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Photo of Melker Karlsson

Melker Karlsson

#68 · Centre · San Jose Sharks

Born Jul 18, 1990 in Lycksele, SWE · 6'0", 180 lb · Shoots right

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2019-20. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Frederik Gauthier TOR · 12 P in 61 GP Max Jones ANA · 12 P in 59 GP Trevor Lewis LAK · 12 P in 56 GP Sam Bennett CGY · 12 P in 52 GP Eric Robinson CBJ · 12 P in 50 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.

051015202014-15: 24 points2414-152015-16: 19 points1915-162016-17: 22 points2216-172017-18: 19 points1917-182018-19: 16 points1618-192019-20: 12 points1219-20

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 SJS 53 13 11 24 -3 20 100 51 0.45 $825K
2015-16 SJS 65 10 9 19 5 16 96 76 0.29 $1.65M
2016-17 SJS 67 11 11 22 7 22 73 67 0.33 $1.65M
2017-18 SJS 71 8 11 19 -5 26 76 81 0.27 $2M
2018-19 SJS 79 12 4 16 -1 26 79 67 0.20 $2M
2019-20 SJS 61 6 6 12 -7 20 56 38 0.20 $2M
6 seasons Career 396 60 52 112 -4 130 480 380 0.28

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2015-16 SJS 24 5 3 8 3 10 25 32 0.33
2016-17 SJS 6 1 0 1 0 6 7 17 0.17
2017-18 SJS 10 0 3 3 2 2 14 21 0.30
2018-19 SJS 20 0 2 2 -2 4 20 25 0.10
4 seasons Playoffs 60 6 8 14 3 22 66 95 0.23

2019-20 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
61 6 6 12 -7 20 56 38 0.20 10.7 12:16

Contract

$2MCap hitends in 2020, then UFA
$167KCap dollars per point12 points in 61 games
-$754KWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.8MValueworth 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 668 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2019-20, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2019-20 $2M

Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
2018-19 to 2019-20 $2M
2017-18 to 2017-18 $2M
2015-16 to 2016-17 $1.65M
2014-15 to 2014-15 $825K

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 2019-20 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.

2019-20 analytics

Rating

-1.7Goals above replacement598th of 670 skaters, 408th of 439 forwards
-0.3Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-3.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 439 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-3.9 3rd percentileEven-strength defence+0.8 68th percentilePower play0.0 55th percentilePenalty kill+0.1 71st percentilePenalties-0.8 12th 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. 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.

-4-2024682014-152015-162016-172017-182018-192019-20Goals 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

44.5Corsi for %452 attempts for, 564 against
-6.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
41.2Expected goals for %18.1 expected for, 25.9 against
-7.9xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
43.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
41.9Goals for %18 for, 25 against
99.4PDO7.5% shooting + 91.9% saves
82Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 583 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Stefan Noesen · Melker Karlsson · Joel Kellman19117:3747.351.92-2
Joe Thornton · Marcus Sorensen · Melker Karlsson1768:4346.736.80-4
Melker Karlsson · Noah Gregor · Dylan Gambrell1063:0340.427.52-4
Marcus Sorensen · Melker Karlsson · Joel Kellman1131:2640.033.60-0

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. 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.

5Goalsnot counting empty-netters
5.1Expected goalsfrom 70 unblocked attempts
-0.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.41 expected goals per 60 minutes3rd
Shot quality 7.3% chance per attempt26th
Finishing -0.1 goals above expected54thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 410 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

024Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 5.1Goals 5

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
Mar 11, 2020 @ CHI L 2-6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 15:41
Mar 8, 2020 vs COL L 3-4 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 16:38
Mar 7, 2020 vs OTT L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 16:38
Mar 5, 2020 vs MIN L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:19
Mar 3, 2020 vs TOR W 5-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 13:38
Feb 20, 2020 @ NJD L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 08:30
Feb 17, 2020 vs FLA L 3-5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 14:32
Feb 15, 2020 @ MIN W 2-0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 17:42
Feb 14, 2020 @ WPG W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 14:54
Feb 10, 2020 vs CGY L 2-6 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 16:46
Feb 6, 2020 @ EDM W 6-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 11:12
Feb 4, 2020 @ CGY W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 13:57
Feb 1, 2020 vs TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 15:19
Jan 29, 2020 vs VAN L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:42
Jan 27, 2020 vs ANA W 4-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 12:27
Jan 18, 2020 @ VAN L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 10:58
Jan 16, 2020 @ COL L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 14:39
Jan 14, 2020 @ ARI L 3-6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:46
Jan 11, 2020 vs DAL W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 11:22
Jan 9, 2020 vs CBJ W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 09:29
Jan 7, 2020 @ STL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 09:37
Jan 5, 2020 @ WSH L 4-5 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 0 0 10:59
Jan 4, 2020 @ CBJ W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:10
Jan 2, 2020 @ PIT W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 11:32
Dec 28, 2019 vs PHI W 6-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 02:36
Dec 27, 2019 vs LAK L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 08:34
Dec 22, 2019 vs VGK L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:44
Dec 21, 2019 vs STL L 2-5 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 10:43
Dec 17, 2019 vs ARI L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11:01
Dec 14, 2019 vs VAN W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:40
Dec 12, 2019 vs NYR L 3-6 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 12:48
Dec 10, 2019 @ NSH L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:20
Dec 8, 2019 @ FLA L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 13:03
Dec 7, 2019 @ TBL L 1-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:31
Dec 5, 2019 @ CAR L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10:07
Dec 3, 2019 vs WSH L 2-5 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 14:04
Nov 30, 2019 @ ARI W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 12:57
Nov 29, 2019 vs LAK W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 11:59
Nov 27, 2019 vs WPG L 1-5 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 12:27
Nov 25, 2019 @ LAK W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:59
Nov 21, 2019 @ VGK W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11:38
Nov 19, 2019 vs EDM L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 2 12:26
Nov 16, 2019 vs DET W 4-3 (SO) 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 13:50
Nov 14, 2019 @ ANA W 5-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 13:12
Nov 12, 2019 vs EDM W 6-3 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 10:59
Nov 9, 2019 vs NSH W 2-1 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 09:55
Nov 2, 2019 vs VAN L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 13:25
Nov 1, 2019 vs WPG L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 15:41
Oct 29, 2019 @ BOS L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:23
Oct 27, 2019 @ OTT L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 09:44
Oct 25, 2019 @ TOR L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 0 1 12:24
Oct 24, 2019 @ MTL W 4-2 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 13:42
Oct 22, 2019 @ BUF L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 10:52
Oct 19, 2019 vs BUF L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 09:51
Oct 16, 2019 vs CAR W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 13:29
Oct 13, 2019 vs CGY W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 15:15
Oct 10, 2019 @ CHI W 5-4 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 11:40
Oct 8, 2019 @ NSH L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14:23
Oct 5, 2019 @ ANA L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 10:49
Oct 4, 2019 vs VGK L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 2 12:05
Oct 2, 2019 @ VGK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 10:42