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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 2019-20. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Alexandar Georgiev NYR · 34 GP, 0.910 Linus Ullmark BUF · 34 GP, 0.915 Pavel Francouz COL · 34 GP, 0.923 Aaron Dell SJS · 33 GP, 0.907 Antti Raanta ARI · 33 GP, 0.921

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

2019-20 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
34 31 111720 1018 918 100 3.25 0.902

Contract

$4.75MCap hitends in 2020, then UFA
$2.431MCap dollars per goal above replacement2.0 goals above replacement
$1.2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.6MValueworth 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 57 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 2019-20, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2019-20 $4.75M

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 2019-20 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.

2019-20 analytics

Rating

+2.0Goals above replacement47th of 57 goalies
+0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-7.5Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 57 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. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. 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

-7.5Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
92.5Expected goals againstfrom 1,416 unblocked attempts
100Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.902Save %0.909 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 59 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 -0.24 above expected per 60 minutes14th
Shot difficulty 6.5% chance per attempt faced41stA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 59 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

020406080100Game 10Game 20Game 30Allowed 100Expected 92.5

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
Mar 11, 2020 @ LAK L 2-3 L 39 36 3 0.923 57:58
Mar 7, 2020 @ SJS W 2-1 (OT) W 32 31 1 0.969 60:33
Mar 5, 2020 vs NYI W 4-3 W 40 37 3 0.925 60:00
Mar 3, 2020 @ PIT L 3-7 L 35 28 7 0.800 59:48
Feb 25, 2020 @ NSH L 2-3 L 33 30 3 0.909 57:26
Feb 22, 2020 vs MTL L 0-3 L 37 34 3 0.919 60:00
Feb 18, 2020 vs BUF W 7-4 W 27 23 4 0.852 60:00
Feb 16, 2020 vs DAL W 4-3 (OT) W 39 36 3 0.923 63:48
Feb 15, 2020 vs TOR L 2-4 14 14 0 1.000 26:30
Feb 8, 2020 @ WPG L 2-5 L 22 18 4 0.818 39:44
Feb 1, 2020 @ TOR L 1-2 (OT) OTL 36 34 2 0.944 63:54
Jan 28, 2020 @ BUF W 5-2 W 30 28 2 0.933 60:00
Jan 16, 2020 vs VGK L 2-4 L 43 39 4 0.907 57:00
Jan 7, 2020 @ WSH L 1-6 L 30 25 5 0.833 42:08
Jan 4, 2020 vs TBL L 3-5 L 27 23 4 0.852 58:52
Jan 2, 2020 vs FLA L 3-6 L 30 25 5 0.833 59:16
Dec 29, 2019 vs NJD L 3-4 (OT) OTL 34 30 4 0.882 60:54
Dec 23, 2019 vs BUF W 3-1 W 44 43 1 0.977 59:58
Dec 7, 2019 @ PHI L 3-4 6 4 2 0.667 06:59
Dec 4, 2019 @ EDM W 5-2 W 26 24 2 0.923 59:50
Nov 25, 2019 @ CBJ L 0-1 L 19 18 1 0.947 57:45
Nov 20, 2019 @ MTL W 2-1 (OT) W 36 35 1 0.972 60:38
Nov 16, 2019 @ BUF L 2-4 L 31 28 3 0.903 58:33
Nov 13, 2019 @ NJD W 4-2 W 23 21 2 0.913 60:00
Nov 11, 2019 @ CAR L 2-8 24 20 4 0.833 27:15
Nov 5, 2019 @ NYI L 1-4 L 32 28 4 0.875 60:00
Nov 2, 2019 @ BOS L 2-5 L 32 27 5 0.844 59:57
Oct 27, 2019 vs SJS W 5-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Oct 25, 2019 vs NYI L 2-4 8 8 0 1.000 31:30
Oct 19, 2019 @ ARI L 2-5 L 26 22 4 0.846 58:38
Oct 14, 2019 vs MIN L 0-2 L 34 33 1 0.971 57:50
Oct 12, 2019 vs TBL W 4-2 W 21 19 2 0.905 60:00
Oct 5, 2019 vs NYR L 1-4 L 30 26 4 0.867 60:00
Oct 2, 2019 @ TOR L 3-5 L 42 37 5 0.881 58:27