Hockey Terminal
Be a GM

← All players

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 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Kyle Burroughs VAN · 5 P in 48 GP Zach Bogosian TBL · 5 P in 46 GP Robert Bortuzzo STL · 5 P in 43 GP Vincent Desharnais EDM · 5 P in 36 GP Brendan Smith NJD · 5 P in 60 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

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
47 1 4 5 -4 18 36 90 0.11 2.8 14:34

Contract

$800KCap hitends in 2024, then UFA
$160KCap dollars per point5 points in 47 games
$1.297MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.6 goals above replacement
$1.2MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$377KValueworth 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 Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb 19, 2022, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $1.6M, beginning in 2022-23. 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
2022-23 $800K $800K $0 $800K
2023-24 $800K $800K $0 $800K

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 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

Rating

+0.6Goals above replacement474th of 696 skaters, 149th of 235 defencemen
+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 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-1.9 37th percentileEven-strength defence+0.9 67th percentilePower play0.0 80th percentilePenalty kill+0.2 67th percentilePenalties-0.9 42nd 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

52.7Corsi for %603 attempts for, 541 against
+0.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.6Expected goals for %28.3 expected for, 25.4 against
+1.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
53.4Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
44.7Goals for %21 for, 26 against
97.2PDO6.2% shooting + 91.1% saves
92Attempts 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
Chad Ruhwedel · Pierre-Olivier Joseph36303:0056.354.215-13
Brian Dumoulin · Chad Ruhwedel3298:5754.154.13-2
Chad Ruhwedel · Jan Rutta1348:3352.758.02-2
Chad Ruhwedel · Mark Friedman1248:2643.645.10-2

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.

1Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.5Expected goalsfrom 59 unblocked attempts
-0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.13 expected goals per 60 minutes18th
Shot quality 2.6% chance per attempt16th
Finishing -0.5 goals above expected43rdOne 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.

00.511.5Game 20Game 40Expected 1.5Goals 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 4, 2023 @ NJD L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 18:21
Apr 2, 2023 vs PHI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:42
Apr 1, 2023 vs BOS L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 2 0 2 12:48
Mar 30, 2023 vs NSH W 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 14:24
Mar 28, 2023 @ DET L 4-7 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:17
Mar 25, 2023 vs WSH W 4-3 1 0 1 1 0 1 3 17:54
Mar 23, 2023 @ DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 3 20:11
Mar 22, 2023 @ COL W 5-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 18:53
Mar 20, 2023 vs OTT L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 2 1 4 17:28
Mar 18, 2023 @ NYR L 0-6 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 15:33
Feb 23, 2023 vs EDM L 2-7 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 17:01
Feb 20, 2023 vs NYI L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 2 14:40
Feb 18, 2023 vs NJD L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 13:35
Feb 17, 2023 @ NYI L 4-5 0 2 2 2 0 3 2 12:58
Feb 14, 2023 @ SJS W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 13:50
Feb 10, 2023 @ ANA W 6-3 0 1 1 3 0 2 2 15:40
Feb 7, 2023 vs COL W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:57
Jan 28, 2023 vs SJS L 4-6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 13:09
Jan 26, 2023 @ WSH L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:36
Jan 24, 2023 vs FLA W 7-6 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 10:51
Jan 22, 2023 @ NJD L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 18:32
Jan 20, 2023 vs OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 16:08
Jan 18, 2023 @ OTT L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 21:27
Jan 16, 2023 vs ANA W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 16:43
Jan 14, 2023 @ CAR L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 13:15
Jan 13, 2023 vs WPG L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 15:23
Jan 10, 2023 vs VAN W 5-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 16:41
Jan 8, 2023 @ ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 15:12
Jan 5, 2023 @ VGK L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 4 15:35
Jan 2, 2023 @ BOS L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 11:13
Dec 27, 2022 @ NYI L 1-5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 05:28
Dec 22, 2022 vs CAR L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 14:55
Dec 20, 2022 vs NYR W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 13:28
Dec 18, 2022 @ CAR L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 13:00
Dec 15, 2022 @ FLA W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 17:09
Dec 12, 2022 vs DAL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 15:04
Dec 9, 2022 @ BUF W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 08:47
Dec 6, 2022 vs CBJ W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 13:32
Dec 3, 2022 vs STL W 6-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 15:38
Dec 1, 2022 vs VGK W 4-3 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 13:27
Nov 29, 2022 vs CAR L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 13:37
Nov 15, 2022 vs TOR L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14:39
Nov 12, 2022 @ MTL L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 13:35
Nov 11, 2022 @ TOR W 4-2 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 15:14
Nov 1, 2022 vs BOS L 5-6 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 14:17
Oct 25, 2022 @ CGY L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 4 0 1 12:28
Oct 22, 2022 @ CBJ W 6-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 09:28