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Brandon Saad

#20 · Left wing · Free agent, last with the Vegas Golden Knights

Born Oct 27, 1992 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA · 6'1", 207 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 43rd overall in 2011 by CHI (round 2)

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Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2014-15. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Thomas Vanek MIN · 52 P in 80 GP Martin St. Louis NYR · 52 P in 74 GP Bryan Little WPG · 52 P in 70 GP Patric Hornqvist PIT · 51 P in 64 GP Kyle Okposo NYI · 51 P in 60 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.

020402011-12: 0 points011-122012-13: 27 points272013-14: 47 points4713-142014-15: 52 points522015-16: 53 points5315-162016-17: 53 points532017-18: 35 points3517-182018-19: 47 points472019-20: 33 points3319-202020-21: 24 points242021-22: 49 points4921-222022-23: 37 points372023-24: 42 points4223-242024-25: 30 points302025-26: 9 points925-26

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 CHI 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.00 $795K
2012-13 CHI 46 10 17 27 17 12 98 41 0.59 $764K
2013-14 CHI 78 19 28 47 20 20 159 48 0.60 $764K
2014-15 CHI 82 23 29 52 7 12 203 53 0.63 $764K
2015-16 CBJ 78 31 22 53 1 14 233 43 0.68 $6M
2016-17 CBJ 82 24 29 53 23 8 210 24 0.65 $6M
2017-18 CHI 82 18 17 35 -10 14 237 29 0.43 $6M
2018-19 CHI 80 23 24 47 -9 12 195 52 0.59 $6M
2019-20 CHI 58 21 12 33 2 16 140 36 0.57 $6M
2020-21 COL 44 15 9 24 1 12 68 16 0.55 $6M
2021-22 STL 78 24 25 49 11 10 158 20 0.63 $4.5M
2022-23 STL 71 19 18 37 -8 12 127 24 0.52 $4.5M
2023-24 STL 82 26 16 42 -4 20 144 17 0.51 $4.5M
2024-25 STL 43 7 9 16 -14 6 75 7 0.37 $1.5M
2024-25 VGK 29 6 8 14 6 0 52 5 0.48
2025-26 VGK 49 3 6 9 -7 14 78 11 0.18 $2M
15 seasons Career 984 269 269 538 36 182 2180 426 0.55

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 CHI 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 4 0.50
2012-13 CHI 23 1 5 6 -1 4 50 30 0.26
2013-14 CHI 19 6 10 16 10 6 35 24 0.84
2014-15 CHI 23 8 3 11 5 6 59 46 0.48
2016-17 CBJ 5 1 2 3 -5 0 10 6 0.60
2019-20 CHI 9 2 3 5 2 2 20 8 0.56
2020-21 COL 10 7 1 8 3 12 19 15 0.80
2021-22 STL 12 2 3 5 1 4 23 6 0.42
2024-25 VGK 8 0 2 2 0 2 13 7 0.25
2025-26 VGK 5 0 2 2 0 0 5 3 0.40
10 seasons Playoffs 116 27 32 59 17 36 234 149 0.51

2014-15 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
82 23 29 52 7 12 203 53 0.63 11.3 17:15

Contract

$764KCap hitends in 2015, then RFA
$15KCap dollars per point52 points in 82 games
$68KCap dollars per goal above replacement11.2 goals above replacement
$7.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$6.5MValueworth 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 649 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct 5, 2011, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.775M, beginning in 2012-13. It runs through 2014-15, so this is its last season, after which he is a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2012-13 $764K $525K $93K $308K $618K
2013-14 $764K $750K $93K $83K $843K
2014-15 $764K $833K $0 $833K

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
2025-26 to 2025-26 $2M
Jan 31, 2025 Vegas Golden Knights New contract 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $1.5M $1.5M
Jul 29, 2021 St. Louis Blues New contract 2021-22 to 2025-26 5 $22.5M $4.5M
Jul 3, 2015 Columbus Blue Jackets New contract 2015-16 to 2020-21 6 $36M $6M
Oct 5, 2011 Chicago Blackhawks Entry-level 2012-13 to 2014-15 signed for 2011-12, slid 3 $2.775M $764K

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 2014-15 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.

2014-15 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+11.2Goals above replacement35th of 665 skaters, 29th of 432 forwards
+1.9Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+7.3Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 432 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+5.6 92nd percentileEven-strength defence-0.3 38th percentilePower play-1.3 2nd percentilePenalty kill+0.3 85th percentilePenalties+3.0 98th 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.

-50510152011-122013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

53.5Corsi for %1100 attempts for, 956 against
-0.1CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.1Expected goals for %48.7 expected for, 41.4 against
+4.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
55.3Goals for %47 for, 38 against
101.1PDO7.8% shooting + 93.3% saves
262Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 585 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
Marian Hossa · Jonathan Toews · Brandon Saad55516:5157.659.528-14
Bryan Bickell · Andrew Shaw · Brandon Saad1165:4144.748.43-3
Patrick Kane · Andrew Shaw · Brandon Saad862:0252.047.52-1
Antoine Vermette · Brandon Saad · Teuvo Teravainen754:4449.648.61-1

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.

