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Photo of Chad Ruhwedel

Chad Ruhwedel

#5 · Defence · Free agent, last with the New York Rangers

Born May 7, 1990 in San Diego, California, USA · 5'11", 189 lb · Shoots right

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Yannick Weber NSH · 5 P in 47 GP David Schlemko MTL · 5 P in 37 GP Erik Gudbranson VAN · 5 P in 52 GP Klas Dahlbeck CAR · 5 P in 33 GP Scott Harrington CBJ · 5 P in 32 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.

05102012-13: 0 points012-132013-14: 1 points113-142014-15: 1 points114-152015-16: 0 points015-162016-17: 10 points1016-172017-18: 5 points517-182018-19: 2 points218-192019-20: 6 points619-202020-21: 2 points220-212021-22: 13 points1321-222022-23: 5 points522-232023-24: 4 points423-242024-25: 1 points124-25

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2012-13 BUF 7 0 0 0 0 0 8 7 0.00 $925K
2013-14 BUF 21 0 1 1 -3 2 35 20 0.05 $925K
2014-15 BUF 4 0 1 1 3 0 4 6 0.25 $650K
2015-16 BUF 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0.00 $650K
2016-17 PIT 34 2 8 10 9 8 45 36 0.29 $575K
2017-18 PIT 44 2 3 5 -8 16 67 67 0.11 $650K
2018-19 PIT 18 1 1 2 -9 4 22 40 0.11 $650K
2019-20 PIT 41 2 4 6 4 12 44 74 0.15 $700K
2020-21 PIT 17 0 2 2 3 14 16 32 0.12 $700K
2021-22 PIT 78 4 9 13 2 14 82 149 0.17 $750K
2022-23 PIT 47 1 4 5 -4 18 36 90 0.11 $800K
2023-24 PIT 47 1 3 4 -4 4 34 75 0.09 $800K
2023-24 NYR 5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 15 0.00
2024-25 NYR 5 0 1 1 2 0 1 8 0.20 $775K
13 seasons Career 369 13 37 50 -7 94 396 622 0.14

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2016-17 PIT 6 0 0 0 -3 4 11 12 0.00
2017-18 PIT 12 0 0 0 -2 2 9 26 0.00
2021-22 PIT 7 0 0 0 2 0 7 12 0.00
3 seasons Playoffs 25 0 0 0 -3 6 27 50 0.00

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
44 2 3 5 -8 16 67 67 0.11 3.0 15:44

Contract

$650KCap hitends in 2019, then UFA
$130KCap dollars per point5 points in 44 games
$195KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$455KValueworth 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 691 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jun 22, 2017, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $1.3M, beginning in 2017-18. It runs through 2018-19, 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
2017-18 $650K $650K $0 $650K
2018-19 $650K $650K $0 $650K

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 $775K
Jul 12, 2024 New York Rangers New contract (two-way) 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $775K $775K
Feb 19, 2022 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2022-23 to 2023-24 2 $1.6M $800K
Aug 28, 2020 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $750K $750K
May 23, 2019 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2019-20 to 2020-21 2 $1.4M $700K
Jun 22, 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins Extension 2017-18 to 2018-19 2 $1.3M $650K
Jul 1, 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins New contract 2016-17 to 2016-17 1 $575K $575K
Jul 16, 2014 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2014-15 to 2015-16 2 $1.3M $650K
Apr 13, 2013 Buffalo Sabres Entry-level 2012-13 to 2013-14 2 $1.95M $925K

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 2017-18 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.

2017-18 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-0.7Goals above replacement567th of 691 skaters, 182nd of 240 defencemen
-0.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-3.0Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 240 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-1.9 26th percentileEven-strength defence-0.9 36th percentilePower play-0.1 40th percentilePenalty kill-0.1 36th percentilePenalties+0.1 81st 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.

-202468102012-132014-152016-172018-192020-212022-232024-25Goals 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

52.9Corsi for %666 attempts for, 592 against
-0.9CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.5Expected goals for %26.8 expected for, 25.2 against
-3.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.0Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
43.9Goals for %18 for, 23 against
97.4PDO4.7% shooting + 92.7% saves
129Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 600 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
Olli Maatta · Chad Ruhwedel42392:5254.153.013-15
Ian Cole · Chad Ruhwedel1997:2456.539.41-3
Brian Dumoulin · Chad Ruhwedel2783:1749.751.51-1
Jamie Oleksiak · Chad Ruhwedel825:3148.858.81-1

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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.1Expected goalsfrom 96 unblocked attempts
-0.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.18 expected goals per 60 minutes44th
Shot quality 2.2% chance per attempt9th
Finishing -0.1 goals above expected46thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 242 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Game 20Game 40Expected 2.1Goals 2

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 6, 2018 vs OTT W 4-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 13:58
Apr 5, 2018 @ CBJ W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 10:19
Mar 27, 2018 @ DET L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 16:44
Mar 25, 2018 vs PHI W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 16:11
Mar 23, 2018 vs NJD L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 17:16
Mar 21, 2018 vs MTL W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14:42
Mar 20, 2018 @ NYI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 17:38
Mar 15, 2018 @ MTL W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 19:04
Mar 14, 2018 @ NYR L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 17:55
Mar 11, 2018 vs DAL W 3-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 13:04
Mar 10, 2018 @ TOR L 2-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 14:31
Mar 7, 2018 @ PHI W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 15:06
Mar 5, 2018 vs CGY W 4-3 (OT) 1 0 1 0 2 4 1 15:57
Mar 3, 2018 vs NYI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 13:55
Dec 27, 2017 vs CBJ W 5-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 10:03
Dec 23, 2017 vs ANA L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 19:33
Dec 21, 2017 vs CBJ W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 15:59
Dec 18, 2017 @ COL L 2-4 1 1 2 -1 0 3 0 18:48
Dec 16, 2017 @ ARI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 17:07
Dec 14, 2017 @ VGK L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 2 2 17:01
Dec 11, 2017 vs COL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 12:30
Dec 9, 2017 vs TOR L 3-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 14:18
Dec 7, 2017 vs NYI W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 16:44
Nov 27, 2017 vs PHI W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 15:50
Nov 25, 2017 vs TBL W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 14:20
Nov 24, 2017 @ BOS L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 14:44
Nov 16, 2017 @ OTT W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 18:18
Nov 14, 2017 vs BUF W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 16:31
Nov 11, 2017 @ NSH L 4-5 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 13:37
Nov 10, 2017 @ WSH L 1-4 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 15:42
Nov 7, 2017 vs ARI W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 15:24
Nov 4, 2017 @ VAN L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 22:09
Nov 2, 2017 @ CGY L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 18:09
Nov 1, 2017 @ EDM W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 17:51
Oct 29, 2017 @ WPG L 1-7 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 17:51
Oct 28, 2017 @ MIN L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 18:37
Oct 26, 2017 vs WPG W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 17:30
Oct 24, 2017 vs EDM W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 2 20:58
Oct 21, 2017 @ TBL L 1-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 13:08
Oct 20, 2017 @ FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 15:01
Oct 17, 2017 @ NYR W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 13:17
Oct 14, 2017 vs FLA W 4-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 13:35
Oct 12, 2017 @ TBL L 4-5 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 10:02
Oct 11, 2017 @ WSH W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 2 1 3 10:59