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Sami Vatanen

#45 · Defence · Dallas Stars

Born Jun 3, 1991 in Jyväskylä, FIN · 5'10", 185 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 106th overall in 2009 by ANA (round 4)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2014-15. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Nick Leddy NYI · 37 P in 78 GP Trevor Daley DAL · 38 P in 68 GP Victor Hedman TBL · 38 P in 59 GP Ryan Suter MIN · 38 P in 77 GP Cody Franson NSH · 36 P in 78 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.

01020302012-13: 2 points212-132013-14: 21 points2113-142014-15: 37 points3714-152015-16: 38 points3815-162016-17: 24 points2416-172017-18: 32 points3217-182018-19: 17 points1718-192019-20: 23 points2319-202020-21: 6 points620-21

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2012-13 ANA 8 2 0 2 3 0 6 2 0.25
2013-14 ANA 48 6 15 21 9 22 73 66 0.44 $785K
2014-15 ANA 67 12 25 37 5 36 122 75 0.55 $1.262M
2015-16 ANA 71 9 29 38 8 20 140 85 0.54 $1.262M
2016-17 ANA 71 3 21 24 3 30 117 75 0.34 $4.875M
2017-18 ANA 15 1 3 4 -6 8 22 24 0.27 $4.875M
2017-18 NJD 57 3 25 28 -1 32 123 68 0.49
2018-19 NJD 50 4 13 17 -17 22 107 68 0.34 $4.875M
2019-20 NJD 47 5 18 23 -12 22 95 50 0.49 $4.875M
2020-21 NJD 30 2 4 6 2 18 41 21 0.20 $2M
2020-21 DAL 9 0 0 0 1 2 14 6 0.00
9 seasons Career 473 47 153 200 -5 212 860 540 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
2013-14 ANA 5 0 1 1 -2 0 10 10 0.20
2014-15 ANA 16 3 8 11 5 8 35 19 0.69
2015-16 ANA 7 1 3 4 4 6 12 9 0.57
2016-17 ANA 12 1 5 6 -5 4 22 22 0.50
2017-18 NJD 4 1 0 1 -1 0 9 7 0.25
2019-20 CAR 7 0 3 3 -1 6 10 3 0.43
6 seasons Playoffs 51 6 20 26 0 24 98 70 0.51

2014-15 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
67 12 25 37 5 36 122 75 0.55 9.8 21:28

Contract

$1.262MCap hit2014-15
$34KCap dollars per point37 points in 67 games
$144KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.7 goals above replacement
$5.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$4.5MValueworth 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. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 649 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
2020-21 to 2020-21 $2M
2018-19 to 2019-20 $4.875M
2016-17 to 2017-18 $4.875M
2014-15 to 2015-16 $1.262M
2013-14 to 2013-14 $785K

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 2014-15 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.

2014-15 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.5Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.4Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+0.2Even-strength defence+0.3Power play-0.1Penalty kill+0.3Penalties-0.3

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.

-505102012-132014-152016-172018-192020-21Goals 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

47.1Corsi for %242 attempts for, 272 against
-6.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
53.2Expected goals for %9.7 expected for, 8.5 against
-3.4xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
49.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
55.0Goals for %11 for, 9 against
102.0PDO8.7% shooting + 93.3% saves
43Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 112 skaters who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Clayton Stoner · Sami Vatanen16239:4947.652.910-9
Sami Vatanen · Cam Fowler89:0135.347.91-0
Francois Beauchemin · Sami Vatanen75:3333.364.40-0
Simon Despres · Sami Vatanen74:0745.564.00-0

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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.4Expected goalsfrom 45 unblocked attempts
+0.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.25 expected goals per 60 minutes75th
Shot quality 3.1% chance per attempt57th
Finishing +0.6 goals above expected75thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 44 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.511.52Goals 2Expected 1.4

