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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 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alex Pietrangelo STL · 37 P in 73 GP Marc-Edouard Vlasic SJS · 39 P in 67 GP Justin Faulk CAR · 37 P in 64 GP Zdeno Chara BOS · 37 P in 80 GP Alex Goligoski DAL · 37 P in 82 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

2015-16 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
71 9 29 38 8 20 140 85 0.54 6.4 21:19

Contract

$1.262MCap hit2015-16
$33KCap dollars per point38 points in 71 games
$178KCap dollars per goal above replacement7.1 goals above replacement
$5.1MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$3.8MValueworth 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 668 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 2015-16 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.

2015-16 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.6Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+1.1Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+0.7Even-strength defence+0.7Power play+0.2Penalty kill+0.0Penalties-0.5

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

54.9Corsi for %107 attempts for, 88 against
+7.0CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
63.0Expected goals for %4.3 expected for, 2.5 against
+18.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
63.6Goals for %7 for, 4 against
101.3PDO12.7% shooting + 88.6% saves
17Attempts 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 Vatanen · Hampus Lindholm784:1256.667.15-2
Sami Vatanen · Cam Fowler410:4344.442.60-0
Sami Vatanen · Shea Theodore37:3568.476.00-0
Simon Despres · Sami Vatanen33:0333.330.80-1

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.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.7Expected goalsfrom 17 unblocked attempts
+0.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.28 expected goals per 60 minutes78th
Shot quality 4.4% chance per attempt92nd
Finishing +0.3 goals above expected69thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 49 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.20.40.60.81Goals 1Expected 0.7

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 5, 2016 vs WPG L 1-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 21:44
Apr 3, 2016 vs DAL W 3-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 21:40
Apr 1, 2016 vs VAN L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 21:50
Mar 30, 2016 vs CGY W 8-3 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 23:18
Mar 28, 2016 @ EDM W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 20:49
Mar 9, 2016 @ COL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05:54
Mar 7, 2016 vs WSH L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 22:37
Mar 5, 2016 @ LAK W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 23:11
Mar 3, 2016 @ ARI W 5-1 0 2 2 1 0 2 1 20:56
Mar 2, 2016 vs MTL W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 25:37
Feb 28, 2016 vs LAK W 4-2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 18:25
Feb 26, 2016 vs EDM W 2-1 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 22:02
Feb 24, 2016 vs BUF W 1-0 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 19:15
Feb 21, 2016 vs CGY W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 22:22
Feb 18, 2016 @ VAN W 5-2 1 1 2 1 0 3 0 20:07
Feb 16, 2016 @ EDM W 5-3 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 20:07
Feb 15, 2016 @ CGY W 6-4 1 0 1 -1 0 2 0 18:18
Feb 13, 2016 @ CHI W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 4 21:33
Feb 11, 2016 @ CBJ L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 19:34
Feb 9, 2016 @ PHI W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 4 1 19:25
Feb 8, 2016 @ PIT L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 4 1 19:48
Feb 5, 2016 vs ARI W 5-2 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 22:03
Feb 4, 2016 @ LAK W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22:23
Feb 2, 2016 vs SJS W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 24:24
Jan 26, 2016 @ BOS W 6-2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 23:06
Jan 23, 2016 @ DET W 4-3 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 22:25
Jan 20, 2016 vs MIN W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 20:19
Jan 17, 2016 vs LAK L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 2 23:43
Jan 15, 2016 vs DAL W 4-2 1 0 1 2 0 3 2 22:10
Jan 13, 2016 vs OTT W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 22:17
Jan 10, 2016 vs DET L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 22:20
Jan 8, 2016 vs STL W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 25:43
Jan 6, 2016 vs TOR L 0-4 0 0 0 -3 0 2 1 22:46
Jan 3, 2016 vs WPG W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 22:32
Jan 1, 2016 @ VAN L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 25:30
Dec 31, 2015 @ EDM W 1-0 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 23:59
Dec 29, 2015 @ CGY W 1-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 24:14
Dec 27, 2015 vs PHI W 4-2 0 2 2 -1 4 1 1 26:01
Dec 22, 2015 @ NYR L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 21:25
Dec 21, 2015 @ NYI L 2-5 0 1 1 -2 0 1 1 23:43
Dec 19, 2015 @ NJD W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 19:54
Dec 17, 2015 @ BUF L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 8 3 25:54
Dec 11, 2015 vs CAR L 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 20:56
Dec 6, 2015 vs PIT W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 21:38
Dec 4, 2015 vs SJS W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 22:33
Dec 2, 2015 vs TBL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 4 1 22:57
Nov 30, 2015 vs VAN W 4-0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 20:13
Nov 27, 2015 vs CHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 18:29
Nov 25, 2015 @ ARI L 2-4 1 1 2 -1 0 3 2 22:55
Nov 24, 2015 vs CGY W 5-3 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 17:09
Nov 21, 2015 @ TBL L 0-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 20:28
Nov 19, 2015 @ FLA W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 21:45
Nov 17, 2015 @ NSH L 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 20:33
Nov 16, 2015 @ CAR W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 19:15
Nov 13, 2015 vs NYI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 21:58
Nov 11, 2015 vs EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 19:13
Nov 9, 2015 vs ARI L 3-4 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 4 4 18:48
Nov 7, 2015 @ SJS W 1-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 20:39
Nov 6, 2015 vs CBJ W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 18:42
Nov 4, 2015 vs FLA W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 25:10
Nov 1, 2015 vs NSH W 4-2 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 23:51
Oct 29, 2015 @ STL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 21:30
Oct 27, 2015 @ DAL L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 21:31
Oct 26, 2015 @ CHI L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 23:49
Oct 24, 2015 @ MIN L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 20:17
Oct 22, 2015 @ NSH L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 3 2 19:15
Oct 18, 2015 vs MIN W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 18:34
Oct 16, 2015 vs COL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 21:54
Oct 14, 2015 vs ARI L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 0 3 2 18:41
Oct 12, 2015 vs VAN L 1-2 (SO) 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 18:28
Oct 10, 2015 @ SJS L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:43