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Matt Ellis

#37 · Left wing · Buffalo Sabres

Born Aug 31, 1981 in Welland, Ontario, CAN · 6'0", 208 lb · Shoots left

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2014-15. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Anthony Peluso WPG · 2 P in 49 GP Chris Porter STL · 2 P in 24 GP Tim Schaller BUF · 2 P in 18 GP Daniel Cleary DET · 2 P in 17 GP Tyler Pitlick EDM · 2 P in 17 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.

05102006-07: 0 points006-072007-08: 8 points807-082008-09: 12 points1208-092009-10: 13 points1309-102010-11: 0 points010-112011-12: 8 points811-122012-13: 0 points012-132013-14: 6 points613-142014-15: 2 points214-15

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2006-07 DET 16 0 0 0 -1 6 22 8 0.00
2007-08 DET 35 2 4 6 1 12 28 15 0.17
2007-08 LAK 19 1 1 2 2 14 38 13 0.11
2008-09 BUF 45 7 5 12 4 12 73 21 0.27
2009-10 BUF 72 3 10 13 -1 12 112 34 0.18
2010-11 BUF 14 0 0 0 -4 0 20 8 0.00
2011-12 BUF 60 3 5 8 -3 25 85 34 0.13
2012-13 BUF 6 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0.00
2013-14 BUF 50 4 2 6 -6 4 70 37 0.12 $550K
2014-15 BUF 39 1 1 2 -12 4 29 10 0.05 $550K
9 seasons Career 356 21 28 49 -20 89 485 180 0.14

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2009-10 BUF 3 1 0 1 1 0 5 2 0.33
2010-11 BUF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
2 seasons Playoffs 4 1 0 1 1 0 5 3 0.25

2014-15 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
39 1 1 2 -12 4 29 10 0.05 3.4 8:19

Contract

$550KCap hit2014-15
$275KCap dollars per point2 points in 39 games
$97KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$453KValueworth 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 649 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2013-14 to 2014-15 $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 2014-15 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.

2014-15 analytics

Rating

-0.8Goals above replacement550th of 665 skaters, 363rd of 432 forwards
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 432 ranked forwards: 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.

Even-strength offence-1.8 23rd percentileEven-strength defence+0.3 50th percentilePower play0.0 59th percentilePenalty kill-0.1 23rd percentilePenalties+0.0 39th percentile

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, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. 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.

-101232010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Goals 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

37.4Corsi for %189 attempts for, 316 against
-0.1CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
36.0Expected goals for %6.6 expected for, 11.7 against
-5.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
39.3Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
23.8Goals for %5 for, 16 against
94.8PDO4.3% shooting + 90.5% saves
37Attempts 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
Matt Ellis · Patrick Kaleta · Nicolas Deslauriers1674:2029.824.50-4
Matt Ellis · Zac Dalpe · Jerry D'Amigo831:1738.240.50-3
Matt Ellis · Cody Hodgson · Johan Larsson627:1146.366.81-1
Matt Ellis · Cody Hodgson · Tim Schaller318:1264.565.00-0

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.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.6Expected goalsfrom 35 unblocked attempts
-0.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.30 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 4.6% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -0.6 goals above expected50thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 415 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.5Game 20Expected 1.6Goals 1

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 this season, 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 11, 2015 vs PIT L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 09:52
Apr 10, 2015 @ CBJ L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 07:36
Apr 6, 2015 vs CAR W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:09
Apr 4, 2015 @ NYI L 0-3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 11:58
Apr 3, 2015 vs CHI L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 10:37
Apr 1, 2015 vs TOR W 4-3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 08:14
Mar 30, 2015 @ ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:50
Mar 28, 2015 @ COL L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:47
Mar 26, 2015 vs ARI L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 10:19
Mar 23, 2015 @ DAL L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:08
Mar 21, 2015 @ NSH L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 10:29
Mar 20, 2015 vs NJD L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 08:21
Mar 17, 2015 @ BOS W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05:20
Mar 16, 2015 vs WSH L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 04:02
Mar 14, 2015 vs NYR L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 08:55
Mar 11, 2015 @ TOR L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 10:51
Mar 7, 2015 @ WSH L 1-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 07:52
Mar 6, 2015 @ OTT L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 08:33
Mar 3, 2015 @ TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 10:24
Feb 28, 2015 @ FLA L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 07:41
Feb 26, 2015 vs VAN W 6-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 07:25
Feb 24, 2015 @ CBJ W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 06:40
Feb 22, 2015 vs NSH L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 04:39
Feb 20, 2015 vs NYR L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 05:38
Feb 19, 2015 @ PHI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 06:26
Feb 17, 2015 @ NJD L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 05:39
Feb 15, 2015 vs PHI L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 08:29
Feb 10, 2015 vs OTT L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 07:11
Feb 8, 2015 vs NYI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 08:52
Feb 7, 2015 vs DAL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 06:58
Feb 5, 2015 vs STL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:05
Feb 3, 2015 @ MTL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 06:50
Jan 30, 2015 @ VAN L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 04:31
Jan 29, 2015 @ EDM L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 03:58
Jan 27, 2015 @ CGY L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 08:39
Jan 18, 2015 @ DET L 4-6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 06:48
Jan 17, 2015 vs PHI L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:04
Jan 15, 2015 vs MIN L 0-7 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 10:20
Jan 13, 2015 vs DET L 1-3 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 07:28