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Nikolaj Ehlers

#27 · Left wing · Carolina Hurricanes

Born Feb 14, 1996 in Aalborg, DNK (age 30) · 6'0", 168 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 9th overall in 2014 by WPG (round 1)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2025-26

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Blake Wheeler WPG · 46 P in 50 GP J.T. Miller VAN · 46 P in 53 GP Ondrej Palat TBL · 46 P in 55 GP Jason Robertson DAL · 45 P in 51 GP Mathew Barzal NYI · 45 P in 55 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.

02040602015-16: 38 points3815-162016-17: 64 points6416-172017-18: 60 points6017-182018-19: 37 points3718-192019-20: 58 points5819-202020-21: 46 points4620-212021-22: 55 points5521-222022-23: 38 points3822-232023-24: 61 points6123-242024-25: 63 points6324-252025-26: 71 points7125-262026-27: 3 points326-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2015-16 WPG 72 15 23 38 3 21 167 29 0.53 $894K
2016-17 WPG 82 25 39 64 1 38 204 43 0.78 $894K
2017-18 WPG 82 29 31 60 14 26 231 39 0.73 $894K
2018-19 WPG 62 21 16 37 2 15 158 27 0.60 $6M
2019-20 WPG 71 25 33 58 14 30 203 36 0.82 $6M
2020-21 WPG 47 21 25 46 15 15 148 26 0.98 $6M
2021-22 WPG 62 28 27 55 18 20 245 32 0.89 $6M
2022-23 WPG 45 12 26 38 -2 11 132 36 0.84 $6M
2023-24 WPG 82 25 36 61 27 29 233 30 0.74 $6M
2024-25 WPG 69 24 39 63 14 17 174 38 0.91 $6M
2025-26 CAR 82 26 45 71 8 14 207 21 0.87 $8.5M
2026-27 CAR 7 0 3 3 -2 0 15 3 0.43 $8.5M
12 seasons Career 763 251 343 594 112 236 2117 360 0.78

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2017-18 WPG 15 0 7 7 4 2 26 7 0.47
2018-19 WPG 6 0 0 0 -2 0 16 2 0.00
2019-20 WPG 4 2 0 2 -2 2 14 8 0.50
2020-21 WPG 6 2 1 3 -5 2 17 12 0.50
2022-23 WPG 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
2023-24 WPG 5 0 2 2 -4 0 14 11 0.40
2024-25 WPG 8 5 2 7 1 4 31 12 0.88
2025-26 CAR 18 8 10 18 9 6 39 14 1.00
8 seasons Playoffs 63 17 22 39 1 16 157 66 0.62

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
47 21 25 46 15 15 148 26 0.98 14.2 16:55

Contract

$6MCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$130KCap dollars per point46 points in 47 games
$737KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.1 goals above replacement
$9MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$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. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Winnipeg Jets on Oct 4, 2017, as an extension of the contract he was on: 7 years and $42M, beginning in 2018-19. It runs through 2024-25, with 4 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2018-19 $6M $6.25M $0 $6.25M
2019-20 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M
2020-21 $6M $4.75M $0 $4.75M
2021-22 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M
2022-23 $6M $4.75M $0 $4.75M M-NTC
2023-24 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M M-NTC
2024-25 $6M $6.75M $0 $6.75M M-NTC

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
Jul 3, 2025 Carolina Hurricanes New contract 2025-26 to 2030-31 6 $51M $8.5M
Oct 4, 2017 Winnipeg Jets Extension 2018-19 to 2024-25 7 $42M $6M
Sep 7, 2014 Winnipeg Jets Entry-level 2015-16 to 2017-18 signed for 2014-15, slid 3 $4.875M $894K

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 2020-21 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.

2020-21 playoff analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.2Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.5Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.2Even-strength defence-0.9Power play+0.1Penalty 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.

