Hockey Terminal
Be a GM

← All players

Photo of Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek

#26 · Left wing · Detroit Red Wings

Born Jan 19, 1984 in Vienna, AUT · 6'2", 214 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 5th overall in 2003 by BUF (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2018-19. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jaden Schwartz STL · 36 P in 69 GP Oliver Bjorkstrand CBJ · 36 P in 77 GP Blake Coleman NJD · 36 P in 78 GP Lars Eller WSH · 36 P in 81 GP Nikolaj Ehlers WPG · 37 P in 62 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.

0204060802005-06: 48 points4805-062006-07: 84 points8406-072007-08: 64 points6407-082008-09: 64 points6408-092009-10: 53 points5309-102010-11: 73 points7310-112011-12: 61 points6111-122012-13: 41 points4112-132013-14: 68 points6813-142014-15: 52 points5214-152015-16: 41 points4115-162016-17: 48 points4816-172017-18: 56 points5617-182018-19: 36 points3618-19

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2005-06 BUF 81 25 23 48 -11 72 204 22 0.59
2006-07 BUF 82 43 41 84 47 40 237 30 1.02
2007-08 BUF 82 36 28 64 -5 64 240 45 0.78 $7.143M
2008-09 BUF 73 40 24 64 -1 44 211 34 0.88 $7.143M
2009-10 BUF 71 28 25 53 9 42 182 46 0.75 $7.143M
2010-11 BUF 80 32 41 73 2 24 238 30 0.91 $7.143M
2011-12 BUF 78 26 35 61 -6 52 204 34 0.78 $7.143M
2012-13 BUF 38 20 21 41 -1 20 119 13 1.08 $7.143M
2013-14 BUF 13 4 5 9 -5 4 50 3 0.69 $7.143M
2013-14 NYI 47 17 27 44 4 36 137 17 0.94
2013-14 MTL 18 6 9 15 8 8 61 10 0.83
2014-15 MIN 80 21 31 52 -6 37 171 32 0.65 $6.5M
2015-16 MIN 74 18 23 41 -10 22 146 18 0.55 $6.5M
2016-17 DET 48 15 23 38 2 16 99 23 0.79 $2.6M
2016-17 FLA 20 2 8 10 -7 6 34 6 0.50
2017-18 VAN 61 17 24 41 -12 28 121 29 0.67 $2M
2017-18 CBJ 19 7 8 15 9 8 47 7 0.79
2018-19 DET 64 16 20 36 -12 26 108 38 0.56 $3M
14 seasons Career 1029 373 416 789 5 549 2609 437 0.77

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2005-06 BUF 10 2 0 2 -1 6 16 3 0.20
2006-07 BUF 16 6 4 10 2 10 36 4 0.63
2009-10 BUF 3 2 1 3 1 2 10 3 1.00
2010-11 BUF 7 5 0 5 -7 0 20 5 0.71
2013-14 MTL 17 5 5 10 -4 4 28 16 0.59
2014-15 MIN 10 0 4 4 -7 2 19 9 0.40
2017-18 CBJ 6 1 1 2 -1 2 13 2 0.33
7 seasons Playoffs 69 21 15 36 -17 26 142 42 0.52

2018-19 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
64 16 20 36 -12 26 108 38 0.56 14.8 14:07

Contract

$3MCap hit2018-19
$83KCap dollars per point36 points in 64 games
-$831KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$3.8MValueworth 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 696 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
2018-19 to 2018-19 $3M
2017-18 to 2017-18 $2M
2016-17 to 2016-17 $2.6M
2014-15 to 2015-16 $6.5M
2012-13 to 2013-14 $7.143M
2007-08 to 2013-14 $7.143M

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 2018-19 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.

2018-19 analytics

Rating

-2.1Goals above replacement644th of 699 skaters, 430th of 455 forwards
-0.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-4.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 455 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-0.7 45th percentileEven-strength defence-2.0 15th percentilePower play+0.0 72nd percentilePenalty kill-0.1 29th percentilePenalties-1.9 2nd 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. 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.

-50510152010-112012-132014-152016-172018-19Goals 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

44.9Corsi for %578 attempts for, 708 against
-3.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
42.9Expected goals for %24.6 expected for, 32.7 against
-3.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
45.2Goals for %28 for, 34 against
100.2PDO8.8% shooting + 91.4% saves
136Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 591 skaters 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. PDO and attempts taken are left plain, since neither is good or bad on its own.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Anthony Mantha23106:1150.342.88-6
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Andreas Athanasiou2583:0544.640.92-5
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Tyler Bertuzzi1748:1353.463.43-0
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Darren Helm842:2440.843.31-0

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.

