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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 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Cayden Primeau MTL · 4 GP, 0.849 Michael Houser BUF · 4 GP, 0.901 Spencer Knight FLA · 4 GP, 0.919 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF · 4 GP, 0.906 Dan Vladar BOS · 5 GP, 0.886

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

2020-21 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
4 2 2100 71 65 6 2.13 0.915

Contract

$700KCap hitends in 2021, then UFA
$696KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.0 goals above replacement

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.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2020-21, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2020-21 $700K

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 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 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.0Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.4Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

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. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked. 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

+0.4Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
6.4Expected goals againstfrom 113 unblocked attempts
6Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.915Save %0.910 expected from his shots
Goals saved +0.13 above expected per 60 minutes64th
Shot difficulty 5.6% chance per attempt faced1stA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 64 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

0246Expected 6.4Allowed 6

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. 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 Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
May 8, 2021 vs PHI W 2-1 (OT) W 29 28 1 0.966 61:15
Apr 15, 2021 vs BUF L 2-5 8 8 0 1.000 24:44
Feb 21, 2021 vs NJD W 4-3 W 26 23 3 0.885 60:00
Feb 7, 2021 vs PHI L 4-7 L 8 6 2 0.750 22:45