22Goalsnot counting empty-netters
20.1Expected goalsfrom 259 unblocked attempts
+1.9Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.85 expected goals per 60 minutes77th
Shot quality 7.8% chance per attempt65th
Finishing +1.9 goals above expected74thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 415 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

05101520Game 20Game 40Game 60Game 80Goals 22Expected 20.1

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 11, 2015 @ COL L 2-3 1 0 1 1 0 3 1 16:51
Apr 9, 2015 @ STL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 17:46
Apr 7, 2015 vs MIN L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 16:54
Apr 5, 2015 vs STL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 5 1 17:23
Apr 3, 2015 @ BUF W 4-3 0 2 2 2 0 3 0 17:50
Apr 2, 2015 vs VAN W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 17:26
Mar 30, 2015 vs LAK W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 4 2 13:57
Mar 29, 2015 @ WPG W 4-3 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 18:05
Mar 27, 2015 vs CBJ L 2-5 1 0 1 0 0 4 1 17:21
Mar 25, 2015 @ PHI L 1-4 0 1 1 -1 0 2 0 20:15
Mar 23, 2015 @ CAR W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 15:35
Mar 21, 2015 @ DAL L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 15:37
Mar 18, 2015 @ NYR W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 15:16
Mar 17, 2015 vs NYI W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 18:37
Mar 14, 2015 @ SJS W 6-2 1 1 2 1 0 3 1 17:53
Mar 12, 2015 @ ARI W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 18:37
Mar 8, 2015 vs NYR L 0-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 20:01
Mar 6, 2015 vs EDM W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 20:15
Mar 2, 2015 vs CAR W 5-2 1 0 1 -1 0 1 2 14:19
Feb 27, 2015 @ TBL L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 16:13
Feb 26, 2015 @ FLA W 3-0 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 17:43
Feb 24, 2015 vs FLA W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 20:39
Feb 22, 2015 vs BOS L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 16:50
Feb 20, 2015 vs COL L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19:01
Feb 18, 2015 vs DET L 2-3 (SO) 1 0 1 -1 0 2 1 20:10
Feb 15, 2015 vs PIT W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 17:39
Feb 13, 2015 vs NJD W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 20:48
Feb 11, 2015 vs VAN L 4-5 (OT) 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 17:19
Feb 9, 2015 vs ARI L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 18:55
Feb 8, 2015 @ STL W 4-2 0 2 2 -1 0 2 0 16:09
Feb 6, 2015 @ WPG W 2-1 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 17:49
Feb 3, 2015 @ MIN L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18:22
Jan 31, 2015 @ SJS L 0-2 0 0 0 -1 0 4 1 19:02
Jan 30, 2015 @ ANA W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 15:38
Jan 28, 2015 @ LAK L 3-4 0 0 0 -2 0 3 0 18:57
Jan 21, 2015 @ PIT W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 7 3 20:24
Jan 20, 2015 vs ARI W 6-1 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 15:44
Jan 18, 2015 vs DAL L 3-6 2 0 2 -1 2 7 0 19:18
Jan 16, 2015 vs WPG L 2-4 1 0 1 0 0 5 1 18:24
Jan 11, 2015 vs MIN W 4-1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 16:16
Jan 9, 2015 @ EDM L 2-5 2 0 2 1 0 3 0 16:09
Jan 8, 2015 @ MIN W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 14:23
Jan 6, 2015 vs COL L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18:34
Jan 4, 2015 vs DAL W 5-4 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 21:07
Jan 1, 2015 @ WSH L 2-3 1 0 1 1 2 3 0 18:56
Dec 29, 2014 vs NSH W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 3 1 16:45
Dec 27, 2014 @ COL W 5-2 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 16:36
Dec 23, 2014 vs WPG L 1-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 17:56
Dec 21, 2014 vs TOR W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 12:45
Dec 20, 2014 @ CBJ L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 21:00
Dec 16, 2014 vs MIN W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 14:58
Dec 14, 2014 vs CGY W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 15:45
Dec 13, 2014 @ NYI L 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 17:19
Dec 11, 2014 @ BOS W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:07
Dec 9, 2014 @ NJD W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 18:28
Dec 6, 2014 @ NSH W 3-1 1 1 2 2 0 3 0 16:12
Dec 5, 2014 vs MTL W 4-3 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 16:37
Dec 3, 2014 vs STL W 4-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 16:47
Nov 29, 2014 @ LAK W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 2 15:28
Nov 28, 2014 @ ANA W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:37
Nov 26, 2014 @ COL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:59
Nov 23, 2014 @ VAN L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 16:13
Nov 22, 2014 @ EDM W 7-1 0 2 2 3 0 3 0 17:54
Nov 20, 2014 @ CGY W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:42
Nov 16, 2014 vs DAL W 6-2 1 0 1 2 0 3 1 17:38
Nov 14, 2014 @ DET L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 17:40
Nov 11, 2014 vs TBL W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 17:54
Nov 9, 2014 vs SJS W 5-2 0 1 1 0 0 5 1 15:08
Nov 7, 2014 vs WSH L 2-3 1 0 1 -1 0 5 1 16:26
Nov 4, 2014 @ MTL W 5-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 14:04
Nov 2, 2014 vs WPG L 0-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 13:25
Nov 1, 2014 @ TOR L 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 14:39
Oct 30, 2014 @ OTT W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:06
Oct 28, 2014 vs ANA L 0-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 15:08
Oct 26, 2014 vs OTT W 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 16:07
Oct 25, 2014 @ STL L 2-3 0 0 0 -3 0 1 1 15:49
Oct 23, 2014 @ NSH L 2-3 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 15:05
Oct 21, 2014 vs PHI W 4-0 1 1 2 2 0 3 2 17:25
Oct 18, 2014 vs NSH W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17:35
Oct 15, 2014 vs CGY L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 2 22:36
Oct 11, 2014 vs BUF W 6-2 0 3 3 2 2 4 2 15:36
Oct 9, 2014 @ DAL W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 18:50