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Mattias Ekholm

#14 · Defence · Edmonton Oilers

Born May 24, 1990 in Borlange, SWE (age 36) · 6'4", 211 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 102nd overall in 2009 by NSH (round 4)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2016-17. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Jack Johnson CBJ · 23 P in 82 GP David Savard CBJ · 23 P in 74 GP Radko Gudas PHI · 23 P in 67 GP Johnny Boychuk NYI · 23 P in 66 GP Anton Stralman TBL · 22 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: 0 points011-122012-13: 0 points02013-14: 9 points913-142014-15: 18 points182015-16: 35 points3515-162016-17: 23 points232017-18: 34 points3417-182018-19: 44 points442019-20: 33 points3319-202020-21: 23 points232021-22: 31 points3121-222022-23: 32 points322023-24: 45 points4523-242024-25: 33 points332025-26: 41 points4125-262026-27: 2 points2

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 2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 0.00 $900K
2012-13 NSH 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0.00 $900K
2013-14 NSH 62 1 8 9 -8 10 58 42 0.15 $900K
2014-15 NSH 80 7 11 18 12 52 86 57 0.23 $1.038M
2015-16 NSH 82 8 27 35 14 44 114 67 0.43 $1.038M
2016-17 NSH 82 3 20 23 4 34 120 61 0.28 $3.75M
2017-18 NSH 81 10 24 34 25 46 135 75 0.42 $3.75M
2018-19 NSH 80 8 36 44 27 47 146 68 0.55 $3.75M
2019-20 NSH 68 8 25 33 -1 32 154 49 0.49 $3.75M
2020-21 NSH 48 6 17 23 19 14 110 23 0.48 $3.75M
2021-22 NSH 76 6 25 31 14 44 145 79 0.41 $3.75M
2022-23 NSH 57 5 13 18 0 24 99 62 0.32 $6.25M
2022-23 EDM 21 4 10 14 28 4 36 29 0.67
2023-24 EDM 79 11 34 45 44 47 177 136 0.57 $6.25M
2024-25 EDM 65 9 24 33 11 30 143 42 0.51 $6.25M
2025-26 EDM 82 6 35 41 32 30 131 65 0.50 $6.25M
2026-27 EDM 5 1 1 2 11 10 5 4 0.40 $4M
16 seasons Career 971 93 310 403 230 468 1660 859 0.42

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2014-15 NSH 6 1 0 1 4 2 6 9 0.17
2015-16 NSH 14 3 4 7 2 4 25 9 0.50
2016-17 NSH 22 1 10 11 6 38 33 25 0.50
2017-18 NSH 13 1 7 8 4 12 20 16 0.62
2018-19 NSH 6 0 2 2 -2 12 14 5 0.33
2019-20 NSH 4 0 1 1 -2 0 12 6 0.25
2020-21 NSH 6 0 3 3 2 6 12 2 0.50
2021-22 NSH 4 0 2 2 -2 0 8 11 0.50
2022-23 EDM 12 1 6 7 0 8 20 30 0.58
2023-24 EDM 25 5 5 10 9 6 45 28 0.40
2024-25 EDM 7 1 5 6 0 14 13 2 0.86
2025-26 EDM 6 0 2 2 -1 0 6 4 0.33
12 seasons Playoffs 125 13 47 60 20 102 214 147 0.48

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
82 3 20 23 4 34 120 61 0.28 2.5 23:28

Contract

$3.75MCap hitends in 2022, then UFA
$163KCap dollars per point23 points in 82 games
$449KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.4 goals above replacement
$5.9MWorth 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 664 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Nashville Predators on Oct 26, 2015, as an extension of the contract he was on: 6 years and $22.5M, beginning in 2016-17. It runs through 2021-22, 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
2016-17 $3.75M $3M $0 $3M
2017-18 $3.75M $3.5M $0 $3.5M
2018-19 $3.75M $4M $0 $4M
2019-20 $3.75M $4M $0 $4M
2020-21 $3.75M $3M $0 $3M
2021-22 $3.75M $5M $0 $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
Oct 8, 2025 Edmonton Oilers Extension 2026-27 to 2028-29 3 $12M $4M
Oct 13, 2021 Nashville Predators Extension 2022-23 to 2025-26 4 $25M $6.25M
Oct 26, 2015 Nashville Predators Extension 2016-17 to 2021-22 6 $22.5M $3.75M
Jul 9, 2014 Nashville Predators New contract 2014-15 to 2015-16 2 $2.075M $1.038M
May 12, 2011 Nashville Predators Entry-level 2011-12 to 2013-14 3 $3.075M $900K

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 2016-17 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.

2016-17 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+8.4Goals above replacement90th of 664 skaters, 25th of 229 defencemen
+1.4Wins 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 229 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-0.4 57th percentileEven-strength defence+4.7 97th percentilePower play-1.3 2nd percentilePenalty kill-0.3 21st percentilePenalties-0.6 49th 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.

051015202011-122013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

53.4Corsi for %1487 attempts for, 1298 against
+3.3CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.7Expected goals for %60.5 expected for, 50.0 against
+4.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
52.8Goals for %57 for, 51 against
99.9PDO7.1% shooting + 92.7% saves
230Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 565 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
P.K. Subban · Mattias Ekholm641044:1655.656.238-36
Mattias Ekholm · Matt Irwin35231:5451.357.89-2
Ryan Ellis · Mattias Ekholm2283:1047.346.92-2
Roman Josi · Mattias Ekholm5569:3352.953.74-2

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.

