Brandon Saad
#20 · Left wing · Free agent, last with the Vegas Golden Knights
Born Oct 27, 1992 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA · 6'1", 207 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 43rd overall in 2011 by CHI (round 2)
Trophy case
Compare with a similar player
The forwards closest to him in points in 2011-12. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.
Alexandre Bolduc
PHX ·
0 P in 2 GP
Bill Sweatt
VAN ·
0 P in 2 GP
Colin Stuart
BUF ·
0 P in 2 GP
Derek Whitmore
BUF ·
0 P in 2 GP
Kristian Huselius
CBJ ·
0 P in 2 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.
Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | $795K |
| 2012-13 | CHI | 46 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 17 | 12 | 98 | 41 | 0.59 | $764K |
| 2013-14 | CHI | 78 | 19 | 28 | 47 | 20 | 20 | 159 | 48 | 0.60 | $764K |
| 2014-15 | CHI | 82 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 7 | 12 | 203 | 53 | 0.63 | $764K |
| 2015-16 | CBJ | 78 | 31 | 22 | 53 | 1 | 14 | 233 | 43 | 0.68 | $6M |
| 2016-17 | CBJ | 82 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 23 | 8 | 210 | 24 | 0.65 | $6M |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 82 | 18 | 17 | 35 | -10 | 14 | 237 | 29 | 0.43 | $6M |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 80 | 23 | 24 | 47 | -9 | 12 | 195 | 52 | 0.59 | $6M |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 58 | 21 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 16 | 140 | 36 | 0.57 | $6M |
| 2020-21 | COL | 44 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 1 | 12 | 68 | 16 | 0.55 | $6M |
| 2021-22 | STL | 78 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 11 | 10 | 158 | 20 | 0.63 | $4.5M |
| 2022-23 | STL | 71 | 19 | 18 | 37 | -8 | 12 | 127 | 24 | 0.52 | $4.5M |
| 2023-24 | STL | 82 | 26 | 16 | 42 | -4 | 20 | 144 | 17 | 0.51 | $4.5M |
| 2024-25 | STL | 43 | 7 | 9 | 16 | -14 | 6 | 75 | 7 | 0.37 | $1.5M |
| 2024-25 | VGK | 29 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 52 | 5 | 0.48 | |
| 2025-26 | VGK | 49 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -7 | 14 | 78 | 11 | 0.18 | $2M |
| 15 seasons | Career | 984 | 269 | 269 | 538 | 36 | 182 | 2180 | 426 | 0.55 |
Playoffs
Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | CHI | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.50 |
| 2012-13 | CHI | 23 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 | 50 | 30 | 0.26 |
| 2013-14 | CHI | 19 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 35 | 24 | 0.84 |
| 2014-15 | CHI | 23 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 46 | 0.48 |
| 2016-17 | CBJ | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 0.60 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 8 | 0.56 |
| 2020-21 | COL | 10 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 0.80 |
| 2021-22 | STL | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 23 | 6 | 0.42 |
| 2024-25 | VGK | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 0.25 |
| 2025-26 | VGK | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0.40 |
| 10 seasons | Playoffs | 116 | 27 | 32 | 59 | 17 | 36 | 234 | 149 | 0.51 |
2011-12 season totals
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Shooting % | Avg TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 14:01 |
Contract
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.
The contract
Signed by the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct 5, 2011, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.775M, beginning in 2012-13. This season is not one of its years: an entry-level contract slides back a year when a player signed at 18 or 19 plays fewer than 10 NHL games. It runs through 2014-15, with 3 seasons left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.
| Season | Cap hit | Base salary | Signing bonus | Performance bonuses | Paid in all | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | $764K | $525K | $93K | $308K | $618K | |
| 2013-14 | $764K | $750K | $93K | $83K | $843K | |
| 2014-15 | $764K | $833K | $0 | $833K |
Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.
Contracts he has signed
| Signed | Signed by | Kind | Seasons | Years | In all | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 to 2025-26 | $2M | |||||
| Jan 31, 2025 | Vegas Golden Knights | New contract | 2024-25 to 2024-25 | 1 | $1.5M | $1.5M |
| Jul 29, 2021 | St. Louis Blues | New contract | 2021-22 to 2025-26 | 5 | $22.5M | $4.5M |
| Jul 3, 2015 | Columbus Blue Jackets | New contract | 2015-16 to 2020-21 | 6 | $36M | $6M |
| Oct 5, 2011 | Chicago Blackhawks | Entry-level | 2012-13 to 2014-15 signed for 2011-12, slid | 3 | $2.775M | $764K |
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
Rating
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.
On the ice
What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean
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 line | GP | Time | CF% | xGF% | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Brunette · Jonathan Toews · Brandon Saad | 1 | 5:49 | 16.7 | 0.0 | 0-0 |
| Patrick Sharp · Patrick Kane · Brandon Saad | 1 | 3:51 | 66.7 | 53.1 | 0-0 |
| Dave Bolland · Michael Frolik · Brandon Saad | 1 | 2:09 | 80.0 | 66.8 | 1-0 |
| Brendan Morrison · Jonathan Toews · Brandon Saad | 1 | 1:58 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1-0 |
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.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 8, 2011 | vs DAL | W 5-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14:57 |
| Oct 7, 2011 | @ DAL | L 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13:05 |