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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 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Charlie McAvoy BOS · 32 P in 63 GP Cam Fowler ANA · 32 P in 67 GP Ryan Pulock NYI · 32 P in 68 GP Sami Vatanen NJD · 32 P in 72 GP TJ Brodie CGY · 32 P in 73 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

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
44 9 23 32 26 6 110 27 0.73 8.2 23:21

Contract

$2.5MCap hitends in 2019, then UFA
$78KCap dollars per point32 points in 44 games
$299KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.4 goals above replacement
$5.9MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$3.4MValueworth 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 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Nashville Predators on Oct 5, 2014, as a new contract: 5 years and $12.5M, beginning in 2014-15. It runs through 2018-19, with 1 season 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
2014-15 $2.5M $1.5M $0 $1.5M
2015-16 $2.5M $2M $0 $2M
2016-17 $2.5M $2.5M $0 $2.5M
2017-18 $2.5M $3M $0 $3M
2018-19 $2.5M $3.5M $0 $3.5M

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 2017-18 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.

2017-18 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+8.4Goals above replacement104th of 691 skaters, 26th of 240 defencemen
+1.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+4.9Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 240 ranked defencemen: 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+2.4 90th percentileEven-strength defence+1.6 76th percentilePower play+0.1 83rd percentilePenalty kill-0.1 29th percentilePenalties+1.1 97th 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 defencemen. 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.

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

55.5Corsi for %885 attempts for, 709 against
+4.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.2Expected goals for %34.5 expected for, 28.0 against
+3.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
63.4Goals for %45 for, 26 against
102.9PDO9.6% shooting + 93.3% saves
158Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Roman Josi · Ryan Ellis39569:5855.156.834-19
Ryan Ellis · Mattias Ekholm21142:4165.561.07-2
P.K. Subban · Ryan Ellis2420:3531.617.52-2
Alexei Emelin · Ryan Ellis128:2541.733.00-0

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.

9Goalsnot counting empty-netters
4.9Expected goalsfrom 159 unblocked attempts
+4.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.29 expected goals per 60 minutes81st
Shot quality 3.1% chance per attempt53rd
Finishing +4.1 goals above expected95thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 242 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

02468Game 20Game 40Goals 9Expected 4.9

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 7, 2018 vs CBJ W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 19:48
Apr 5, 2018 @ WSH W 4-3 0 2 2 2 0 2 1 25:25
Apr 3, 2018 @ FLA L 1-2 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 24:13
Apr 1, 2018 @ TBL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 22:52
Mar 31, 2018 vs BUF L 4-7 0 1 1 1 0 6 0 24:27
Mar 29, 2018 vs SJS W 5-3 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 25:07
Mar 27, 2018 vs MIN W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 22:54
Mar 25, 2018 @ WPG L 4-5 (SO) 1 1 2 1 0 2 0 26:10
Mar 24, 2018 @ MIN L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 25:55
Mar 22, 2018 vs TOR L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 22:41
Mar 19, 2018 @ BUF W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 23:29
Mar 16, 2018 @ COL W 4-2 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 23:02
Mar 15, 2018 @ ARI W 3-2 1 0 1 2 0 2 0 23:12
Mar 13, 2018 vs WPG W 3-1 0 1 1 2 2 3 0 24:08
Mar 10, 2018 vs NJD L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 26:25
Mar 8, 2018 vs ANA W 4-2 0 1 1 1 2 3 0 25:03
Mar 6, 2018 vs DAL W 2-0 0 0 0 2 0 5 1 26:07
Mar 4, 2018 @ COL W 4-3 (OT) 1 2 3 1 0 4 2 26:50
Mar 2, 2018 @ VAN W 4-3 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 5 0 27:21
Mar 1, 2018 @ EDM W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 21:08
Feb 27, 2018 @ WPG W 6-5 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 23:46
Feb 25, 2018 vs STL W 4-0 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 21:58
Feb 22, 2018 vs SJS W 7-1 0 1 1 2 0 3 0 24:13
Feb 20, 2018 @ DET W 3-2 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 23:01
Feb 19, 2018 vs OTT W 5-2 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 19:40
Feb 17, 2018 vs DET L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 25:46
Feb 15, 2018 vs CGY L 3-4 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 23:46
Feb 13, 2018 vs STL W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 23:44
Feb 10, 2018 @ MTL W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 24:50
Feb 8, 2018 @ OTT L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 5 0 23:12
Feb 7, 2018 @ TOR L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 4 3 23:37
Feb 5, 2018 @ NYI W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 2 0 5 0 25:19
Feb 3, 2018 vs NYR W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 23:04
Feb 1, 2018 vs LAK W 5-0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 21:50
Jan 30, 2018 vs CHI L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 22:48
Jan 25, 2018 @ NJD W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 22:34
Jan 23, 2018 vs TBL L 3-4 (OT) 1 0 1 -1 0 1 0 23:33
Jan 20, 2018 vs FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 24:18
Jan 18, 2018 vs ARI W 3-2 (SO) 1 1 2 1 0 4 0 22:33
Jan 16, 2018 vs VGK W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22:19
Jan 9, 2018 vs EDM W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 21:02
Jan 6, 2018 @ LAK W 4-3 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 18:43
Jan 4, 2018 @ ARI L 2-3 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 17:20
Jan 2, 2018 @ VGK L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 18:28