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Matt Grzelcyk

#24 · Defence · Buffalo Sabres

Born Jan 5, 1994 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA (age 32) · 5'10", 180 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 85th overall in 2012 by BOS (round 3)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Ryan Graves NJD · 26 P in 78 GP Matt Roy LAK · 26 P in 82 GP Ryan Pulock NYI · 26 P in 82 GP Dylan DeMelo WPG · 27 P in 75 GP Kevin Shattenkirk ANA · 27 P in 75 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.

0102030402016-17: 0 points016-172017-18: 15 points1517-182018-19: 18 points1818-192019-20: 21 points2119-202020-21: 20 points2020-212021-22: 24 points2421-222022-23: 26 points2622-232023-24: 11 points1123-242024-25: 40 points4024-252025-26: 12 points1225-262026-27: 0 points026-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2016-17 BOS 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0.00 $859K
2017-18 BOS 61 3 12 15 21 22 82 45 0.25 $859K
2018-19 BOS 66 3 15 18 9 68 90 46 0.27 $1.4M
2019-20 BOS 68 4 17 21 15 34 112 56 0.31 $1.4M
2020-21 BOS 37 5 15 20 11 22 80 19 0.54 $3.688M
2021-22 BOS 73 4 20 24 22 24 118 40 0.33 $3.688M
2022-23 BOS 75 4 22 26 46 28 102 51 0.35 $3.688M
2023-24 BOS 63 2 9 11 13 37 59 53 0.17 $3.688M
2024-25 PIT 82 1 39 40 -6 16 94 43 0.49 $2.75M
2025-26 CHI 69 0 12 12 -9 32 68 28 0.17 $1M
2026-27 BUF 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0.00 $850K
11 seasons Career 597 26 161 187 121 285 809 381 0.31

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2017-18 BOS 11 0 1 1 -2 4 8 12 0.09
2018-19 BOS 20 4 4 8 -3 6 35 18 0.40
2019-20 BOS 10 0 1 1 -4 4 9 16 0.10
2020-21 BOS 11 1 3 4 -2 4 16 5 0.36
2021-22 BOS 5 0 0 0 -6 6 3 3 0.00
2022-23 BOS 4 0 0 0 -1 0 6 3 0.00
2023-24 BOS 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 0.00
7 seasons Playoffs 64 5 9 14 -18 26 80 64 0.22

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
75 4 22 26 46 28 102 51 0.35 3.9 17:14

Contract

$3.688MCap hitends in 2024, then UFA
$142KCap dollars per point26 points in 75 games
$3.346MCap dollars per goal above replacement1.1 goals above replacement
$1.5MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.2MValueworth 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 695 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Boston Bruins on Oct 17, 2020, as a new contract: 4 years and $14.75M, beginning in 2020-21. It runs through 2023-24, with 1 season left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2020-21 $3.688M $2.25M $0 $2.25M
2021-22 $3.688M $4M $0 $4M
2022-23 $3.688M $4.25M $0 $4.25M
2023-24 $3.688M $4.25M $0 $4.25M

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
Sep 25, 2026 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2026-27 to 2026-27 1 $850K $850K
Oct 5, 2025 Chicago Blackhawks New contract 2025-26 to 2025-26 1 $1M $1M
Jul 1, 2024 Pittsburgh Penguins New contract 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $2.75M $2.75M
Oct 17, 2020 Boston Bruins New contract 2020-21 to 2023-24 4 $14.75M $3.688M
Jun 15, 2018 Boston Bruins Extension 2018-19 to 2019-20 2 $2.8M $1.4M
Apr 1, 2016 Boston Bruins Entry-level 2016-17 to 2017-18 2 $1.85M $859K

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 2022-23 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.

2022-23 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+1.1Goals above replacement430th of 696 skaters, 130th of 235 defencemen
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-3.2Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 235 ranked defencemen: 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-0.6 60th percentileEven-strength defence-0.9 36th percentilePower play-0.6 17th percentilePenalty kill+0.4 75th percentilePenalties-1.5 19th 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 defencemen. 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.

-505102016-172018-192020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals 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

51.4Corsi for %1155 attempts for, 1090 against
+0.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.2Expected goals for %54.8 expected for, 46.4 against
0.0xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
70.7Goals for %70 for, 29 against
105.8PDO11.0% shooting + 94.7% saves
185Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 613 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Matt Grzelcyk · Charlie McAvoy62599:4452.855.436-15
Matt Grzelcyk · Brandon Carlo63225:1950.758.715-5
Matt Grzelcyk · Connor Clifton64213:5548.146.17-7
Hampus Lindholm · Matt Grzelcyk1658:1253.355.54-2

The pairs 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 pairs 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.

