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Nikolaj Ehlers

#27 · Left wing · Carolina Hurricanes

Born Feb 14, 1996 in Aalborg, DNK (age 30) · 6'0", 168 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 9th overall in 2014 by WPG (round 1)

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Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2025-26

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2022-23. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Mark Stone VGK · 38 P in 43 GP Kirby Dach MTL · 38 P in 58 GP Adam Henrique ANA · 38 P in 62 GP Alexander Wennberg SEA · 38 P in 82 GP Blake Coleman CGY · 38 P in 82 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.

02040602015-16: 38 points3815-162016-17: 64 points6416-172017-18: 60 points6017-182018-19: 37 points3718-192019-20: 58 points5819-202020-21: 46 points4620-212021-22: 55 points5521-222022-23: 38 points3822-232023-24: 61 points6123-242024-25: 63 points6324-252025-26: 71 points7125-262026-27: 3 points326-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2015-16 WPG 72 15 23 38 3 21 167 29 0.53 $894K
2016-17 WPG 82 25 39 64 1 38 204 43 0.78 $894K
2017-18 WPG 82 29 31 60 14 26 231 39 0.73 $894K
2018-19 WPG 62 21 16 37 2 15 158 27 0.60 $6M
2019-20 WPG 71 25 33 58 14 30 203 36 0.82 $6M
2020-21 WPG 47 21 25 46 15 15 148 26 0.98 $6M
2021-22 WPG 62 28 27 55 18 20 245 32 0.89 $6M
2022-23 WPG 45 12 26 38 -2 11 132 36 0.84 $6M
2023-24 WPG 82 25 36 61 27 29 233 30 0.74 $6M
2024-25 WPG 69 24 39 63 14 17 174 38 0.91 $6M
2025-26 CAR 82 26 45 71 8 14 207 21 0.87 $8.5M
2026-27 CAR 7 0 3 3 -2 0 15 3 0.43 $8.5M
12 seasons Career 763 251 343 594 112 236 2117 360 0.78

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2017-18 WPG 15 0 7 7 4 2 26 7 0.47
2018-19 WPG 6 0 0 0 -2 0 16 2 0.00
2019-20 WPG 4 2 0 2 -2 2 14 8 0.50
2020-21 WPG 6 2 1 3 -5 2 17 12 0.50
2022-23 WPG 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
2023-24 WPG 5 0 2 2 -4 0 14 11 0.40
2024-25 WPG 8 5 2 7 1 4 31 12 0.88
2025-26 CAR 18 8 10 18 9 6 39 14 1.00
8 seasons Playoffs 63 17 22 39 1 16 157 66 0.62

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
45 12 26 38 -2 11 132 36 0.84 9.1 15:39

Contract

$6MCap hitends in 2025, then UFA
$158KCap dollars per point38 points in 45 games
$684KCap dollars per goal above replacement8.8 goals above replacement
$7MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$1MValueworth 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 Winnipeg Jets on Oct 4, 2017, as an extension of the contract he was on: 7 years and $42M, beginning in 2018-19. It runs through 2024-25, with 2 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
2018-19 $6M $6.25M $0 $6.25M
2019-20 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M
2020-21 $6M $4.75M $0 $4.75M
2021-22 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M
2022-23 $6M $4.75M $0 $4.75M M-NTC
2023-24 $6M $6.5M $0 $6.5M M-NTC
2024-25 $6M $6.75M $0 $6.75M M-NTC

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
Jul 3, 2025 Carolina Hurricanes New contract 2025-26 to 2030-31 6 $51M $8.5M
Oct 4, 2017 Winnipeg Jets Extension 2018-19 to 2024-25 7 $42M $6M
Sep 7, 2014 Winnipeg Jets Entry-level 2015-16 to 2017-18 signed for 2014-15, slid 3 $4.875M $894K

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

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+8.8Goals above replacement100th of 696 skaters, 75th of 461 forwards
+1.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+6.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 461 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+5.6 89th percentileEven-strength defence-0.9 28th percentilePower play-0.1 52nd percentilePenalty kill0.0 36th percentilePenalties+2.3 95th 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.

