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Craig Anderson

#41 · Goalie · Buffalo Sabres

Born May 21, 1981 in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA · 6'2", 187 lb · Catches left · Drafted 73rd overall in 2001 by CHI (round 3)

Trophy case

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Perseverance, Sportsmanship and Dedication 2016-17

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jake Allen STL · 59 GP, 0.906 Pekka Rinne NSH · 59 GP, 0.927 Devan Dubnyk MIN · 60 GP, 0.918 Jacob Markstrom VAN · 60 GP, 0.912 Jimmy Howard DET · 60 GP, 0.910

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.

02040602002-03: 6 games602-032003-04: 21 games212005-06: 29 games2905-062006-07: 5 games52007-08: 17 games1707-082008-09: 31 games312009-10: 71 games7109-102010-11: 51 games512011-12: 63 games6311-122012-13: 24 games242013-14: 53 games5313-142014-15: 35 games352015-16: 60 games6015-162016-17: 40 games402017-18: 58 games5817-182018-19: 50 games502019-20: 34 games3419-202020-21: 4 games42021-22: 31 games3121-222022-23: 26 games26

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLTOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2002-03 CHI 6 03200 125 107 18 4.00 0.856
2003-04 CHI 21 614001 602 545 57 2.84 0.905
2005-06 CHI 29 612041 757 671 86 3.32 0.886
2006-07 FLA 5 11010 116 108 8 2.21 0.931
2007-08 FLA 17 86012 535 500 35 2.25 0.935 $550K
2008-09 FLA 31 157053 977 903 74 2.71 0.924 $550K
2009-10 COL 71 3825077 2233 2047 186 2.63 0.917 $1.813M
2010-11 COL 33 1315030 957 858 99 3.28 0.897 $1.813M
2010-11 OTT 18 115012 589 553 36 2.05 0.939
2011-12 OTT 63 3322063 1917 1752 165 2.83 0.914 $3.188M
2012-13 OTT 24 129023 677 637 40 1.69 0.941 $3.188M
2013-14 OTT 53 2516084 1680 1530 150 3.00 0.911 $3.188M
2014-15 OTT 35 1413083 1134 1047 87 2.49 0.923 $3.188M
2015-16 OTT 60 3123054 1915 1754 161 2.78 0.916 $4.2M
2016-17 OTT 40 2511045 1247 1155 92 2.28 0.926 $4.2M
2017-18 OTT 58 2325062 1768 1588 180 3.32 0.898 $4.2M
2018-19 OTT 50 1727042 1676 1513 163 3.51 0.903 $4.75M
2019-20 OTT 34 1117020 1018 918 100 3.25 0.902 $4.75M
2020-21 WSH 4 21000 71 65 6 2.13 0.915 $700K
2021-22 BUF 31 1712020 945 848 97 3.12 0.897 $750K
2022-23 BUF 26 1111021 823 747 76 3.06 0.908
20 seasons Career 709 31927527143 21762 19846 1916 2.86 0.912

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2009-10 COL 6 2401 239 223 16 2.62 0.933
2011-12 OTT 7 3401 208 194 14 2.01 0.933
2012-13 OTT 10 5400 352 323 29 3.01 0.918
2014-15 OTT 4 2201 142 138 4 0.97 0.972
2016-17 OTT 19 11801 590 544 46 2.34 0.922
2020-21 WSH 2 1100 70 65 5 2.67 0.929
6 seasons Playoffs 48 242304 1601 1487 114 2.36 0.929

2017-18 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
58 55 232562 1768 1588 180 3.32 0.898

Contract

$4.2MCap hitends in 2018, then UFA
-$1.7MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$5.9MValueworth 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 56 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2017-18, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2017-18 $4.2M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2021-22 to 2021-22 $750K
2020-21 to 2020-21 $700K
2018-19 to 2019-20 $4.75M
2015-16 to 2017-18 $4.2M
2011-12 to 2014-15 $3.188M
2009-10 to 2010-11 $1.813M
2007-08 to 2008-09 $550K

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 2017-18 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.

2017-18 analytics

Rating

-10.3Goals above replacement53rd of 56 goalies
-1.7Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-26.0Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 56 ranked goalies: 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. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. 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.

-20-1001020302010-112012-132014-152016-172018-192020-212022-23Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. 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. What these numbers mean

-26.0Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
154.0Expected goals againstfrom 2,447 unblocked attempts
180Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.898Save %0.913 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 58 goalies 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. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved -0.48 above expected per 60 minutes10th
Shot difficulty 6.3% chance per attempt faced40thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 58 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100150Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Game 50Allowed 180Expected 154.0