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 11, 2015 @ ARI W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 6 1 19:57
Apr 8, 2015 vs DAL L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 20:07
Apr 3, 2015 vs COL L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 2 5 1 18:55
Apr 1, 2015 vs EDM W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 22:12
Mar 29, 2015 @ NJD W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 18:09
Mar 28, 2015 @ NYI W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 19:37
Mar 26, 2015 @ BOS W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 18:54
Mar 24, 2015 @ CBJ L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 21:14
Mar 22, 2015 @ NYR L 2-7 0 1 1 -1 0 2 0 21:03
Mar 20, 2015 vs COL W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 22:21
Feb 15, 2015 vs WSH L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05:22
Feb 12, 2015 @ CAR W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 19:13
Feb 10, 2015 @ FLA L 2-6 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 22:22
Feb 8, 2015 @ TBL L 3-5 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 23:18
Feb 6, 2015 @ WSH L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 22:22
Feb 5, 2015 @ NSH W 5-2 1 0 1 2 0 3 0 21:05
Feb 3, 2015 vs CAR W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 6 1 21:37
Jan 30, 2015 vs CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 19:44
Jan 29, 2015 @ SJS L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 2 2 2 19:10
Jan 27, 2015 @ VAN W 4-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 22:10
Jan 21, 2015 vs CGY W 6-3 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 18:06
Jan 17, 2015 @ LAK W 3-2 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 22:34
Jan 16, 2015 vs NJD W 5-1 0 1 1 2 2 3 2 20:39
Jan 14, 2015 vs TOR W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 23:07
Jan 11, 2015 vs WPG W 5-4 (SO) 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 20:53
Jan 7, 2015 vs NYR L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 1 0 23:04
Jan 4, 2015 vs NSH W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 22:05
Jan 2, 2015 vs STL W 4-3 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 18:07
Dec 31, 2014 vs SJS L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 4 1 1 18:40
Dec 28, 2014 vs VAN W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 20:42
Dec 27, 2014 @ ARI L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 22:46
Dec 22, 2014 vs SJS W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 25:10
Dec 19, 2014 @ OTT L 2-6 0 0 0 -3 0 2 1 22:09
Dec 18, 2014 @ MTL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 24:01
Dec 16, 2014 @ TOR L 2-6 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 24:19
Dec 13, 2014 @ WPG W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 4 2 23:37
Dec 12, 2014 @ EDM W 4-2 1 1 2 1 2 4 1 21:41
Dec 10, 2014 vs EDM W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 21:18
Dec 7, 2014 @ WPG W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 22:24
Dec 5, 2014 @ MIN W 5-4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 23:19
Dec 3, 2014 vs PHI W 5-4 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 5 2 26:12
Dec 1, 2014 vs BOS W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 20:55
Nov 29, 2014 @ SJS L 4-6 0 1 1 -1 2 0 2 24:05
Nov 28, 2014 vs CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 5 27:00
Nov 25, 2014 vs CGY W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 23:45
Nov 23, 2014 vs ARI W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 24:17
Nov 20, 2014 @ VAN W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 0 21:53
Nov 18, 2014 @ CGY L 3-4 (SO) 1 2 3 -1 0 2 1 21:47
Nov 16, 2014 vs FLA L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 22:02
Nov 15, 2014 @ LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 22:52
Nov 12, 2014 vs LAK W 6-5 (SO) 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 24:17
Nov 9, 2014 vs VAN L 1-2 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 24:28
Nov 7, 2014 vs ARI L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 4 4 25:38
Nov 5, 2014 vs NYI L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 4 1 2 20:53
Nov 2, 2014 @ COL W 3-2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 22:16
Oct 31, 2014 @ DAL W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 23:07
Oct 30, 2014 @ STL L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 24:01
Oct 28, 2014 @ CHI W 1-0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 19:34
Oct 26, 2014 vs SJS L 1-4 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 20:34
Oct 24, 2014 vs CBJ W 4-1 1 1 2 0 0 2 2 20:21
Oct 22, 2014 vs BUF W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 2 0 0 20:06
Oct 19, 2014 vs STL W 3-0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 20:37
Oct 17, 2014 vs MIN W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 21:14
Oct 14, 2014 @ PHI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 21:05
Oct 13, 2014 @ BUF W 5-1 0 1 1 -1 0 3 1 18:18
Oct 11, 2014 @ DET W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 20:27
Oct 9, 2014 @ PIT L 4-6 0 2 2 0 0 3 1 18:40