4Goalsnot counting empty-netters
4.4Expected goalsfrom 149 unblocked attempts
-0.4Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.20 expected goals per 60 minutes55th
Shot quality 2.9% chance per attempt31st
Finishing -0.4 goals above expected45thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 233 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

01234Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 4.4Goals 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 13, 2023 @ MTL W 5-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 16:55
Apr 11, 2023 vs WSH W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:21
Apr 9, 2023 @ PHI W 5-3 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 19:29
Apr 8, 2023 vs NJD W 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 19:06
Apr 6, 2023 vs TOR W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 18:32
Apr 2, 2023 @ STL W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 19:44
Apr 1, 2023 @ PIT W 4-3 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 12:43
Mar 28, 2023 vs NSH L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 13:34
Mar 26, 2023 @ CAR W 4-3 (SO) 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 20:11
Mar 25, 2023 vs TBL W 2-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 14:00
Mar 23, 2023 vs MTL W 4-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 17:29
Mar 21, 2023 vs OTT W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 18:02
Mar 19, 2023 @ BUF W 7-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 19:01
Mar 18, 2023 @ MIN W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 16:13
Mar 16, 2023 @ WPG W 3-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 17:13
Mar 14, 2023 @ CHI L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:19
Mar 12, 2023 @ DET L 3-5 1 1 2 3 0 3 0 20:46
Mar 11, 2023 vs DET W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:08
Mar 9, 2023 vs EDM L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 16:16
Mar 2, 2023 vs BUF W 7-1 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 19:14
Feb 28, 2023 @ CGY W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 2 1 0 15:53
Feb 25, 2023 @ VAN W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 15:38
Feb 23, 2023 @ SEA W 6-5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 14:00
Feb 20, 2023 vs OTT W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 15:27
Feb 18, 2023 vs NYI W 6-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 16:29
Feb 16, 2023 @ NSH W 5-0 0 1 1 1 0 2 1 17:05
Feb 14, 2023 @ DAL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 17:20
Feb 11, 2023 vs WSH L 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 18:52
Feb 1, 2023 @ TOR W 5-2 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 18:44
Jan 29, 2023 @ CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16:14
Jan 28, 2023 @ FLA L 3-4 (OT) 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 17:48
Jan 26, 2023 @ TBL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 18:15
Jan 24, 2023 @ MTL W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19:04
Jan 22, 2023 vs SJS W 4-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 16:51
Jan 19, 2023 @ NYR W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 16:54
Jan 18, 2023 @ NYI W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 14:23
Jan 16, 2023 vs PHI W 6-0 1 1 2 3 0 2 0 16:43
Jan 14, 2023 vs TOR W 4-3 1 0 1 2 0 2 1 17:27
Jan 12, 2023 vs SEA L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 18:27
Jan 8, 2023 @ ANA W 7-1 0 2 2 3 0 2 0 18:14
Jan 7, 2023 @ SJS W 4-2 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 11:45
Jan 5, 2023 @ LAK W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:07
Jan 2, 2023 vs PIT W 2-1 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 15:00
Dec 31, 2022 vs BUF L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 16:03
Dec 28, 2022 @ NJD W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16:47
Dec 27, 2022 @ OTT L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 19:46
Dec 23, 2022 @ NJD W 4-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 19:11
Dec 22, 2022 vs WPG W 3-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 16:49
Dec 19, 2022 vs FLA W 7-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20:16
Dec 17, 2022 vs CBJ W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 18:30
Dec 15, 2022 vs LAK L 2-3 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 17:39
Dec 13, 2022 vs NYI W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 18:30
Dec 11, 2022 @ VGK W 3-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 15:40
Dec 9, 2022 @ ARI L 3-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 15:15
Dec 7, 2022 @ COL W 4-0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 15:28
Dec 5, 2022 vs VGK L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 17:34
Dec 3, 2022 vs COL W 5-1 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 17:13
Nov 29, 2022 vs TBL W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 14:31
Nov 25, 2022 vs CAR W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 16:19
Nov 23, 2022 @ FLA L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:31
Nov 21, 2022 @ TBL W 5-3 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 17:12
Nov 19, 2022 vs CHI W 6-1 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 15:54
Nov 17, 2022 vs PHI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:17
Nov 13, 2022 vs VAN W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15:03
Nov 12, 2022 @ BUF W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 18:13
Nov 10, 2022 vs CGY W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 12:53
Nov 7, 2022 vs STL W 3-1 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 20:15
Nov 5, 2022 @ TOR L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 18:59
Nov 3, 2022 @ NYR W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 17:51
Nov 1, 2022 @ PIT W 6-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 21:09
Oct 28, 2022 @ CBJ W 4-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 17:47
Oct 27, 2022 vs DET W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 15:50
Oct 25, 2022 vs DAL W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 18:33
Oct 22, 2022 vs MIN W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 1 0 5 1 19:34
Oct 20, 2022 vs ANA W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 20:02