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Zemgus Girgensons

#28 · Centre · Tampa Bay Lightning

Born Jan 5, 1994 in Riga, LVA (age 32) · 6'3", 200 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 14th overall in 2012 by BUF (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

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

Viktor Stalberg OTT · 16 P in 75 GP Dwight King MTL · 16 P in 80 GP Adam Cracknell DAL · 16 P in 69 GP Derek MacKenzie FLA · 16 P in 82 GP Ryan White MIN · 16 P in 65 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.

01020302013-14: 22 points2213-142014-15: 30 points3014-152015-16: 18 points1815-162016-17: 16 points1616-172017-18: 15 points1517-182018-19: 18 points1818-192019-20: 19 points1919-202021-22: 18 points1821-222022-23: 18 points1822-232023-24: 14 points1423-242024-25: 6 points624-252025-26: 20 points2025-262026-27: 1 points126-27

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 BUF 70 8 14 22 -6 14 115 161 0.31 $894K
2014-15 BUF 61 15 15 30 -16 25 115 127 0.49 $894K
2015-16 BUF 71 7 11 18 0 20 110 125 0.25 $894K
2016-17 BUF 75 7 9 16 -7 18 112 120 0.21 $1.15M
2017-18 BUF 71 7 8 15 -12 26 113 134 0.21 $1.6M
2018-19 BUF 72 5 13 18 -11 17 78 144 0.25 $1.6M
2019-20 BUF 69 12 7 19 -1 10 85 110 0.28 $1.6M
2021-22 BUF 56 10 8 18 -7 27 92 81 0.32 $2.2M
2022-23 BUF 80 10 8 18 -5 14 114 96 0.23 $2.2M
2023-24 BUF 63 8 6 14 -1 21 73 141 0.22 $2.5M
2024-25 TBL 82 2 4 6 -7 47 83 174 0.07 $850K
2025-26 TBL 74 9 11 20 1 31 89 195 0.27 $850K
2026-27 TBL 4 0 1 1 0 2 2 13 0.25 $925K
13 seasons Career 848 100 115 215 -72 272 1181 1621 0.25

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2024-25 TBL 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 13 0.00
2025-26 TBL 7 0 0 0 -2 4 2 27 0.00
2 seasons Playoffs 12 0 0 0 -2 4 5 40 0.00

2016-17 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
75 7 9 16 -7 18 112 120 0.21 6.3 13:10

Contract

$1.15MCap hitends in 2017
$72KCap dollars per point16 points in 75 games
$12.069MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.1 goals above replacement
$636KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$514KValueworth 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 Buffalo Sabres on Sep 1, 2016, as a new contract: 1 year and $1.15M, beginning in 2016-17. It runs through 2016-17, so this is its last season.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2016-17 $1.15M $1.15M $0 $1.15M

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, 2024 Tampa Bay Lightning New contract 2024-25 to 2026-27 3 $2.625M $850K
Jun 20, 2023 Buffalo Sabres Extension 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $2.5M $2.5M
Oct 8, 2020 Buffalo Sabres Extension 2020-21 to 2022-23 3 $6.6M $2.2M
Jul 5, 2019 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2019-20 to 2019-20 1 $1.6M $1.6M
Aug 17, 2017 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2017-18 to 2018-19 2 $3.2M $1.6M
Sep 1, 2016 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2016-17 to 2016-17 1 $1.15M $1.15M
Jul 15, 2012 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 signed for 2012-13, slid 3 $4.2M $894K

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

Rating

+0.1Goals above replacement488th of 664 skaters, 335th of 435 forwards
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 435 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-2.0 21st percentileEven-strength defence-1.0 26th percentilePower play-0.1 49th percentilePenalty kill-1.3 1st percentilePenalties+1.8 90th 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.

-2024682013-142015-162017-182019-202022-232024-252026-27Goals 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

46.7Corsi for %700 attempts for, 799 against
-1.3CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.2Expected goals for %27.3 expected for, 34.5 against
-4.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
42.9Goals for %21 for, 28 against
99.0PDO5.4% shooting + 93.6% saves
174Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Brian Gionta · Evander Kane · Zemgus Girgensons23145:4846.043.54-5
Tyler Ennis · Zemgus Girgensons · Sam Reinhart971:0751.953.61-2
Brian Gionta · Marcus Foligno · Zemgus Girgensons1435:4559.668.31-1
Matt Moulson · Zemgus Girgensons · William Carrier935:2357.161.80-1

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.

