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

Benoit Pouliot BUF · 19 P in 74 GP Leo Komarov TOR · 19 P in 74 GP Zack Kassian EDM · 19 P in 74 GP Melker Karlsson SJS · 19 P in 71 GP Nick Cousins ARI · 19 P in 71 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

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
76 14 5 19 2 123 96 187 0.25 14.6 12:20

Contract

$1.1MCap hit2017-18
$58KCap dollars per point19 points in 76 games
$1.306MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.8 goals above replacement
$1.1MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$49KValueworth 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

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 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

+0.8Goals above replacement461st of 691 skaters, 309th of 451 forwards
+0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-1.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 451 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-4.6 2nd percentileEven-strength defence+3.5 96th percentilePower play0.0 55th percentilePenalty kill+0.8 99th percentilePenalties-1.4 4th 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

47.1Corsi for %620 attempts for, 697 against
-5.7CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.6Expected goals for %22.5 expected for, 26.8 against
-6.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
48.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
42.0Goals for %21 for, 29 against
98.5PDO6.5% shooting + 92.0% saves
151Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Austin Watson · Miikka Salomaki · Colton Sissons31186:4351.655.43-8
Cody McLeod · Austin Watson · Frederick Gaudreau1159:5541.135.02-1
Mike Fisher · Austin Watson · Colton Sissons642:1239.753.40-0
Mike Fisher · Austin Watson · Miikka Salomaki538:1344.133.81-2

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.

13Goalsnot counting empty-netters
8.4Expected goalsfrom 129 unblocked attempts
+4.6Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.54 expected goals per 60 minutes15th
Shot quality 6.5% chance per attempt22nd
Finishing +4.6 goals above expected86thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 423 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Game 60Goals 13Expected 8.4

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. 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 1 0 1 2 10 2 0 12:34
Apr 5, 2018 @ WSH W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 13:24
Apr 3, 2018 @ FLA L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:44
Apr 1, 2018 @ TBL W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 3 3 14:13
Mar 31, 2018 vs BUF L 4-7 1 1 2 1 14 3 1 17:05
Mar 24, 2018 @ MIN L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 5 08:23
Mar 22, 2018 vs TOR L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 0 4 09:18
Mar 16, 2018 @ COL W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 13:11
Mar 15, 2018 @ ARI W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 14:09
Mar 13, 2018 vs WPG W 3-1 1 0 1 1 4 2 6 13:03
Mar 10, 2018 vs NJD L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 11:49
Mar 8, 2018 vs ANA W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 18:39
Mar 6, 2018 vs DAL W 2-0 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 11:40
Mar 4, 2018 @ COL W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 1 2 3 4 10:39
Mar 2, 2018 @ VAN W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 11:42
Mar 1, 2018 @ EDM W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 10:12
Feb 27, 2018 @ WPG W 6-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 11:22
Feb 25, 2018 vs STL W 4-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 11:28
Feb 22, 2018 vs SJS W 7-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 13:48
Feb 20, 2018 @ DET W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 2 2 1 15:17
Feb 19, 2018 vs OTT W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 10:49
Feb 17, 2018 vs DET L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 07:33
Feb 15, 2018 vs CGY L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 11:05
Feb 13, 2018 vs STL W 4-3 (OT) 2 0 2 2 0 2 1 12:28
Feb 10, 2018 @ MTL W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 13:33
Feb 8, 2018 @ OTT L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 12:18
Feb 7, 2018 @ TOR L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 13:23
Feb 5, 2018 @ NYI W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 11:19
Feb 3, 2018 vs NYR W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 12:05
Feb 1, 2018 vs LAK W 5-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 12:34
Jan 30, 2018 vs CHI L 1-2 0 0 0 -2 7 1 2 08:47
Jan 25, 2018 @ NJD W 3-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 10:01
Jan 23, 2018 vs TBL L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 13:39
Jan 20, 2018 vs FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 5 1 0 12:24
Jan 18, 2018 vs ARI W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 4 13:57
Jan 16, 2018 vs VGK W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 14:31
Jan 9, 2018 vs EDM W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:53
Jan 6, 2018 @ LAK W 4-3 2 0 2 2 0 3 3 15:02
Jan 4, 2018 @ ARI L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 3 0 11:01
Jan 2, 2018 @ VGK L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 06:34
Dec 30, 2017 vs MIN W 3-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 10:25
Dec 29, 2017 @ MIN L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 5 1 1 09:36
Dec 27, 2017 @ STL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 14:01
Dec 23, 2017 @ DAL L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 15:36
Dec 21, 2017 vs CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 10:59
Dec 19, 2017 vs WPG L 4-6 0 0 0 -1 2 2 4 12:25
Dec 16, 2017 @ CGY W 2-0 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 05:28
Dec 14, 2017 @ EDM W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 12:57
Dec 13, 2017 @ VAN W 7-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 13:35
Dec 8, 2017 vs VGK L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 11:13
Dec 5, 2017 @ DAL W 5-2 0 1 1 1 5 3 1 14:22
Dec 4, 2017 vs BOS W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:20
Dec 2, 2017 vs ANA W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 14:16
Nov 30, 2017 vs VAN L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 6 13:42
Nov 28, 2017 vs CHI W 3-2 1 0 1 0 0 2 5 11:58
Nov 26, 2017 @ CAR L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 0 7 09:36
Nov 24, 2017 @ STL W 2-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 12:08
Nov 18, 2017 vs COL W 5-2 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 03:10
Nov 16, 2017 @ MIN L 4-6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:20
Nov 14, 2017 vs WSH W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 14:42
Nov 11, 2017 vs PIT W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 7 13:59
Nov 7, 2017 @ CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 3 12:40
Nov 4, 2017 @ LAK W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 11:39
Nov 3, 2017 @ ANA W 5-3 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 15:15
Nov 1, 2017 @ SJS L 1-4 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 13:20
Oct 28, 2017 vs NYI L 2-6 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 13:53
Oct 27, 2017 @ CHI W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 13:36
Oct 24, 2017 vs CGY L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 16:49
Oct 21, 2017 @ NYR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 12:20
Oct 19, 2017 @ PHI W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 11:28
Oct 17, 2017 vs COL W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 1 3 08:47
Oct 14, 2017 @ CHI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 12:21
Oct 12, 2017 vs DAL W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 14:06
Oct 10, 2017 vs PHI W 6-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 13:24
Oct 7, 2017 @ PIT L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 5 0 0 11:48
Oct 5, 2017 @ BOS L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:22