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Apr 6, 2018 @ PIT L 0-4 L 23 19 4 0.826 60:00
Apr 4, 2018 @ BUF W 4-2 W 34 32 2 0.941 60:00
Apr 2, 2018 vs WPG L 5-6 L 40 34 6 0.850 58:41
Mar 29, 2018 vs FLA W 3-2 (OT) W 26 24 2 0.923 64:44
Mar 26, 2018 @ CAR L 1-4 L 29 26 3 0.897 59:41
Mar 22, 2018 vs EDM L 2-6 L 38 32 6 0.842 59:50
Mar 20, 2018 vs FLA L 2-7 L 17 13 4 0.765 27:19
Mar 16, 2018 vs DAL W 3-2 (OT) W 25 23 2 0.920 63:26
Mar 12, 2018 @ FLA W 5-3 W 38 35 3 0.921 60:00
Mar 8, 2018 vs BUF L 3-4 (SO) OTL 34 31 3 0.912 65:00
Mar 5, 2018 @ DAL W 3-2 (OT) W 33 31 2 0.939 62:41
Mar 2, 2018 @ VGK W 5-4 W 29 25 4 0.862 60:00
Feb 24, 2018 vs PHI L 3-5 L 39 34 5 0.872 59:20
Feb 22, 2018 vs TBL L 3-4 L 24 20 4 0.833 57:32
Feb 19, 2018 @ NSH L 2-5 L 41 36 5 0.878 59:56
Feb 17, 2018 vs NYR W 6-3 W 38 35 3 0.921 60:00
Feb 15, 2018 vs BUF W 3-2 (OT) W 25 23 2 0.920 59:56
Feb 13, 2018 @ PIT L 3-6 18 17 1 0.944 27:24
Feb 10, 2018 @ TOR L 3-6 10 7 3 0.700 11:30
Feb 8, 2018 vs NSH W 4-3 (OT) W 38 35 3 0.921 63:01
Feb 6, 2018 vs NJD W 5-3 W 33 30 3 0.909 60:00
Feb 3, 2018 @ PHI W 4-3 (SO) W 36 33 3 0.917 64:52
Jan 30, 2018 @ CAR L 1-2 L 39 37 2 0.949 59:55
Jan 23, 2018 @ STL L 0-3 L 40 38 2 0.950 59:37
Jan 20, 2018 vs TOR L 3-4 L 33 29 4 0.879 58:24
Jan 18, 2018 vs STL L 1-4 L 36 33 3 0.917 59:21
Jan 10, 2018 @ TOR W 4-3 W 48 45 3 0.938 60:00
Jan 9, 2018 vs CHI L 2-8 L 26 22 4 0.846 29:53
Jan 6, 2018 vs TBL W 6-3 W 48 45 3 0.938 60:00
Jan 5, 2018 vs SJS W 6-5 (OT) W 35 30 5 0.857 60:07
Jan 3, 2018 @ DET L 1-2 (OT) OTL 35 33 2 0.943 58:35
Dec 27, 2017 @ BOS L 1-5 L 23 18 5 0.783 60:00
Dec 21, 2017 @ TBL L 3-4 (SO) OTL 38 35 3 0.921 65:00
Dec 19, 2017 vs MIN L 4-6 L 40 34 6 0.850 57:45
Dec 16, 2017 vs MTL W 3-0 W, SO 28 28 0 1.000 60:00
Dec 13, 2017 vs NYR W 3-2 W 29 27 2 0.931 60:00
Dec 9, 2017 @ SJS L 0-5 L 50 45 5 0.900 59:45
Dec 6, 2017 @ ANA L 0-3 L 21 19 2 0.905 58:46
Dec 3, 2017 @ WPG L 0-5 27 27 0 1.000 33:10
Dec 1, 2017 @ NYI W 6-5 18 13 5 0.722 28:40
Nov 25, 2017 vs NYI L 1-2 L 24 22 2 0.917 58:44
Nov 24, 2017 @ CBJ L 2-5 L 31 27 4 0.871 58:14
Nov 22, 2017 @ WSH L 2-5 L 24 20 4 0.833 58:44
Nov 19, 2017 @ NYR L 0-3 L 26 24 2 0.923 59:41
Nov 16, 2017 vs PIT L 1-3 L 28 26 2 0.929 58:59
Nov 11, 2017 vs COL W 4-3 W 8 8 0 1.000 29:24
Nov 10, 2017 @ COL W 4-3 (OT) W 19 16 3 0.842 60:34
Nov 4, 2017 vs VGK L 4-5 L 34 29 5 0.853 57:43
Nov 2, 2017 vs DET W 3-1 W 25 24 1 0.960 60:00
Oct 30, 2017 vs MTL L 3-8 L 15 9 6 0.600 40:00
Oct 26, 2017 vs PHI W 5-4 W 40 36 4 0.900 60:00
Oct 21, 2017 vs TOR W 6-3 W 31 28 3 0.903 59:46
Oct 19, 2017 vs NJD L 4-5 (OT) OTL 46 41 5 0.891 61:07
Oct 17, 2017 vs VAN L 0-3 L 24 21 3 0.875 58:58
Oct 13, 2017 @ CGY W 6-0 W, SO 25 25 0 1.000 59:52
Oct 10, 2017 @ VAN W 3-2 (SO) W 28 26 2 0.929 65:00
Oct 7, 2017 vs DET L 1-2 (SO) OTL 30 29 1 0.967 64:55
Oct 5, 2017 vs WSH L 4-5 (SO) OTL 28 24 4 0.857 65:00