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Ryan Ellis

#94 · Defence · Chicago Blackhawks

Born Jan 3, 1991 in Hamilton, Ontario, CAN (age 35) · 5'10", 180 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 11th overall in 2009 by NSH (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2021-22. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Ville Heinola WPG · 5 P in 12 GP Dylan Samberg WPG · 5 P in 15 GP Lassi Thomson OTT · 5 P in 16 GP Robin Salo NYI · 5 P in 21 GP Mark Friedman PIT · 5 P in 26 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.

0102030402011-12: 11 points1111-122012-13: 6 points612-132013-14: 27 points2713-142014-15: 27 points2714-152015-16: 32 points3215-162016-17: 38 points3816-172017-18: 32 points3217-182018-19: 41 points4118-192019-20: 38 points3819-202020-21: 18 points1820-212021-22: 5 points521-22

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2011-12 NSH 32 3 8 11 5 4 34 30 0.34 $840K
2012-13 NSH 32 2 4 6 -2 15 48 22 0.19 $840K
2013-14 NSH 80 6 21 27 9 24 123 57 0.34 $840K
2014-15 NSH 58 9 18 27 8 27 118 41 0.47 $2.5M
2015-16 NSH 79 10 22 32 13 35 152 61 0.41 $2.5M
2016-17 NSH 71 16 22 38 17 29 140 64 0.54 $2.5M
2017-18 NSH 44 9 23 32 26 6 110 27 0.73 $2.5M
2018-19 NSH 82 7 34 41 21 20 149 71 0.50 $2.5M
2019-20 NSH 49 8 30 38 16 19 114 48 0.78 $6.25M
2020-21 NSH 35 5 13 18 1 10 75 21 0.51 $6.25M
2021-22 PHI 4 1 4 5 2 0 6 1 1.25 $6.25M
11 seasons Career 566 76 199 275 116 189 1069 443 0.49

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2011-12 NSH 3 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 0.00
2014-15 NSH 6 0 3 3 4 2 13 20 0.50
2015-16 NSH 14 0 6 6 0 4 22 27 0.43
2016-17 NSH 22 5 8 13 4 12 48 29 0.59
2017-18 NSH 13 0 5 5 -4 8 30 12 0.38
2018-19 NSH 6 0 3 3 -2 0 10 8 0.50
2019-20 NSH 4 1 2 3 0 2 13 5 0.75
2020-21 NSH 6 1 4 5 -1 2 13 5 0.83
8 seasons Playoffs 74 7 31 38 3 30 151 109 0.51

2021-22 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
4 1 4 5 2 0 6 1 1.25 16.7 22:48

Contract

$6.25MCap hitends in 2027, then UFA
$1.25MCap dollars per point5 points in 4 games
$7.162MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.9 goals above replacement

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.

The contract

Signed by the Nashville Predators on Aug 14, 2018, as an extension of the contract he was on: 8 years and $50M, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2026-27, with 5 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2019-20 $6.25M $700K $7M $7.7M
2020-21 $6.25M $5.3M $0 $5.3M
2021-22 $6.25M $7.7M $0 $7.7M
2022-23 $6.25M $5.3M $0 $5.3M
2023-24 $6.25M $7.5M $0 $7.5M
2024-25 $6.25M $6.5M $0 $6.5M
2025-26 $6.25M $5.5M $0 $5.5M
2026-27 $6.25M $4.5M $0 $4.5M

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
Aug 14, 2018 Nashville Predators Extension 2019-20 to 2026-27 8 $50M $6.25M
Oct 5, 2014 Nashville Predators New contract 2014-15 to 2018-19 5 $12.5M $2.5M
Oct 19, 2009 Nashville Predators Entry-level 2011-12 to 2013-14 signed for 2009-10, slid 3 $4.5M $840K

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 2021-22 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.

2021-22 analytics

Rating

+0.9Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.1Even-strength defence+0.8Power play0.0Penalty kill-0.1Penalties+0.0

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. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked. 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.

0510152011-122013-142015-162017-182019-202021-22Goals 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

50.4Corsi for %59 attempts for, 58 against
+4.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
41.7Expected goals for %1.6 expected for, 2.3 against
-3.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
48.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
66.7Goals for %2 for, 1 against
104.7PDO8.0% shooting + 96.7% saves
11Attempts 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Ryan Ellis · Ivan Provorov454:3447.341.12-0
Keith Yandle · Ryan Ellis29:4260.043.60-1
Ryan Ellis · Travis Sanheim31:5860.038.50-0
Justin Braun · Ryan Ellis10:390.00.00-0

The pairs 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 pairs 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
0.2Expected goalsfrom 8 unblocked attempts
+0.8Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.16 expected goals per 60 minutes35th
Shot quality 3.1% chance per attempt45th
Finishing +0.8 goals above expected69thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 241 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Goals 1Expected 0.2

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
Nov 13, 2021 @ DAL L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 2 0 18:45
Oct 20, 2021 vs BOS W 6-3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 21:18
Oct 18, 2021 vs SEA W 6-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 22:50
Oct 15, 2021 vs VAN L 4-5 (SO) 0 2 2 2 0 3 0 28:20