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Nathan MacKinnon

#29 · Centre · Colorado Avalanche

Born Sep 1, 1995 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, CAN (age 31) · 6'0", 200 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 1st overall in 2013 by COL (round 1)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2021-22
Hart Memorial Trophy MVP of Regular Season 2023-24
Ted Lindsay Award Most Outstanding Player as Voted by the NHLPA 2023-24
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy Sportsmanship and Gentlemanly Conduct 2019-20

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2026-27. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Auston Matthews TOR · 5 P in 4 GP Jared McCann SEA · 5 P in 4 GP Macklin Celebrini SJS · 5 P in 2 GP Tomas Hertl VGK · 5 P in 4 GP Tommy Novak PIT · 5 P in 4 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.

0501002013-14: 63 points6313-142014-15: 38 points3814-152015-16: 52 points5215-162016-17: 53 points5316-172017-18: 97 points9717-182018-19: 99 points9918-192019-20: 93 points9319-202020-21: 65 points6520-212021-22: 88 points8821-222022-23: 111 points11122-232023-24: 140 points14023-242024-25: 116 points11624-252025-26: 127 points12725-262026-27: 5 points526-27

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 COL 82 24 39 63 20 26 241 57 0.77 $925K
2014-15 COL 64 14 24 38 -7 34 192 43 0.59 $925K
2015-16 COL 72 21 31 52 -4 20 245 46 0.72 $925K
2016-17 COL 82 16 37 53 -14 16 251 56 0.65 $6.3M
2017-18 COL 74 39 58 97 11 55 284 38 1.31 $6.3M
2018-19 COL 82 41 58 99 20 34 365 54 1.21 $6.3M
2019-20 COL 69 35 58 93 13 12 318 51 1.35 $6.3M
2020-21 COL 48 20 45 65 22 37 206 38 1.35 $6.3M
2021-22 COL 65 32 56 88 22 42 299 68 1.35 $6.3M
2022-23 COL 71 42 69 111 29 30 366 53 1.56 $6.3M
2023-24 COL 82 51 89 140 35 42 405 55 1.71 $12.6M
2024-25 COL 79 32 84 116 25 41 320 38 1.47 $12.6M
2025-26 COL 80 53 74 127 57 39 350 64 1.59 $12.6M
2026-27 COL 3 2 3 5 -1 5 13 2 1.67 $12.604M
14 seasons Career 953 422 725 1147 228 433 3855 663 1.20

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2013-14 COL 7 2 8 10 2 4 18 1 1.43
2017-18 COL 6 3 3 6 -2 4 28 4 1.00
2018-19 COL 12 6 7 13 -4 2 57 15 1.08
2019-20 COL 12 8 14 22 11 8 50 13 1.83
2020-21 COL 10 8 7 15 6 2 38 15 1.50
2021-22 COL 20 13 11 24 11 8 117 28 1.20
2022-23 COL 7 3 4 7 8 4 40 9 1.00
2023-24 COL 11 4 10 14 -1 4 46 8 1.27
2024-25 COL 7 7 4 11 5 2 39 12 1.57
2025-26 COL 13 7 8 15 5 6 47 11 1.15
10 seasons Playoffs 105 61 76 137 41 44 480 116 1.30

2026-27 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
3 2 3 5 -1 5 13 2 1.67 15.4 18:44

Contract

$12.604MCap hitends in 2031, then UFA
$2.521MCap dollars per point5 points in 3 games
$511KCap dollars per goal above replacement24.7 goals above replacement, projected
$24.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$11.8MValueworth less cap hit

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. The season is still being played, so each rating is projected over all of it: what the player has done so far, plus the games left at a rate taken from his last three seasons and this one. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 647 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Colorado Avalanche on Sep 20, 2022, as an extension of the contract he was on: 8 years and $100.82M, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2030-31, with 4 seasons 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
2023-24 $12.6M $775K $15.725M $16.5M NMC
2024-25 $12.6M $775K $15.725M $16.5M NMC
2025-26 $12.6M $800K $15.25M $16.05M NMC
2026-27 $12.604M $9.15M $3M $12.15M NMC
2027-28 $12.6M $990K $8.91M $9.9M NMC
2028-29 $12.6M $990K $8.91M $9.9M NMC
2029-30 $12.6M $990K $8.91M $9.9M NMC
2030-31 $12.6M $990K $8.91M $9.9M NMC

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 20, 2022 Colorado Avalanche Extension 2023-24 to 2030-31 8 $100.82M $12.6M
Jul 8, 2016 Colorado Avalanche New contract 2016-17 to 2022-23 7 $44.1M $6.3M
Jul 9, 2013 Colorado Avalanche Entry-level 2013-14 to 2015-16 3 $11.325M $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 2026-27 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.

2026-27 analytics

Rating, projected over the full season

2026-27 is still being played, so these are a projection of his whole season, not a count so far: what he has done in 3 games (+1.4 goals above replacement), plus the 79 more he is taken to play, going by how much of his team's games he has played before, at a rate set by his last three seasons and this one. The more he plays, the more this season counts, and by the last game it is simply his season.

+24.7Goals above replacement3rd of 647 skaters, 2nd of 422 forwards
+4.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+19.7Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 422 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+17.8 99th percentileEven-strength defence-2.7 9th percentilePower play+2.6 95th percentilePenalty kill+0.1 65th percentilePenalties+2.0 96th 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.

01020302013-142015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

57.7Corsi for %56 attempts for, 41 against
+6.5CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
67.4Expected goals for %2.8 expected for, 1.4 against
+13.7xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
57.3Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
66.7Goals for %4 for, 2 against
107.1PDO14.8% shooting + 92.3% saves
19Attempts 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
Artturi Lehkonen · Nathan MacKinnon · Martin Necas325:0046.358.13-1
Nazem Kadri · Nathan MacKinnon · Martin Necas36:4272.277.40-0
Nazem Kadri · Artturi Lehkonen · Nathan MacKinnon14:0680.032.90-0
Gabriel Landeskog · Nathan MacKinnon · Martin Necas21:1080.073.81-1

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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
1.6Expected goalsfrom 21 unblocked attempts
+0.4Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 1.70 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 7.6% chance per attempt1st
Finishing +0.4 goals above expected1stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 0 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.511.52Goals 2Expected 1.6

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
Oct 7, 2026 @ WPG L 2-3 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 20:11
Oct 3, 2026 vs STL W 6-1 0 3 3 3 0 4 0 18:16
Sep 30, 2026 vs LAK W 8-4 2 0 2 -2 5 8 2 17:44