M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2011-12 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2011-12 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.5Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.3Even-strength defence-0.7Power play-0.2Penalty kill+0.2Penalties+0.2

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. A playoff run is too short to rank anyone on. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-4-202462010-112011-122012-132013-14Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

45.0Corsi for %59 attempts for, 72 against
-12.9CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
34.6Expected goals for %1.9 expected for, 3.5 against
-13.5xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
25.0Goals for %1 for, 3 against
94.1PDO3.4% shooting + 90.6% saves
11Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Sami Salo · Alexander Edler543:3744.640.91-2
Sami Salo · Dan Hamhuis511:0751.920.60-1
Sami Salo · Aaron Rome12:490.00.00-0
Sami Salo · Keith Ballard32:3350.013.60-0

The pairs he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's pairs that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.2Expected goalsfrom 8 unblocked attempts
-0.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.10 expected goals per 60 minutes16th
Shot quality 1.9% chance per attempt7th
Finishing -0.2 goals above expected52ndOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 56 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.2Goals 0

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took in these playoffs, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 7, 2012 vs EDM W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19:14
Apr 5, 2012 @ CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 20:31
Apr 3, 2012 vs ANA W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 20:05
Mar 31, 2012 vs CGY W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 21:52
Mar 30, 2012 vs DAL W 5-2 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 21:14
Mar 28, 2012 vs COL W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 21:27
Mar 26, 2012 vs LAK W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:56
Mar 24, 2012 @ COL W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 2 2 2 19:51
Mar 21, 2012 @ CHI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21:47
Mar 17, 2012 vs CBJ W 4-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 19:01
Mar 14, 2012 vs PHX L 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:46
Mar 10, 2012 vs MTL L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 18:17
Mar 8, 2012 vs WPG W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 19:34
Mar 6, 2012 vs DAL L 2-5 0 0 0 -3 0 1 0 17:27
Mar 3, 2012 vs BUF L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 18:51
Mar 1, 2012 vs STL W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18:59
Feb 28, 2012 @ PHX L 1-2 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 3 2 24:54
Feb 26, 2012 @ DAL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 5 1 22:42
Feb 23, 2012 @ DET W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 23:45
Feb 21, 2012 @ NSH L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 20:39
Feb 19, 2012 @ EDM W 5-2 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 20:53
Feb 18, 2012 vs TOR W 6-2 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 19:10
Feb 15, 2012 vs COL W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 20:33
Feb 13, 2012 vs PHX W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 23:46
Feb 11, 2012 @ CGY L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 21:04
Feb 9, 2012 @ MIN W 5-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 21:02
Feb 7, 2012 @ NSH W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 21:57
Feb 4, 2012 @ COL W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 22:43
Feb 2, 2012 vs DET L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 23:07
Jan 31, 2012 vs CHI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 22:14
Jan 24, 2012 vs EDM W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 22:39
Jan 7, 2012 @ BOS W 4-3 0 1 1 -2 0 4 0 13:24
Jan 4, 2012 vs MIN W 3-0 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 20:05
Jan 2, 2012 vs SJS L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 24:00
Dec 31, 2011 @ LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:26
Dec 29, 2011 @ ANA W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 21:12
Dec 28, 2011 @ SJS W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 20:45
Dec 26, 2011 vs EDM W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 21:44
Dec 23, 2011 vs CGY L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 21:01
Dec 21, 2011 vs DET W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 18:49
Dec 19, 2011 vs MIN W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 20:32
Dec 17, 2011 @ TOR W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 18:46
Dec 15, 2011 @ CAR L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 17:17
Dec 13, 2011 @ CBJ L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 22:25
Dec 10, 2011 @ OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 19:49
Dec 8, 2011 @ MTL W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 -1 0 4 0 22:28
Dec 6, 2011 vs COL W 6-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 21:29
Dec 4, 2011 vs CGY W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 18:28
Nov 29, 2011 vs CBJ W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 15:06
Nov 26, 2011 @ SJS W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 22:10
Nov 25, 2011 @ PHX W 5-0 1 0 1 2 0 3 0 21:29
Nov 23, 2011 @ COL W 3-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 21:18
Nov 20, 2011 vs OTT W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 24:49
Nov 16, 2011 vs CHI L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 19:18
Nov 13, 2011 vs NYI W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 21:45
Nov 11, 2011 @ ANA L 3-4 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 23:28
Nov 10, 2011 @ LAK W 3-2 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 22:18
Nov 1, 2011 @ CGY W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 20:21
Oct 29, 2011 vs WSH W 7-4 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 18:22
Oct 26, 2011 vs STL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 19:22
Oct 25, 2011 @ EDM L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 20:18
Oct 22, 2011 vs MIN W 3-2 (OT) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 21:52
Oct 20, 2011 vs NSH W 5-1 0 1 1 2 0 6 0 20:27
Oct 18, 2011 vs NYR L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 18:44
Oct 15, 2011 @ EDM W 4-3 2 1 3 1 0 3 0 17:02
Oct 13, 2011 @ DET L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 19:51
Oct 12, 2011 @ PHI L 4-5 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 14:43
Oct 10, 2011 @ CBJ W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 21:48
Oct 6, 2011 vs PIT L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 20:43