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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 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Erik Cernak TBL · 18 P in 46 GP Sean Walker LAK · 18 P in 47 GP Rasmus Ristolainen BUF · 18 P in 49 GP Brandon Montour FLA · 18 P in 50 GP Gustav Forsling FLA · 17 P in 43 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

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
35 5 13 18 1 10 75 21 0.51 6.7 23:46

Contract

$6.25MCap hitends in 2027, then UFA
$347KCap dollars per point18 points in 35 games
$1.306MCap dollars per goal above replacement4.8 goals above replacement
$5.6MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$698KValueworth 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 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

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 6 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 2020-21 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.

2020-21 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+4.8Goals above replacement141st of 643 skaters, 39th of 213 defencemen
+0.8Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+2.0Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 213 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+2.6 93rd percentileEven-strength defence-1.3 23rd percentilePower play+0.0 80th percentilePenalty kill+0.4 85th percentilePenalties+0.4 88th 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. 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.

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

53.5Corsi for %629 attempts for, 546 against
+4.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
50.8Expected goals for %26.9 expected for, 26.0 against
+2.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
53.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
52.8Goals for %28 for, 25 against
100.1PDO8.1% shooting + 92.0% saves
117Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 579 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 Ellis32390:5556.656.410-15
Ryan Ellis · Mattias Ekholm26185:0747.040.813-8
Ryan Ellis · Dante Fabbro1510:5843.844.50-1
Ryan Ellis · Ben Harpur55:2514.315.20-0

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.

5Goalsnot counting empty-netters
3.4Expected goalsfrom 93 unblocked attempts
+1.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.25 expected goals per 60 minutes72nd
Shot quality 3.7% chance per attempt78th
Finishing +1.6 goals above expected84thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 218 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

012345Game 20Goals 5Expected 3.4

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
May 8, 2021 vs CAR W 3-1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 22:13
May 5, 2021 @ CBJ L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 22:39
May 3, 2021 @ CBJ W 4-3 (OT) 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 22:09
May 1, 2021 vs DAL W 1-0 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 24:36
Apr 27, 2021 vs FLA L 4-7 2 0 2 2 0 5 1 20:51
Apr 26, 2021 vs FLA W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 19:27
Apr 23, 2021 @ CHI W 3-1 0 2 2 2 0 2 1 23:51
Apr 21, 2021 @ CHI L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 22:36
Apr 19, 2021 vs CHI W 5-2 0 1 1 3 0 3 0 22:27
Apr 17, 2021 @ CAR L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 25:46
Apr 15, 2021 @ CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 23:28
Apr 13, 2021 vs TBL W 7-2 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 19:47
Apr 11, 2021 vs DAL W 3-2 (SO) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 3 24:43
Apr 10, 2021 vs TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 19:43
Feb 28, 2021 vs CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 26:08
Feb 27, 2021 vs CBJ W 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 22:10
Feb 25, 2021 @ DET L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 26:18
Feb 23, 2021 @ DET W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 23:10
Feb 20, 2021 @ CBJ W 4-2 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 23:18
Feb 18, 2021 @ CBJ L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 21:30
Feb 13, 2021 vs DET L 2-4 0 1 1 -2 0 1 0 23:41
Feb 11, 2021 vs DET W 3-2 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 28:45
Feb 9, 2021 vs TBL L 1-6 0 0 0 1 6 2 0 22:46
Feb 8, 2021 vs TBL L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 1 0 27:01
Feb 5, 2021 @ FLA L 1-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 27:29
Feb 4, 2021 @ FLA W 6-5 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 0 25:40
Feb 1, 2021 @ TBL L 2-5 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 25:22
Jan 30, 2021 @ TBL L 3-4 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 24:57
Jan 27, 2021 vs CHI W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 24:38
Jan 26, 2021 vs CHI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 24:01
Jan 24, 2021 @ DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 24:48
Jan 22, 2021 @ DAL L 0-7 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 22:52
Jan 18, 2021 vs CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 3 27:03
Jan 16, 2021 vs CBJ W 5-2 0 1 1 2 0 5 0 22:17
Jan 14, 2021 vs CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 23:41