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Niklas Backstrom

#32 · Goalie · Calgary Flames

Born Feb 13, 1978 in Helsinki, FIN · 6'2", 192 lb · Catches left

Trophy case

William M. Jennings Trophy Goaltender(s) on Team with Fewest Goals Against 2006-07

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2010-11. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Craig Anderson OTT · 51 GP, 0.913 Jonas Hiller ANA · 49 GP, 0.924 Dwayne Roloson TBL · 54 GP, 0.914 Sergei Bobrovsky PHI · 54 GP, 0.915 Steve Mason CBJ · 54 GP, 0.901

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.

02040602006-07: 41 games4106-072007-08: 58 games5807-082008-09: 71 games7108-092009-10: 60 games6009-102010-11: 51 games5110-112011-12: 46 games4611-122012-13: 42 games4212-132013-14: 21 games2113-142014-15: 19 games1914-152015-16: 4 games415-16

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2006-07 MIN 41 23865 1028 955 73 1.97 0.929
2007-08 MIN 58 331384 1629 1498 131 2.31 0.920 $3.1M
2008-09 MIN 71 372488 2059 1900 159 2.33 0.923 $3.1M
2009-10 MIN 60 262382 1632 1474 158 2.72 0.903 $6M
2010-11 MIN 51 222353 1566 1434 132 2.66 0.916 $6M
2011-12 MIN 46 191874 1299 1194 105 2.43 0.919 $6M
2012-13 MIN 42 241532 1072 974 98 2.48 0.909 $6M
2013-14 MIN 21 51120 546 491 55 3.02 0.899 $3.417M
2014-15 MIN 19 5730 452 401 51 3.05 0.887 $3.417M
2015-16 CGY 4 2200 109 96 13 3.35 0.881 $3.417M
10 seasons Career 413 1961445028 11392 10417 975 2.49 0.914

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2006-07 MIN 5 1400 145 134 11 2.22 0.924
2007-08 MIN 6 2400 170 153 17 2.82 0.900
2 seasons Playoffs 11 3800 315 287 28 2.55 0.911

2010-11 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
51 50 222353 1566 1434 132 2.66 0.916

Contract

$6MCap hitends in 2013, then UFA
$1.073MCap dollars per goal above replacement5.6 goals above replacement
$1.2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$4.8MValueworth 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. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 29 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 2012-13, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2010-11 $6M
2011-12 $6M
2012-13 $6M

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
2013-14 to 2015-16 $3.417M
2009-10 to 2012-13 $6M
2007-08 to 2008-09 $3.1M

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 2010-11 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.

2010-11 analytics

Rating

+5.6Goals above replacement31st of 53 goalies
+0.9Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-7.1Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 53 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. 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.

-15-10-50510152010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16Goals 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

-7.1Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
124.9Expected goals againstfrom 2,167 unblocked attempts
132Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.916Save %0.920 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 53 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 -0.14 above expected per 60 minutes36th
Shot difficulty 5.8% chance per attempt faced6thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 53 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Game 50Allowed 132Expected 124.9