3Goalsnot counting empty-netters
6.5Expected goalsfrom 187 unblocked attempts
-3.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.20 expected goals per 60 minutes58th
Shot quality 3.5% chance per attempt73rd
Finishing -3.5 goals above expected2ndOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 229 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0246Game 20Game 40Game 60Game 80Expected 6.5Goals 3

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 8, 2017 @ WPG L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 20:51
Apr 6, 2017 @ DAL W 7-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 18:55
Apr 4, 2017 vs NYI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 20:25
Apr 2, 2017 @ STL L 1-4 0 0 0 -4 0 1 1 21:15
Apr 1, 2017 vs MIN W 3-0 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 23:12
Mar 30, 2017 vs TOR L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 19:26
Mar 28, 2017 @ BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 3 23:38
Mar 27, 2017 @ NYI W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 23:47
Mar 25, 2017 vs SJS W 7-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 23:55
Mar 23, 2017 vs CGY W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 22:14
Mar 20, 2017 vs ARI W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21:10
Mar 18, 2017 @ CAR L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 1 23:43
Mar 16, 2017 @ WSH W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 24:36
Mar 13, 2017 vs WPG W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 23:34
Mar 11, 2017 @ SJS W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25:55
Mar 9, 2017 @ LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 28:14
Mar 7, 2017 @ ANA L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 27:31
Mar 4, 2017 vs CHI L 3-5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25:00
Mar 2, 2017 @ MTL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 25:35
Feb 28, 2017 @ BUF W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 2 3 0 20:13
Feb 26, 2017 vs EDM W 5-4 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 20:15
Feb 25, 2017 vs WSH W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 20:58
Feb 23, 2017 vs COL W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 24:11
Feb 21, 2017 vs CGY L 5-6 (OT) 0 1 1 2 2 0 0 22:36
Feb 19, 2017 @ CBJ W 4-3 1 0 1 2 0 5 0 23:16
Feb 18, 2017 @ MIN L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 17:29
Feb 12, 2017 vs DAL W 5-3 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 20:56
Feb 11, 2017 vs FLA L 4-7 0 0 0 -2 2 2 1 22:03
Feb 9, 2017 @ NYR L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 22:29
Feb 7, 2017 vs VAN W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 18:44
Feb 4, 2017 vs DET L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21:09
Feb 2, 2017 vs EDM W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 23:41
Jan 31, 2017 @ PIT L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 26:08
Jan 26, 2017 vs CBJ W 4-3 0 2 2 1 0 3 2 28:58
Jan 24, 2017 vs BUF L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 24:27
Jan 22, 2017 @ MIN W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 23:00
Jan 20, 2017 @ EDM W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 24:47
Jan 19, 2017 @ CGY W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23:43
Jan 17, 2017 @ VAN L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 25:12
Jan 14, 2017 @ COL W 3-2 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 26:29
Jan 12, 2017 vs BOS W 2-1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 29:11
Jan 10, 2017 vs VAN W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 24:38
Jan 8, 2017 @ CHI L 2-5 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 22:25
Jan 6, 2017 @ FLA L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 25:58
Jan 5, 2017 @ TBL W 6-1 0 1 1 1 2 1 1 23:03
Jan 3, 2017 vs MTL L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 25:49
Dec 30, 2016 @ STL W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25:25
Dec 29, 2016 vs CHI L 2-3 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 22:03
Dec 27, 2016 vs MIN L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 24:53
Dec 22, 2016 vs LAK L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 4 23:07
Dec 20, 2016 @ NJD W 5-1 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 23:30
Dec 19, 2016 @ PHI W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 23:32
Dec 17, 2016 vs NYR L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 23:12
Dec 15, 2016 vs MIN L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 22:29
Dec 13, 2016 vs STL W 6-3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 23:04
Dec 10, 2016 @ ARI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 29:20
Dec 8, 2016 @ DAL L 2-5 0 0 0 -3 0 2 0 23:15
Dec 6, 2016 vs COL W 4-3 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 22:56
Dec 4, 2016 vs PHI L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 23:58
Dec 3, 2016 vs NJD L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 23:45
Nov 29, 2016 @ COL W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 24:13
Nov 27, 2016 @ WPG L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 22:22
Nov 25, 2016 vs WPG W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 24:34
Nov 23, 2016 vs DAL W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 23:51
Nov 21, 2016 vs TBL W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 22:12
Nov 19, 2016 @ STL L 1-3 0 0 0 -3 4 2 2 24:18
Nov 17, 2016 @ OTT W 5-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 23:46
Nov 15, 2016 @ TOR L 2-6 0 1 1 -2 0 0 1 22:08
Nov 12, 2016 vs ANA W 5-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 22:49
Nov 10, 2016 vs STL W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 22:30
Nov 8, 2016 vs OTT W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 23:36
Nov 5, 2016 vs CAR L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24:10
Nov 3, 2016 @ ARI L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 25:14
Nov 1, 2016 @ COL W 5-1 0 0 0 1 2 4 0 21:13
Oct 29, 2016 @ SJS L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 23:33
Oct 27, 2016 @ LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 23:35
Oct 26, 2016 @ ANA L 1-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 21:08
Oct 22, 2016 vs PIT W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 23:03
Oct 21, 2016 @ DET L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 23:59
Oct 18, 2016 vs DAL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 23:24
Oct 15, 2016 @ CHI L 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 24:21
Oct 14, 2016 vs CHI W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 24:23