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Austin Watson

#24 · Left wing · Free agent, last with the Detroit Red Wings

Born Jan 13, 1992 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA · 6'4", 203 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 18th overall in 2010 by NSH (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Brian Flynn MTL · 10 P in 56 GP Andy Andreoff LAK · 10 P in 60 GP Bobby Farnham NJD · 10 P in 53 GP Miikka Salomaki NSH · 10 P in 61 GP Adam Cracknell EDM · 10 P in 52 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.

0510152012-13: 1 points112-132015-16: 10 points1015-162016-17: 17 points1716-172017-18: 19 points1917-182018-19: 16 points1618-192019-20: 14 points1419-202020-21: 10 points1020-212021-22: 16 points1621-222022-23: 11 points1122-232023-24: 4 points423-242024-25: 3 points324-25

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2012-13 NSH 6 1 0 1 -2 0 4 2 0.17
2015-16 NSH 57 3 7 10 -4 32 55 74 0.18 $575K
2016-17 NSH 77 5 12 17 14 99 90 143 0.22 $575K
2017-18 NSH 76 14 5 19 2 123 96 187 0.25 $1.1M
2018-19 NSH 37 7 9 16 11 39 64 109 0.43 $1.1M
2019-20 NSH 53 6 8 14 -9 65 50 131 0.26 $1.1M
2020-21 OTT 34 3 7 10 -7 40 41 100 0.29 $1.5M
2021-22 OTT 67 10 6 16 -3 91 88 213 0.24 $1.5M
2022-23 OTT 75 9 2 11 -7 123 79 165 0.15 $1.5M
2023-24 TBL 33 2 2 4 2 93 17 85 0.12 $775K
2024-25 DET 13 3 0 3 1 17 13 36 0.23 $775K
11 seasons Career 528 63 58 121 -2 722 597 1245 0.23

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2016-17 NSH 22 4 5 9 3 28 28 106 0.41
2017-18 NSH 13 5 3 8 3 12 25 37 0.62
2018-19 NSH 6 1 1 2 -2 6 14 35 0.33
2019-20 NSH 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 14 0.00
4 seasons Playoffs 45 10 9 19 4 48 73 192 0.42

2015-16 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
57 3 7 10 -4 32 55 74 0.18 5.5 10:00

Contract

$575KCap hit2015-16
$58KCap dollars per point10 points in 57 games
$1.083MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.5 goals above replacement
$898KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$323KValueworth 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 668 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. When it ends is not known.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Mar 5, 2025 Detroit Red Wings Extension 2025-26 to 2025-26 1 $775K $775K
Oct 7, 2024 Detroit Red Wings New contract 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $775K $775K
2023-24 to 2023-24 $775K
2020-21 to 2022-23 $1.5M
2018-19 to 2019-20 $1.1M
2017-18 to 2017-18 $1.1M
2015-16 to 2016-17 $575K

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 2015-16 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.

2015-16 analytics

Rating

+0.5Goals above replacement467th of 675 skaters, 319th of 445 forwards
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.0Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 445 ranked forwards: 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-3.2 9th percentileEven-strength defence+2.6 93rd percentilePower play0.0 60th percentilePenalty kill+0.4 89th percentilePenalties-0.8 11th 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 forwards. 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.

-4-20242012-132016-172018-192020-212022-232024-25Goals 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

45.3Corsi for %369 attempts for, 445 against
-8.9CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.2Expected goals for %12.4 expected for, 14.5 against
-9.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
38.2Goals for %13 for, 21 against
96.4PDO6.6% shooting + 89.8% saves
88Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Paul Gaustad · Eric Nystrom · Austin Watson17119:2143.247.42-6
Paul Gaustad · Austin Watson · Miikka Salomaki1394:4637.039.22-1
Cody Hodgson · Austin Watson · Colton Sissons633:3664.290.20-0
Gabriel Bourque · Austin Watson · Colton Sissons524:2957.983.14-0

The lines 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 lines 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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
3.9Expected goalsfrom 69 unblocked attempts
-1.9Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.41 expected goals per 60 minutes5th
Shot quality 5.6% chance per attempt5th
Finishing -1.9 goals above expected33rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 412 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0123Game 20Game 40Expected 3.9Goals 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
Apr 9, 2016 @ DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:56
Mar 31, 2016 @ PIT L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 08:29
Mar 18, 2016 @ WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 08:47
Mar 17, 2016 vs NYI W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 10:29
Mar 14, 2016 @ EDM W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 08:59
Mar 12, 2016 @ VAN L 2-4 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 05:35
Mar 9, 2016 @ CGY L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 08:10
Mar 8, 2016 @ WPG W 4-2 0 0 0 1 10 1 0 05:10
Mar 5, 2016 @ COL W 5-2 0 1 1 1 5 1 2 09:16
Mar 3, 2016 vs NJD L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 09:19
Mar 1, 2016 vs DAL W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:52
Feb 27, 2016 vs STL W 5-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:28
Feb 25, 2016 @ CHI W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 12:59
Feb 23, 2016 @ TOR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 12:26
Feb 22, 2016 @ MTL W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 08:16
Feb 20, 2016 vs LAK L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 09:54
Feb 18, 2016 vs BOS W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:25
Feb 15, 2016 vs DAL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 10:29
Feb 13, 2016 @ FLA W 5-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 12:24
Feb 6, 2016 vs SJS W 6-2 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 12:36
Feb 4, 2016 vs PHI L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 05:17
Feb 2, 2016 vs STL L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 11:14
Jan 27, 2016 @ CGY W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 13:32
Jan 26, 2016 @ VAN W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 11:27
Jan 23, 2016 @ EDM W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 11:44
Jan 12, 2016 @ CHI L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 06:03
Jan 8, 2016 @ COL L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 05:50
Dec 31, 2015 @ DAL L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 5 11:32
Dec 29, 2015 @ STL L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 09:08
Dec 28, 2015 vs NYR W 5-3 0 0 0 -3 0 0 2 12:00
Dec 15, 2015 vs CGY L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 09:28
Dec 12, 2015 vs COL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 08:25
Dec 10, 2015 vs CHI W 5-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 11:53
Dec 8, 2015 @ CHI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 10:22
Dec 5, 2015 @ DET L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 15:08
Dec 3, 2015 vs FLA L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 06:14
Dec 1, 2015 vs ARI W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 11:50
Nov 28, 2015 vs BUF L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 07:29
Nov 27, 2015 @ PHI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 10:27
Nov 25, 2015 @ BUF W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 12:29
Nov 23, 2015 @ NYR L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 07:13
Nov 21, 2015 @ MIN L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 10:19
Nov 20, 2015 @ CBJ L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 0 4 1 08:07
Nov 17, 2015 vs ANA W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10:57
Nov 14, 2015 vs WPG W 7-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 14:05
Nov 12, 2015 vs TOR L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:42
Nov 10, 2015 vs OTT W 7-5 1 2 3 4 0 2 2 08:38
Nov 7, 2015 vs STL L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:52
Nov 5, 2015 @ MIN W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 11:29
Nov 1, 2015 @ ANA L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 06:58
Oct 31, 2015 @ LAK L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 09:40
Oct 28, 2015 @ SJS W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:57
Oct 24, 2015 vs PIT L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 07:13
Oct 22, 2015 vs ANA W 5-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 12:01
Oct 17, 2015 @ OTT W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 1 3 10:50
Oct 15, 2015 @ NYI L 3-4 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 08:30
Oct 13, 2015 @ NJD W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 11:07