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
Apr 7, 2011 @ VAN L 0-5 L 23 18 5 0.783 42:18
Apr 2, 2011 vs TBL L 1-3 L 23 20 3 0.870 57:57
Mar 31, 2011 vs EDM W 4-2 W 35 33 2 0.943 60:00
Mar 26, 2011 vs STL L 3-6 L 47 41 6 0.872 60:00
Mar 22, 2011 vs TOR L 0-3 L 17 14 3 0.824 60:00
Mar 20, 2011 vs MTL L 1-8 13 10 3 0.769 32:25
Mar 19, 2011 vs CBJ L 4-5 (OT) OTL 33 28 5 0.848 64:26
Mar 17, 2011 @ SJS L 2-3 L 50 47 3 0.940 59:00
Mar 14, 2011 @ VAN L 2-4 L 21 18 3 0.857 59:28
Mar 10, 2011 @ NSH L 0-4 L 31 27 4 0.871 60:00
Mar 8, 2011 vs COL W 5-2 W 30 28 2 0.933 59:55
Mar 2, 2011 @ NYI L 1-4 L 19 16 3 0.842 20:41
Feb 28, 2011 vs CHI L 2-4 L 34 30 4 0.882 58:32
Feb 24, 2011 @ LAK L 2-4 L 29 26 3 0.897 58:50
Feb 22, 2011 vs EDM W 4-1 W 21 20 1 0.952 59:58
Feb 20, 2011 vs DET L 1-2 (SO) OTL 39 38 1 0.974 64:50
Feb 18, 2011 vs ANA W 5-1 W 30 29 1 0.967 60:00
Feb 15, 2011 vs VAN L 1-4 L 13 10 3 0.769 58:58
Feb 12, 2011 vs STL W 3-1 W 25 24 1 0.960 60:00
Feb 9, 2011 vs COL W 3-2 W 25 23 2 0.920 60:00
Feb 5, 2011 @ PHX L 0-1 L 41 40 1 0.976 58:27
Feb 1, 2011 vs LAK W 1-0 (SO) W, SO 27 27 0 1.000 64:48
Jan 25, 2011 @ CHI W 4-2 W 33 31 2 0.939 60:00
Jan 22, 2011 @ SJS L 3-4 L 42 38 4 0.905 58:49
Jan 19, 2011 @ CGY W 6-0 W, SO 37 37 0 1.000 60:00
Dec 31, 2010 vs NSH L 1-4 L 30 28 2 0.933 58:48
Dec 29, 2010 vs SJS W 5-3 W 32 29 3 0.906 59:36
Dec 26, 2010 vs DET L 1-4 L 27 23 4 0.852 59:56
Dec 23, 2010 @ COL W 3-1 W 37 36 1 0.973 60:00
Dec 20, 2010 vs CGY W 4-1 W 35 34 1 0.971 59:54
Dec 18, 2010 @ CGY W 3-1 W 29 28 1 0.966 60:00
Dec 12, 2010 @ ANA L 2-6 L 36 30 6 0.833 60:00
Dec 9, 2010 @ PHX W 3-2 W 35 33 2 0.943 59:52
Dec 3, 2010 vs CGY L 2-3 (SO) OTL 32 30 2 0.938 65:00
Nov 27, 2010 @ COL L 4-7 L 38 31 7 0.816 46:49
Nov 24, 2010 vs PHI L 1-6 L 28 22 6 0.786 60:00
Nov 20, 2010 vs NYR L 2-5 L 30 25 5 0.833 58:25
Nov 17, 2010 vs ANA W 2-1 (OT) W 28 27 1 0.964 63:36
Nov 14, 2010 @ TBL W 4-1 W 38 37 1 0.974 59:48
Nov 11, 2010 @ ATL L 1-5 L 34 29 5 0.853 60:00
Nov 5, 2010 vs CGY W 2-1 W 34 33 1 0.971 60:00
Nov 2, 2010 vs SJS W 1-0 W, SO 36 36 0 1.000 59:26
Oct 30, 2010 vs CHI L 1-3 L 31 29 2 0.935 59:56
Oct 28, 2010 vs WSH W 2-1 W 22 21 1 0.955 60:00
Oct 25, 2010 vs LAK L 2-3 (SO) OTL 34 32 2 0.941 65:00
Oct 21, 2010 @ EDM W 4-2 W 36 34 2 0.944 60:00
Oct 19, 2010 vs VAN W 6-2 W 27 25 2 0.926 60:00
Oct 16, 2010 vs CBJ L 2-3 L 25 22 3 0.880 58:38
Oct 14, 2010 vs EDM W 4-2 W 26 24 2 0.923 60:00
Oct 8, 2010 @ CAR L 1-2 (SO) OTL 37 36 1 0.973 64:42
Oct 7, 2010 vs CAR L 3-4 L 31 27 4 0.871 58:45