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Liam O'Brien

#38 · Centre · Utah Mammoth

Born Jul 29, 1994 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, CAN (age 32) · 6'1", 215 lb · Shoots left

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2025-26. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Josh Dunne BUF · 4 P in 34 GP Curtis Douglas VAN · 4 P in 43 GP Maxim Tsyplakov NJD · 4 P in 49 GP Josh Samanski EDM · 4 P in 24 GP Jared Wright LAK · 4 P in 23 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.

05102014-15: 2 points214-152016-17: 0 points016-172017-18: 0 points017-182020-21: 3 points320-212021-22: 3 points321-222022-23: 11 points1122-232023-24: 14 points1423-242024-25: 2 points224-252025-26: 4 points425-26

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2014-15 WSH 13 1 1 2 4 23 16 35 0.15 $622K
2016-17 WSH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 $622K
2017-18 WSH 3 0 0 0 0 5 1 4 0.00 $650K
2020-21 COL 12 0 3 3 1 40 6 28 0.25 $700K
2021-22 ARI 39 2 1 3 1 106 36 139 0.08 $750K
2022-23 ARI 56 3 8 11 -5 114 39 203 0.20 $775K
2023-24 ARI 75 5 9 14 0 153 72 229 0.19 $775K
2024-25 UTA 28 0 2 2 1 50 34 100 0.07 $1M
2025-26 UTA 38 3 1 4 -6 43 35 115 0.11 $1M
9 seasons Career 265 14 25 39 -4 534 239 854 0.15

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 UTA 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 11 0.33
1 season Playoffs 3 0 1 1 1 2 0 11 0.33

2025-26 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
38 3 1 4 -6 43 35 115 0.11 8.6 9:09

Contract

$1MCap hitends in 2027, then UFA
$250KCap dollars per point4 points in 38 games
-$354KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$1.4MValueworth 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 715 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Utah Hockey Club on Jun 26, 2024, as an extension of the contract he was on: 3 years and $3M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2026-27, 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
2024-25 $1M $1M $0 $1M
2025-26 $1M $1M $0 $1M
2026-27 $1M $1M $0 $1M

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
Jun 26, 2024 Utah Hockey Club Extension 2024-25 to 2026-27 3 $3M $1M
Mar 6, 2022 Arizona Coyotes Extension 2022-23 to 2023-24 2 $1.55M $775K
Jul 28, 2021 Arizona Coyotes New contract 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $750K $750K
Mar 30, 2021 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $700K $700K
Jun 10, 2019 Washington Capitals Extension 2019-20 to 2019-20 1 $700K $700K
Jul 13, 2018 Washington Capitals New contract 2018-19 to 2018-19 1 $650K $650K
Jul 14, 2017 Washington Capitals New contract 2017-18 to 2017-18 1 $650K $650K
Oct 5, 2014 Washington Capitals Entry-level 2014-15 to 2016-17 3 $1.925M $622K

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 2025-26 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.

2025-26 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-1.3Goals above replacement624th of 715 skaters, 435th of 476 forwards
-0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-2.3Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 476 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-2.2 21st percentileEven-strength defence-0.1 44th percentilePower play0.0 64th percentilePenalty kill0.0 34th percentilePenalties+0.0 34th 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.

-3-2-1012014-152017-182021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

47.3Corsi for %295 attempts for, 329 against
-6.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
44.6Expected goals for %11.6 expected for, 14.4 against
-10.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
48.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
33.3Goals for %6 for, 12 against
96.9PDO5.0% shooting + 91.9% saves
84Attempts 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
Liam O'Brien · Kevin Stenlund · Brandon Tanev25177:3547.548.52-6
Liam O'Brien · Kevin Stenlund · Kailer Yamamoto850:1867.565.12-1
Alexander Kerfoot · Liam O'Brien · Kevin Stenlund636:3943.742.91-1
Liam O'Brien · Kevin Stenlund · JJ Peterka1711:2847.840.80-2

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.

3Goalsnot counting empty-netters
4.5Expected goalsfrom 66 unblocked attempts
-1.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.78 expected goals per 60 minutes47th
Shot quality 6.9% chance per attempt11th
Finishing -1.5 goals above expected43rdOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 444 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

01234Game 20Expected 4.5Goals 3

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 16, 2026 vs STL L 3-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 12:06
Apr 14, 2026 vs WPG W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 08:47
Apr 12, 2026 @ CGY L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 4 10:29
Apr 11, 2026 vs CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 08:46
Apr 9, 2026 vs NSH W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 08:39
Apr 4, 2026 @ VAN W 7-4 1 0 1 1 0 1 6 10:21
Feb 4, 2026 vs DET W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 08:10
Feb 2, 2026 vs VAN W 6-2 0 0 0 0 12 0 2 08:29
Jan 29, 2026 @ CAR L 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 10:50
Jan 27, 2026 @ FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 8 07:58
Jan 24, 2026 @ NSH W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 12:11
Jan 21, 2026 vs PHI W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 06:06
Jan 17, 2026 vs SEA W 6-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 08:50
Jan 15, 2026 vs DAL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 08:30
Jan 13, 2026 vs TOR W 6-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 8 09:07
Jan 3, 2026 @ NJD L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 10:01
Jan 1, 2026 @ NYI W 7-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 11:04
Dec 29, 2025 vs NSH L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 06:59
Dec 23, 2025 @ COL L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 06:41
Dec 21, 2025 vs WPG W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 11:29
Dec 19, 2025 vs NJD L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 07:22
Dec 17, 2025 @ DET W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 09:49
Dec 16, 2025 @ BOS L 1-4 0 0 0 0 10 1 4 09:52
Dec 14, 2025 @ PIT W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 07:26
Dec 12, 2025 vs SEA W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 08:11
Dec 10, 2025 vs FLA L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 08:22
Dec 8, 2025 vs LAK L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 4 10:14
Dec 6, 2025 @ CGY L 0-2 0 0 0 0 5 2 7 06:47
Dec 5, 2025 @ VAN W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 08:51
Dec 3, 2025 @ ANA W 7-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 6 10:00
Nov 20, 2025 vs VGK L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 09:52
Nov 17, 2025 @ ANA L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 5 0 5 08:39
Oct 28, 2025 @ EDM L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 2 0 2 08:08
Oct 25, 2025 @ MIN W 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 09:02
Oct 23, 2025 @ STL W 7-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 09:42
Oct 21, 2025 vs COL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 4 11:52
Oct 19, 2025 vs BOS W 3-2 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 07:46
Oct 17, 2025 vs SJS W 6-3 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 10:09