0510152015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

51.5Corsi for %102 attempts for, 96 against
+6.2CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
37.3Expected goals for %3.4 expected for, 5.8 against
-1.4xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
20.0Goals for %1 for, 4 against
94.4PDO2.1% shooting + 92.3% saves
27Attempts 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
Paul Stastny · Nikolaj Ehlers · Pierre-Luc Dubois330:1450.040.61-1
Blake Wheeler · Andrew Copp · Nikolaj Ehlers217:0237.122.40-1
Andrew Copp · Nikolaj Ehlers · Pierre-Luc Dubois311:5529.415.60-2
Paul Stastny · Andrew Copp · Nikolaj Ehlers17:3481.867.20-0

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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.5Expected goalsfrom 27 unblocked attempts
+0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.78 expected goals per 60 minutes44th
Shot quality 5.7% chance per attempt4th
Finishing +0.5 goals above expected68thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 78 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest in these playoffs.

00.511.52Goals 2Expected 1.5

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 24, 2021 vs TOR L 1-4 1 0 1 0 4 2 0 16:23
Apr 22, 2021 vs TOR L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 0 4 3 21:38
Apr 17, 2021 vs EDM L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 4 2 16:21
Apr 15, 2021 @ TOR W 5-2 2 0 2 1 0 4 1 15:20
Apr 14, 2021 @ OTT W 3-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 4 17:41
Apr 12, 2021 @ OTT L 2-4 1 0 1 0 2 5 0 18:34
Apr 10, 2021 @ MTL W 5-0 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 14:49
Apr 8, 2021 @ MTL W 4-2 1 0 1 0 0 4 0 15:24
Apr 5, 2021 vs OTT W 4-3 0 2 2 1 0 3 0 17:00
Apr 2, 2021 vs TOR L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 17:45
Mar 31, 2021 vs TOR L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 18:57
Mar 29, 2021 @ CGY W 5-1 0 3 3 3 0 1 0 15:36
Mar 27, 2021 @ CGY L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 18:42
Mar 26, 2021 @ CGY W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:38
Mar 24, 2021 @ VAN W 5-1 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 14:40
Mar 22, 2021 @ VAN W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 17:33
Mar 20, 2021 @ EDM L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 7 0 16:03
Mar 18, 2021 @ EDM L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 17:46
Mar 17, 2021 vs MTL W 4-3 (OT) 1 1 2 3 0 2 0 18:27
Mar 15, 2021 vs MTL L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 3 17:38
Mar 13, 2021 @ TOR W 5-2 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 14:57
Mar 11, 2021 @ TOR L 3-4 (OT) 2 1 3 -1 0 2 0 17:14
Mar 9, 2021 @ TOR W 4-3 0 2 2 0 0 2 1 16:36
Mar 6, 2021 @ MTL L 1-7 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 14:35
Mar 4, 2021 @ MTL W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 18:08
Mar 2, 2021 vs VAN W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17:13
Mar 1, 2021 vs VAN L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:19
Feb 27, 2021 vs MTL W 2-1 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 3 0 17:20
Feb 25, 2021 vs MTL W 6-3 0 1 1 0 5 3 0 15:20
Feb 21, 2021 @ VAN W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 17:06
Feb 19, 2021 @ VAN W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17:33
Feb 17, 2021 @ EDM L 2-3 0 1 1 1 2 5 1 18:29
Feb 15, 2021 @ EDM W 6-5 1 0 1 1 0 5 1 14:40
Feb 13, 2021 vs OTT L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 17:36
Feb 11, 2021 vs OTT W 5-1 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 14:41
Feb 9, 2021 @ CGY L 2-3 2 0 2 1 0 6 0 18:02
Feb 4, 2021 vs CGY W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 18:18
Feb 2, 2021 vs CGY W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 16:50
Feb 1, 2021 vs CGY L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 19:26
Jan 30, 2021 vs VAN L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 4 0 17:51
Jan 26, 2021 vs EDM W 6-4 1 3 4 3 0 3 0 16:19
Jan 24, 2021 vs EDM L 3-4 1 0 1 1 0 5 0 16:46
Jan 23, 2021 vs OTT W 6-3 1 1 2 2 0 5 0 13:24
Jan 21, 2021 @ OTT W 4-1 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 17:31
Jan 19, 2021 @ OTT W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 16:36
Jan 18, 2021 @ TOR L 1-3 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 16:58
Jan 14, 2021 vs CGY W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 4 1 17:31