16Goalsnot counting empty-netters
12.6Expected goalsfrom 151 unblocked attempts
+3.4Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.84 expected goals per 60 minutes63rd
Shot quality 8.3% chance per attempt65th
Finishing +3.4 goals above expected81stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 426 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

051015Game 20Game 40Game 60Goals 16Expected 12.6

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. 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 G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Mar 23, 2019 @ VGK W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 14:21
Mar 21, 2019 @ STL L 2-5 2 0 2 0 0 5 0 14:45
Mar 19, 2019 @ NYR W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 12:38
Mar 16, 2019 vs NYI W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 12:17
Mar 14, 2019 vs TBL L 4-5 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 15:52
Mar 12, 2019 @ MTL L 1-3 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 14:27
Mar 10, 2019 @ FLA L 1-6 1 0 1 -1 2 2 1 13:19
Mar 9, 2019 @ TBL L 2-3 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 17:15
Mar 7, 2019 vs NYR W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 14:34
Mar 5, 2019 @ COL L 3-4 (OT) 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 14:51
Feb 22, 2019 vs MIN L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:27
Feb 20, 2019 vs CHI L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 14:01
Feb 17, 2019 vs PHI L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 15:22
Feb 16, 2019 @ PHI L 5-6 (OT) 1 0 1 2 0 3 1 13:55
Feb 14, 2019 vs OTT W 3-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 11:50
Feb 12, 2019 @ NSH W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 11:06
Feb 10, 2019 @ CHI L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 14:08
Feb 9, 2019 @ BUF L 1-3 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 18:20
Feb 7, 2019 vs VGK L 3-4 1 0 1 1 0 4 0 16:45
Feb 2, 2019 @ OTT W 2-0 0 1 1 1 0 3 2 16:38
Feb 1, 2019 vs TOR W 3-2 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 13:08
Jan 22, 2019 @ EDM W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 11:54
Jan 20, 2019 @ VAN L 2-3 1 1 2 1 2 6 0 17:51
Jan 18, 2019 @ CGY L 4-6 0 1 1 -1 0 1 1 14:57
Jan 15, 2019 vs ANA W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 13:15
Jan 12, 2019 @ MIN W 5-2 2 0 2 1 2 5 2 15:48
Jan 11, 2019 @ WPG L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 15:20
Jan 8, 2019 vs MTL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 14:06
Jan 6, 2019 vs WSH L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:22
Jan 4, 2019 vs NSH W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 0 2 3 0 16:04
Jan 2, 2019 vs CGY L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:46
Dec 31, 2018 vs FLA L 3-4 (SO) 1 0 1 0 2 3 0 14:15
Dec 29, 2018 @ DAL L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 17:06
Dec 27, 2018 @ PIT L 2-5 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 15:22
Dec 23, 2018 @ TOR L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 16:17
Dec 22, 2018 vs FLA L 1-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 16:06
Dec 20, 2018 @ CAR W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:33
Dec 18, 2018 @ PHI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:17
Dec 15, 2018 @ NYI L 3-4 (SO) 1 2 3 2 2 2 1 10:19
Dec 14, 2018 vs OTT L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 12:20
Dec 11, 2018 @ WSH L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 14:33
Dec 10, 2018 vs LAK W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 14:21
Dec 8, 2018 vs NYI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:22
Dec 6, 2018 @ TOR W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 12:59
Dec 4, 2018 vs TBL L 5-6 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 16:16
Dec 2, 2018 vs COL L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 14:10
Dec 1, 2018 @ BOS W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11:25
Nov 28, 2018 vs STL W 4-3 1 1 2 2 2 3 0 11:27
Nov 26, 2018 vs CBJ L 5-7 0 1 1 -2 0 0 0 12:13
Nov 24, 2018 vs BUF L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 11:30
Nov 23, 2018 @ WSH L 1-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 14:21
Nov 21, 2018 vs BOS W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 10:00
Oct 30, 2018 @ CBJ W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 01:20
Oct 28, 2018 vs DAL W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 15:23
Oct 26, 2018 vs WPG L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:34
Oct 22, 2018 vs CAR L 1-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 15:55
Oct 20, 2018 @ FLA W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 10:30
Oct 18, 2018 @ TBL L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 12:50
Oct 15, 2018 @ MTL L 3-7 1 0 1 -2 2 2 7 13:47
Oct 13, 2018 @ BOS L 2-8 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 14:27
Oct 11, 2018 vs TOR L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 17:58
Oct 8, 2018 @ ANA L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:32
Oct 7, 2018 @ LAK L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 17:31
Oct 4, 2018 vs CBJ L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 13:47