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 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Gustav Nyquist DET · 48 P in 76 GP Matthew Tkachuk CGY · 48 P in 76 GP Justin Williams WSH · 48 P in 80 GP Kevin Hayes NYR · 49 P in 76 GP Bryan Little WPG · 47 P in 59 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

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
68 17 31 48 -5 22 133 29 0.71 12.8 14:24

Contract

$2.6MCap hit2016-17
$54KCap dollars per point48 points in 68 games
$1.063MCap dollars per goal above replacement2.4 goals above replacement
$2.1MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$468KValueworth 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 664 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 2016-17 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.

2016-17 analytics

Rating

+2.4Goals above replacement325th of 664 skaters, 230th of 435 forwards
+0.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.3Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 435 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+5.4 93rd percentileEven-strength defence-5.9 1st percentilePower play+0.6 82nd percentilePenalty kill+0.0 52nd percentilePenalties-0.4 23rd 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

47.4Corsi for %666 attempts for, 738 against
-1.9CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.2Expected goals for %33.8 expected for, 37.8 against
-1.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.2Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
52.6Goals for %40 for, 36 against
102.1PDO10.3% shooting + 91.8% saves
156Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 565 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 lineTeamGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Andreas AthanasiouDET16121:4056.852.110-4
Thomas Vanek · Nick Bjugstad · Jonathan MarchessaultFLA15117:2845.842.53-8
Frans Nielsen · Thomas Vanek · Gustav NyquistDET1269:0855.660.03-4
Thomas Vanek · Gustav Nyquist · Dylan LarkinDET1464:1734.032.52-3

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.

17Goalsnot counting empty-netters
14.7Expected goalsfrom 172 unblocked attempts
+2.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.90 expected goals per 60 minutes80th
Shot quality 8.5% chance per attempt78th
Finishing +2.3 goals above expected77thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 421 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

051015Game 20Game 40Game 60Goals 17Expected 14.7

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
Apr 9, 2017 @ WSH W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 13:16
Apr 8, 2017 vs BUF W 3-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 17:03
Apr 6, 2017 vs STL L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 12:40
Apr 3, 2017 vs MTL L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 12:54
Apr 1, 2017 @ BOS L 2-5 1 0 1 1 2 2 0 12:18
Mar 30, 2017 @ MTL L 2-6 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 13:23
Mar 28, 2017 @ TOR L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 12:57
Mar 27, 2017 @ BUF L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 17:01
Mar 25, 2017 vs CHI W 7-0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 15:12
Mar 23, 2017 vs ARI W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 12:46
Mar 21, 2017 vs CAR L 3-4 0 0 0 -3 0 1 0 16:31
Mar 19, 2017 @ PIT L 0-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 13:08
Mar 17, 2017 @ NYR W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 10:17
Mar 16, 2017 @ CBJ L 1-2 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 13:03
Mar 14, 2017 vs TOR W 7-2 0 4 4 3 0 4 0 15:04
Mar 11, 2017 @ TBL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 11:54
Mar 10, 2017 vs MIN L 4-7 0 0 0 -3 0 1 0 10:32
Mar 7, 2017 vs NYR L 2-5 1 0 1 -2 0 3 2 15:01
Mar 4, 2017 vs DAL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 17:22
Mar 2, 2017 @ PHI L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 5 1 15:31
Feb 28, 2017 @ VAN W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 13:29
Feb 21, 2017 vs NYI L 1-3 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 17:58
Feb 19, 2017 @ PIT W 5-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 11:11
Feb 18, 2017 vs WSH W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 12:04
Feb 15, 2017 vs STL L 0-2 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 15:18
Feb 11, 2017 @ CBJ L 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 14:30
Feb 9, 2017 @ WSH L 3-6 0 2 2 -1 0 0 0 15:04
Feb 7, 2017 vs CBJ L 2-3 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 3 3 13:00
Feb 4, 2017 @ NSH W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:08
Feb 3, 2017 vs NYI W 5-4 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 07:40
Jan 31, 2017 vs NJD L 3-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 15:30
Jan 25, 2017 vs TOR L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:32
Jan 22, 2017 vs NYR L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 06:58
Jan 20, 2017 @ BUF L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:57
Jan 18, 2017 vs BOS W 6-5 (SO) 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 18:14
Jan 16, 2017 vs MTL W 1-0 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 13:34
Jan 14, 2017 vs PIT W 6-3 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 15:15
Jan 12, 2017 @ DAL L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 18:05
Jan 10, 2017 @ CHI L 3-4 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 13:46
Jan 7, 2017 @ SJS L 3-6 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 15:24
Jan 5, 2017 @ LAK W 4-0 2 0 2 2 0 2 1 12:51
Jan 4, 2017 @ ANA L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:52
Jan 1, 2017 @ TOR L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 4 4 16:33
Dec 29, 2016 @ OTT W 3-2 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 4 0 16:17
Dec 27, 2016 vs BUF L 3-4 1 0 1 -1 0 6 1 16:47
Dec 23, 2016 @ FLA W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 3 0 16:18
Dec 20, 2016 @ TBL L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:54
Dec 17, 2016 vs ANA W 6-4 0 2 2 1 0 2 1 15:59
Dec 15, 2016 vs LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 15:47
Dec 13, 2016 vs ARI L 1-4 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 16:59
Dec 11, 2016 vs PHI L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 17:10
Dec 9, 2016 vs CBJ L 1-4 0 1 1 -3 0 4 0 13:59
Dec 6, 2016 @ WPG W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 15:27
Dec 4, 2016 @ NYI W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 6 0 15:03
Dec 3, 2016 @ PIT L 3-5 0 1 1 -1 0 3 1 17:03
Dec 1, 2016 vs FLA L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 16:04
Nov 29, 2016 vs DAL W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 12:55
Nov 26, 2016 vs MTL L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:29
Nov 25, 2016 @ NJD W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 15:29
Nov 23, 2016 @ BUF W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 14:11
Nov 20, 2016 vs CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 17:35
Oct 25, 2016 vs CAR W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 12:37
Oct 22, 2016 vs SJS W 3-0 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 13:59
Oct 21, 2016 vs NSH W 5-3 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 13:30
Oct 19, 2016 @ NYR W 2-1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 11:04
Oct 17, 2016 vs OTT W 5-1 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 12:53
Oct 15, 2016 @ FLA L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 12:34
Oct 13, 2016 @ TBL L 4-6 2 0 2 1 0 5 0 15:40