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Joel Ward

#42 · Right wing · San Jose Sharks

Born Dec 2, 1980 in North York, Ontario, CAN · 6'1", 225 lb · Shoots right

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Craig Smith NSH · 29 P in 78 GP Josh Anderson CBJ · 29 P in 78 GP Adam Lowry WPG · 29 P in 82 GP Chris Kunitz PIT · 29 P in 71 GP Andrew Shaw MTL · 29 P in 68 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.

0102030402006-07: 1 points106-072008-09: 35 points3508-092009-10: 34 points3409-102010-11: 29 points2910-112011-12: 18 points1811-122012-13: 20 points2012-132013-14: 49 points4913-142014-15: 34 points3414-152015-16: 43 points4315-162016-17: 29 points2916-172017-18: 12 points1217-18

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2006-07 MIN 11 0 1 1 0 0 12 17 0.09
2008-09 NSH 79 17 18 35 1 29 133 65 0.44 $500K
2009-10 NSH 71 13 21 34 -5 18 134 42 0.48 $1.5M
2010-11 NSH 80 10 19 29 -1 42 157 67 0.36 $1.5M
2011-12 WSH 73 6 12 18 12 20 79 75 0.25 $3M
2012-13 WSH 39 8 12 20 7 12 52 37 0.51 $3M
2013-14 WSH 82 24 25 49 7 32 133 54 0.60 $3M
2014-15 WSH 82 19 15 34 -4 30 138 53 0.41 $3M
2015-16 SJS 79 21 22 43 -15 28 138 68 0.54 $3.275M
2016-17 SJS 78 10 19 29 -2 30 105 61 0.37 $3.275M
2017-18 SJS 52 5 7 12 -2 20 40 35 0.23 $3.275M
11 seasons Career 726 133 171 304 -2 261 1121 574 0.42

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2009-10 NSH 6 2 2 4 1 2 12 9 0.67
2010-11 NSH 12 7 6 13 4 6 28 22 1.08
2011-12 WSH 14 1 4 5 3 6 12 28 0.36
2012-13 WSH 7 1 3 4 -1 6 8 10 0.57
2014-15 WSH 14 3 6 9 1 2 39 17 0.64
2015-16 SJS 24 7 6 13 2 16 35 36 0.54
2016-17 SJS 6 1 3 4 0 4 9 10 0.67
7 seasons Playoffs 83 22 30 52 10 42 143 132 0.63

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
78 10 19 29 -2 30 105 61 0.37 9.5 15:57

Contract

$3.275MCap hit2016-17
$113KCap dollars per point29 points in 78 games
-$1KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.3MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 664 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2015-16 to 2017-18 $3.275M
2012-13 to 2014-15 $3M
2011-12 to 2014-15 $3M
2009-10 to 2010-11 $1.5M
2008-09 to 2008-09 $500K

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 2016-17 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.

2016-17 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.1Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.4Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.2Even-strength defence0.0Power play+0.1Penalty kill-0.1Penalties-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.

-505102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18Goals 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

48.8Corsi for %63 attempts for, 66 against
+1.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.3Expected goals for %2.0 expected for, 2.5 against
-4.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
60.0Goals for %3 for, 2 against
102.3PDO10.3% shooting + 92.0% 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Patrick Marleau · Joel Ward · Joonas Donskoi213:4059.360.00-1
Joel Ward · Jannik Hansen · Logan Couture212:0452.651.11-0
Patrick Marleau · Joel Ward · Logan Couture111:1438.128.20-0
Joel Ward · Marcus Sorensen · Chris Tierney26:3425.031.10-0

The lines 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 lines 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.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.1Expected goalsfrom 14 unblocked attempts
-0.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.75 expected goals per 60 minutes61st
Shot quality 7.9% chance per attempt67th
Finishing -0.1 goals above expected51stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 83 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.51Expected 1.1Goals 1