7Goalsnot counting empty-netters
9.8Expected goalsfrom 147 unblocked attempts
-2.8Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.60 expected goals per 60 minutes28th
Shot quality 6.7% chance per attempt24th
Finishing -2.8 goals above expected21stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 421 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

02468Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 9.8Goals 7

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 9, 2017 @ TBL L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 15:19
Apr 8, 2017 @ FLA L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:02
Apr 5, 2017 vs MTL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 13:24
Apr 3, 2017 vs TOR L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 10:38
Apr 2, 2017 vs NYI L 2-4 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 11:38
Mar 28, 2017 @ CBJ L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 12:23
Mar 27, 2017 vs FLA W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 10:04
Mar 25, 2017 vs TOR W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 12:05
Mar 21, 2017 vs PIT L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 2 2 3 12:03
Mar 20, 2017 @ DET W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 11:18
Mar 17, 2017 @ ANA W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 15:44
Mar 16, 2017 @ LAK L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 10:16
Mar 14, 2017 @ SJS L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 15:08
Mar 11, 2017 vs CBJ W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 4 11:18
Mar 10, 2017 @ CBJ L 3-4 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 16:00
Mar 7, 2017 vs PHI L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 0 2 11:11
Mar 5, 2017 @ PIT L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 10:57
Mar 4, 2017 vs TBL L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 11:20
Mar 2, 2017 vs ARI W 6-3 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 13:39
Feb 28, 2017 vs NSH L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11:32
Feb 26, 2017 @ ARI L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 15:50
Feb 25, 2017 @ COL L 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 5 1 13:56
Feb 7, 2017 vs SJS W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 15:47
Feb 6, 2017 @ NJD L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 18:16
Feb 4, 2017 vs OTT W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 19:18
Feb 2, 2017 vs NYR L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 15:54
Jan 31, 2017 @ MTL L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 16:26
Jan 26, 2017 @ DAL L 3-4 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 16:02
Jan 24, 2017 @ NSH W 5-4 (OT) 1 1 2 1 0 1 3 16:10
Jan 21, 2017 @ MTL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 16:25
Jan 20, 2017 vs DET W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:32
Jan 17, 2017 @ TOR L 3-4 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 14:17
Jan 16, 2017 vs DAL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:52
Jan 13, 2017 @ CAR L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 15:57
Jan 12, 2017 @ TBL L 2-4 0 1 1 1 0 1 3 14:47
Jan 10, 2017 vs PHI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:54
Jan 7, 2017 vs WPG W 4-3 1 1 2 1 0 2 2 16:09
Jan 5, 2017 @ CHI L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 15:25
Jan 3, 2017 @ NYR W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 15:31
Dec 31, 2016 @ BOS L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 13:49
Dec 29, 2016 vs BOS L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 14:29
Dec 27, 2016 @ DET W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:14
Dec 23, 2016 @ NYI L 1-5 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 15:28
Dec 22, 2016 vs CAR L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13:03
Dec 20, 2016 @ FLA L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:17
Dec 17, 2016 @ CAR L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 11:20
Dec 16, 2016 vs NYI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 10:21
Dec 13, 2016 vs LAK W 6-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 10:46
Dec 9, 2016 vs WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 10:07
Dec 6, 2016 vs EDM W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:08
Dec 5, 2016 @ WSH L 2-3 (OT) 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 08:07
Dec 3, 2016 vs BOS L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 08:39
Dec 1, 2016 vs NYR W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 09:40
Nov 29, 2016 @ OTT W 5-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 07:23
Nov 25, 2016 @ WSH L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:07
Nov 23, 2016 vs DET L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 13:12
Nov 21, 2016 vs CGY W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13:13
Nov 19, 2016 vs PIT W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13:10
Nov 17, 2016 vs TBL L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14:43
Nov 15, 2016 @ STL L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 13:52
Nov 12, 2016 @ NJD L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 4 0 10:45
Nov 11, 2016 vs NJD L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 14:26
Nov 9, 2016 vs OTT L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 12:44
Nov 7, 2016 @ BOS L 0-4 0 0 0 0 4 1 5 12:49
Nov 5, 2016 @ OTT W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 13:07
Nov 3, 2016 vs TOR L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 4 0 13:43
Nov 1, 2016 @ MIN W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 12:10
Oct 30, 2016 @ WPG W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 12:49
Oct 29, 2016 vs FLA W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 12:17
Oct 27, 2016 vs MIN L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 13:26
Oct 25, 2016 @ PHI L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 11:54
Oct 20, 2016 @ VAN L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 13:20
Oct 18, 2016 @ CGY L 3-4 (OT) 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 10:02
Oct 16, 2016 @ EDM W 6-2 0 0 0 -2 0 2 1 12:12
Oct 13, 2016 vs MTL L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 11:39