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Matt Nieto

#83 · Left wing · Pittsburgh Penguins

Born Nov 5, 1992 in Long Beach, California, USA · 5'11", 189 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 47th overall in 2011 by SJS (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Nicolas Deslauriers PHI · 3 P in 31 GP Mitchell Stephens SEA · 3 P in 28 GP Akil Thomas LAK · 3 P in 25 GP Walker Duehr SJS · 3 P in 24 GP Zack MacEwen OTT · 3 P in 21 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.

010202013-14: 24 points2413-142014-15: 27 points2714-152015-16: 17 points1715-162016-17: 13 points1316-172017-18: 26 points2617-182018-19: 23 points2318-192019-20: 21 points2119-202020-21: 7 points720-212021-22: 17 points1721-222022-23: 24 points2422-232023-24: 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
2013-14 SJS 66 10 14 24 -4 16 124 7 0.36 $759K
2014-15 SJS 72 10 17 27 -12 20 135 24 0.38 $759K
2015-16 SJS 67 8 9 17 -8 10 90 33 0.25 $759K
2016-17 SJS 16 0 2 2 -3 4 24 23 0.13 $735K
2016-17 COL 43 7 4 11 -9 4 61 18 0.26
2017-18 COL 74 15 11 26 6 14 84 27 0.35 $1M
2018-19 COL 64 4 19 23 2 8 86 50 0.36 $1.975M
2019-20 COL 70 8 13 21 7 6 85 37 0.30 $1.975M
2020-21 SJS 28 5 2 7 -4 4 45 25 0.25 $700K
2021-22 SJS 70 6 11 17 -20 19 82 96 0.24 $850K
2022-23 SJS 45 8 7 15 -22 8 70 28 0.33 $850K
2022-23 COL 36 4 5 9 7 8 45 15 0.25
2023-24 PIT 22 1 3 4 5 4 13 14 0.18 $900K
2024-25 PIT 32 1 2 3 -8 4 31 39 0.09 $900K
12 seasons Career 705 87 119 206 -63 129 975 436 0.29

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2013-14 SJS 7 2 3 5 3 0 14 10 0.71
2015-16 SJS 16 1 2 3 2 8 15 22 0.19
2017-18 COL 6 0 3 3 -1 2 5 8 0.50
2018-19 COL 12 4 3 7 6 2 18 10 0.58
2019-20 COL 12 1 2 3 2 2 17 12 0.25
2022-23 COL 7 0 0 0 0 2 9 8 0.00
6 seasons Playoffs 60 8 13 21 12 16 78 70 0.35

2024-25 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
32 1 2 3 -8 4 31 39 0.09 3.2 12:15

Contract

$900KCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$300KCap dollars per point3 points in 32 games
$265KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$635KValueworth 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. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 698 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jul 1, 2023, as a new contract: 2 years and $1.8M, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2024-25, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2023-24 $900K $900K $0 $900K
2024-25 $900K $900K $0 $900K

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
Jul 1, 2023 Pittsburgh Penguins New contract 2023-24 to 2024-25 2 $1.8M $900K
Jun 21, 2021 San Jose Sharks Extension 2021-22 to 2022-23 2 $1.7M $850K
Oct 13, 2020 San Jose Sharks New contract 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $700K $700K
Jul 6, 2018 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2018-19 to 2019-20 2 $3.95M $1.975M
Jul 25, 2017 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2017-18 to 2017-18 1 $1M $1M
Jul 15, 2016 San Jose Sharks New contract 2016-17 to 2016-17 1 $735K $735K
Apr 1, 2013 San Jose Sharks Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $2.775M $759K

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 2024-25 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.

2024-25 analytics

Rating

-0.6Goals above replacement575th of 698 skaters, 386th of 456 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 456 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-3.1 14th percentileEven-strength defence+1.5 75th percentilePower play+0.0 69th percentilePenalty kill0.0 33rd percentilePenalties-0.1 31st 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. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player.

-202462013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-24Goals 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

44.3Corsi for %240 attempts for, 302 against
-7.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.2Expected goals for %8.2 expected for, 9.9 against
-5.5xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
29.4Goals for %5 for, 12 against
95.2PDO4.5% shooting + 90.8% saves
43Attempts 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
Matt Nieto · Noel Acciari · Blake Lizotte19169:3743.844.74-5
Kevin Hayes · Matt Nieto · Noel Acciari633:1136.425.90-3
Matt Nieto · Noel Acciari · Vasily Ponomarev322:5145.945.00-0
Matt Nieto · Noel Acciari · Joona Koppanen110:4446.265.10-0

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.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.3Expected goalsfrom 40 unblocked attempts
-1.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.34 expected goals per 60 minutes3rd
Shot quality 5.6% chance per attempt2nd
Finishing -1.3 goals above expected41stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 428 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Game 20Expected 2.3Goals 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. 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 8, 2025 vs CHI W 5-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 12:55
Feb 23, 2025 vs NYR L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 4 2 10:41
Feb 22, 2025 vs WSH L 3-8 0 0 0 -3 0 1 1 12:27
Feb 8, 2025 @ PHI L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 11:35
Jan 27, 2025 @ SJS L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 10:28
Jan 25, 2025 @ SEA L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:12
Jan 23, 2025 @ ANA L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 09:41
Jan 20, 2025 @ LAK W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:53
Jan 12, 2025 vs TBL L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10:25
Jan 11, 2025 vs OTT L 0-5 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 11:58
Jan 9, 2025 vs EDM W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12:30
Jan 7, 2025 vs CBJ L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:53
Jan 5, 2025 @ CAR L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:05
Jan 3, 2025 @ FLA L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13:08
Dec 31, 2024 @ DET L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:55
Dec 29, 2024 vs NYI W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12:03
Dec 28, 2024 @ NYI L 3-6 0 1 1 0 0 0 4 12:54
Dec 23, 2024 vs PHI W 7-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 14:51
Dec 21, 2024 @ NJD L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12:21
Dec 19, 2024 @ NSH W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 15:38
Dec 17, 2024 vs LAK W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:43
Dec 14, 2024 @ OTT L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 12:28
Dec 12, 2024 @ MTL W 9-2 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 13:26
Dec 3, 2024 vs FLA W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 08:51
Nov 30, 2024 vs CGY W 6-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:43
Nov 29, 2024 @ BOS W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 09:48
Nov 27, 2024 vs VAN W 5-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 10:48
Nov 23, 2024 vs UTA L 1-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 11:06
Nov 22, 2024 vs WPG L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:38
Nov 19, 2024 vs TBL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 15:02
Nov 16, 2024 vs SJS W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:28
Nov 15, 2024 @ CBJ L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:26