0510152015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals 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

56.7Corsi for %641 attempts for, 490 against
+4.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
55.9Expected goals for %30.3 expected for, 23.9 against
+3.3xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
56.1Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
56.3Goals for %27 for, 21 against
100.9PDO8.6% shooting + 92.3% saves
217Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Blake Wheeler · Vladislav Namestnikov · Nikolaj Ehlers13110:1652.461.17-0
Nikolaj Ehlers · Kyle Connor · Pierre-Luc Dubois1396:2863.762.77-4
Blake Wheeler · Mark Scheifele · Nikolaj Ehlers1893:3053.348.14-4
Blake Wheeler · Nikolaj Ehlers · Pierre-Luc Dubois843:5755.649.11-2

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. 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.

12Goalsnot counting empty-netters
13.3Expected goalsfrom 207 unblocked attempts
-1.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 1.13 expected goals per 60 minutes87th
Shot quality 6.4% chance per attempt7th
Finishing -1.3 goals above expected41stOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 446 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Expected 13.3Goals 12

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. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 11, 2023 @ MIN W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10:57
Apr 10, 2023 vs SJS W 6-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 12:50
Apr 8, 2023 vs NSH W 2-0 0 1 1 1 0 4 0 16:04
Apr 5, 2023 vs CGY L 1-3 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 14:58
Apr 2, 2023 vs NJD W 6-1 2 0 2 1 0 5 0 15:37
Mar 31, 2023 vs DET W 6-2 1 1 2 2 0 4 0 15:57
Mar 28, 2023 @ SJS L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 13:50
Mar 25, 2023 @ LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 16:30
Mar 23, 2023 @ ANA W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 15:09
Mar 21, 2023 vs ARI W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 15:26
Mar 19, 2023 @ STL L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 7 3 1 12:54
Mar 18, 2023 @ NSH W 3-2 (OT) 1 1 2 2 0 3 4 17:21
Mar 16, 2023 vs BOS L 0-3 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 16:26
Mar 14, 2023 @ CAR L 3-5 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 17:40
Mar 12, 2023 @ TBL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 14:05
Mar 11, 2023 @ FLA W 5-4 (OT) 1 2 3 2 0 2 0 15:29
Mar 8, 2023 vs MIN L 2-4 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 18:02
Mar 6, 2023 vs SJS L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 14:57
Mar 4, 2023 vs EDM W 7-5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 11:52
Mar 3, 2023 @ EDM L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 10:48
Feb 28, 2023 vs LAK L 5-6 (SO) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 17:48
Feb 26, 2023 vs NYI L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 5 2 18:01
Feb 24, 2023 vs COL L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 1 13:04
Feb 22, 2023 @ NYI L 1-2 1 0 1 -1 0 3 0 18:35
Feb 20, 2023 @ NYR W 4-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 12:50
Feb 19, 2023 @ NJD L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 12:41
Feb 16, 2023 @ CBJ L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 5 0 14:40
Feb 14, 2023 vs SEA W 3-2 (SO) 0 1 1 1 0 5 1 15:34
Feb 11, 2023 vs CHI W 4-1 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 13:11
Jan 30, 2023 vs STL W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 17:42
Jan 28, 2023 vs PHI L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 5 1 17:07
Jan 26, 2023 vs BUF L 2-3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 18:15
Jan 24, 2023 @ NSH L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 18:04
Jan 22, 2023 @ PHI W 5-3 0 1 1 2 0 5 0 14:45
Jan 21, 2023 @ OTT W 5-1 1 2 3 1 0 4 1 16:48
Jan 19, 2023 @ TOR L 1-4 0 0 0 -3 0 4 3 17:37
Jan 17, 2023 @ MTL L 1-4 0 1 1 -2 0 2 0 15:26
Jan 15, 2023 vs ARI W 2-1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 16:26
Jan 13, 2023 @ PIT W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 5 0 16:08
Jan 12, 2023 @ BUF W 4-2 0 2 2 1 0 1 2 15:09
Jan 10, 2023 @ DET L 5-7 1 1 2 -2 0 5 1 16:55
Jan 8, 2023 vs VAN W 7-4 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 15:10
Jan 6, 2023 vs TBL W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 17:22
Oct 17, 2022 @ DAL L 1-4 0 1 1 0 0 4 2 21:47
Oct 14, 2022 vs NYR W 4-1 0 2 2 0 0 3 0 16:13