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 6, 2017 vs EDM L 2-4 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 15:02
Apr 4, 2017 vs VAN W 3-1 1 0 1 2 2 1 1 16:01
Apr 2, 2017 @ VAN W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 16:11
Mar 30, 2017 @ EDM L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 14:00
Mar 28, 2017 vs NYR W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 15:37
Mar 25, 2017 @ NSH L 2-7 0 0 0 -4 0 3 0 14:26
Mar 24, 2017 @ DAL L 1-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:26
Mar 21, 2017 @ MIN L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 2 2 0 17:31
Mar 20, 2017 @ DAL L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17:31
Mar 18, 2017 vs ANA L 1-2 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 15:51
Mar 16, 2017 vs STL L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15:52
Mar 14, 2017 vs BUF W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 15:40
Mar 12, 2017 vs DAL W 5-1 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 16:33
Mar 11, 2017 vs NSH L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 15:22
Mar 9, 2017 vs WSH W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:08
Mar 6, 2017 @ WPG W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 17:46
Mar 5, 2017 @ MIN L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:41
Mar 2, 2017 vs VAN W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 15:33
Feb 28, 2017 vs TOR W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 15:30
Feb 25, 2017 @ VAN W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 18:59
Feb 19, 2017 vs BOS L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 16:11
Feb 18, 2017 @ ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:57
Feb 15, 2017 vs FLA L 5-6 (OT) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 16:13
Feb 12, 2017 @ NJD W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 17:07
Feb 11, 2017 @ PHI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 17:20
Feb 9, 2017 @ BOS L 3-6 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 15:56
Feb 7, 2017 @ BUF L 4-5 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 18:05
Feb 4, 2017 vs ARI L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15:25
Feb 2, 2017 @ VAN W 4-1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 13:48
Jan 31, 2017 vs CHI W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 15:38
Jan 26, 2017 vs EDM L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 14:58
Jan 24, 2017 @ WPG W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 17:49
Jan 23, 2017 @ COL W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:28
Jan 21, 2017 vs COL W 3-2 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 15:05
Jan 19, 2017 vs TBL W 2-1 0 0 0 1 2 3 2 15:45
Jan 18, 2017 @ LAK W 3-2 0 1 1 -1 0 2 1 17:06
Jan 16, 2017 vs WPG W 5-2 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 14:55
Jan 14, 2017 vs STL L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 15:06
Jan 11, 2017 @ CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 15:09
Jan 10, 2017 @ EDM W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 14:48
Jan 7, 2017 vs DET W 6-3 0 2 2 2 0 1 1 15:50
Jan 5, 2017 vs MIN L 4-5 1 1 2 2 0 3 1 17:34
Jan 3, 2017 vs LAK L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 16:53
Dec 31, 2016 @ LAK L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 16:29
Dec 30, 2016 vs PHI W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:12
Dec 27, 2016 @ ANA W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 14:34
Dec 23, 2016 vs EDM W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:57
Dec 18, 2016 @ CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 13:38
Dec 14, 2016 @ OTT W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 11:01
Dec 13, 2016 @ TOR W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 14:22
Dec 10, 2016 vs CAR W 4-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 17:46
Dec 9, 2016 @ ANA L 2-3 0 1 1 -1 2 2 3 14:49
Dec 7, 2016 vs OTT L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:38
Dec 2, 2016 vs MTL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:22
Nov 30, 2016 @ LAK W 4-1 0 2 2 3 0 0 3 16:13
Nov 29, 2016 vs ARI W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 5 2 19:09
Nov 26, 2016 vs ANA L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 18:34
Nov 25, 2016 vs NYI W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 17:33
Nov 23, 2016 vs CHI W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 5 2 17:09
Nov 21, 2016 vs NJD W 4-0 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 17:03
Nov 19, 2016 @ ARI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 6 0 18:25
Nov 17, 2016 @ STL L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 15:39
Nov 15, 2016 @ CAR L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 16:21
Nov 12, 2016 @ TBL W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 17:12
Nov 10, 2016 @ FLA W 4-2 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 15:10
Nov 8, 2016 @ WSH W 3-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 18:35
Nov 5, 2016 vs PIT L 0-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:10
Nov 3, 2016 vs CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 17:31
Nov 1, 2016 @ ARI L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 14:35
Oct 29, 2016 vs NSH W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:20
Oct 27, 2016 vs CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 15:45
Oct 25, 2016 vs ANA W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:39
Oct 22, 2016 @ DET L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:53
Oct 20, 2016 @ PIT L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 16:13
Oct 18, 2016 @ NYI W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 2 2 0 15:52
Oct 17, 2016 @ NYR L 4-7 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 14:23
Oct 15, 2016 @ CBJ W 3-2 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 15:54
Oct 12, 2016 vs LAK W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14:41