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Semyon Varlamov

#40 · Goalie · New York Islanders

Born Apr 27, 1988 in Samara, RUS (age 38) · 6'1", 203 lb · Catches left · Drafted 23rd overall in 2006 by WSH (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Pyotr Kochetkov CAR · 24 GP, 0.909 Brian Elliott TBL · 22 GP, 0.891 Mackenzie Blackwood NJD · 22 GP, 0.893 Jaroslav Halak NYR · 25 GP, 0.903 David Rittich WPG · 21 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.

02040602008-09: 6 games608-092009-10: 26 games262010-11: 27 games2710-112011-12: 53 games532012-13: 35 games3512-132013-14: 63 games632014-15: 57 games5714-152015-16: 57 games572016-17: 24 games2416-172017-18: 51 games512018-19: 49 games4918-192019-20: 45 games452020-21: 36 games3620-212021-22: 31 games312022-23: 23 games2322-232023-24: 28 games282024-25: 10 games1024-252026-27: 1 games1

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
2008-09 WSH 6 4010 159 146 13 2.37 0.918 $822K
2009-10 WSH 26 15462 718 653 65 2.55 0.909 $822K
2010-11 WSH 27 11952 759 701 58 2.23 0.924 $822K
2011-12 COL 53 262434 1564 1428 136 2.59 0.913 $2.833M
2012-13 COL 35 112133 1007 909 98 3.02 0.903 $2.833M
2013-14 COL 63 411462 2013 1867 146 2.41 0.927 $2.833M
2014-15 COL 57 282085 1791 1650 141 2.56 0.921 $5.9M
2015-16 COL 57 272532 1714 1566 148 2.81 0.914 $5.9M
2016-17 COL 24 61701 745 669 76 3.38 0.898 $5.9M
2017-18 COL 51 241662 1595 1467 128 2.68 0.920 $5.9M
2018-19 COL 49 201992 1496 1360 136 2.87 0.909 $5.9M
2019-20 NYI 45 191462 1278 1168 110 2.62 0.914 $5M
2020-21 NYI 36 191147 1020 948 72 2.04 0.929 $5M
2021-22 NYI 31 101722 978 891 87 2.91 0.911 $5M
2022-23 NYI 23 11922 689 629 60 2.70 0.913 $5M
2023-24 NYI 28 14843 837 768 69 2.60 0.918 $2.75M
2024-25 NYI 10 3430 262 233 29 2.89 0.889 $2.75M
2026-27 NYI 1 0100 22 19 3 3.03 0.864 $2.75M
18 seasons Career 622 2892337141 18647 17072 1575 2.65 0.916

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2008-09 WSH 13 7602 389 357 32 2.53 0.918
2009-10 WSH 6 3300 153 139 14 2.41 0.908
2013-14 COL 7 3400 231 211 20 2.77 0.913
2019-20 NYI 20 11702 559 515 44 2.14 0.921
2020-21 NYI 14 7700 437 403 34 2.56 0.922
2023-24 NYI 5 1300 152 139 13 2.70 0.914
6 seasons Playoffs 65 323004 1921 1764 157 2.44 0.918

2022-23 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
23 22 11922 689 629 60 2.70 0.913

Contract

$5MCap hitends in 2023, then UFA
$470KCap dollars per goal above replacement10.6 goals above replacement
$2.9MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.1MValueworth 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 58 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the New York Islanders on Jul 1, 2019, as a new contract: 4 years and $20M, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2022-23, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2019-20 $5M $4M $2M $6M NTC
2020-21 $5M $4M $0 $4M NTC
2021-22 $5M $6M $0 $6M M-NTC
2022-23 $5M $4M $0 $4M M-NTC

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jul 1, 2023 New York Islanders New contract (35+) 2023-24 to 2026-27 4 $11M $2.75M
Jul 1, 2019 New York Islanders New contract 2019-20 to 2022-23 4 $20M $5M
Jan 30, 2014 Colorado Avalanche Extension 2014-15 to 2018-19 5 $29.5M $5.9M
Jul 2, 2011 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2011-12 to 2013-14 3 $8.5M $2.833M
Jun 11, 2007 Washington Capitals Entry-level 2008-09 to 2010-11 signed for 2007-08, slid 3 $2.55M $822K

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 2022-23 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.

2022-23 analytics

Rating

+10.6Goals above replacement25th of 62 goalies
+1.8Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+4.1Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 62 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. 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.

-10010203040502010-112012-132014-152016-172018-192020-212022-232024-25Goals 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

+4.1Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
64.1Expected goals againstfrom 985 unblocked attempts
60Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.913Save %0.907 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 67 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 +0.18 above expected per 60 minutes75th
Shot difficulty 6.5% chance per attempt faced12thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 67 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

0204060Game 10Game 20Expected 64.1Allowed 60

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 1, 2023 @ TBL L 0-5 11 10 1 0.909 28:15
Mar 25, 2023 vs BUF L 0-2 L 34 33 1 0.971 58:20
Mar 11, 2023 vs WSH L 1-5 L 27 22 5 0.815 59:32
Feb 26, 2023 @ WPG W 4-0 W, SO 23 23 0 1.000 60:00
Feb 18, 2023 @ BOS L 2-6 L 27 21 6 0.778 60:00
Feb 11, 2023 @ MTL L 3-4 (OT) OTL 31 27 4 0.871 64:07
Feb 6, 2023 @ PHI W 2-1 W 26 25 1 0.962 60:00
Jan 28, 2023 vs VGK W 2-1 (OT) W 46 45 1 0.978 64:28
Jan 25, 2023 @ OTT L 1-2 L 38 36 2 0.947 58:29
Jan 18, 2023 vs BOS L 1-4 L 24 20 4 0.833 59:10
Jan 6, 2023 @ CGY L 1-4 L 21 17 4 0.810 60:00
Dec 17, 2022 @ VGK W 5-2 W 37 35 2 0.946 53:38
Dec 13, 2022 @ BOS L 3-4 (SO) OTL 33 30 3 0.909 65:00
Dec 9, 2022 @ NJD W 6-4 W 29 25 4 0.862 60:00
Dec 4, 2022 vs CHI W 3-0 W, SO 21 21 0 1.000 59:33
Nov 26, 2022 vs PHI W 5-2 W 28 26 2 0.929 60:00
Nov 19, 2022 @ DAL L 2-5 L 34 30 4 0.882 57:25
Nov 14, 2022 @ OTT W 4-2 W 38 36 2 0.947 60:00
Nov 8, 2022 @ NYR W 4-3 W 40 37 3 0.925 59:22
Nov 5, 2022 @ DET L 0-3 L 24 22 2 0.917 48:56
Oct 29, 2022 vs COL W 5-4 W 37 33 4 0.892 60:00
Oct 23, 2022 @ FLA L 2-3 L 32 29 3 0.906 58:36
Oct 18, 2022 vs SJS W 5-2 W 28 26 2 0.929 59:53