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Photo of Kale Clague

Kale Clague

#38 · Defence · Buffalo Sabres

Born Jun 5, 1998 in Regina, Saskatchewan, CAN · 6'0", 190 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 51st overall in 2016 by LAK (round 2)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Dylan McIlrath WSH · 1 P in 3 GP Shakir Mukhamadullin SJS · 1 P in 3 GP Cal Foote NJD · 1 P in 4 GP Lukas Cormier VGK · 1 P in 2 GP Logan Mailloux MTL · 1 P in 1 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.

02468102019-20: 0 points019-202020-21: 6 points620-212021-22: 10 points1021-222022-23: 4 points422-232023-24: 1 points123-24

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2019-20 LAK 4 0 0 0 -3 2 2 1 0.00 $762K
2020-21 LAK 18 0 6 6 -6 4 24 9 0.33 $762K
2021-22 LAK 11 0 5 5 -2 2 6 0 0.45 $761K
2021-22 MTL 25 2 3 5 -8 18 20 14 0.20
2022-23 BUF 33 0 4 4 -3 24 24 24 0.12 $750K
2023-24 BUF 3 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 0.33 $775K
5 seasons Career 94 2 19 21 -22 52 78 49 0.22

2023-24 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
3 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 0.33 0.0 12:16

Contract

$775KCap hitends in 2024, then extended to 2025
$775KCap dollars per point1 points in 3 games
$11.162MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.1 goals above replacement

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 contract

Signed by the Buffalo Sabres on Jul 4, 2023, as a new contract: 1 year and $775K, beginning in 2023-24. It runs through 2023-24, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Buffalo Sabres on Jun 28, 2024, 1 year and $775K at $775K a season, beginning in 2024-25.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2023-24 $775K $775K $0 $775K

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
Jun 28, 2024 Buffalo Sabres Extension not begun 2024-25 to 2024-25 1 $775K $775K
Jul 4, 2023 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $775K $775K
Jul 13, 2022 Buffalo Sabres New contract 2022-23 to 2022-23 1 $750K $750K
Aug 6, 2021 Los Angeles Kings New contract 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $761K $761K
Mar 6, 2017 Los Angeles Kings Entry-level 2018-19 to 2020-21 signed for 2017-18, slid 3 $2.775M $762K

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 2023-24 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.

2023-24 analytics

Rating

+0.1Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.1Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.1Even-strength defence+0.2Power play0.0Penalty kill0.0Penalties-0.2

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. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. He has played fewer than 20 games, too few to be ranked.

-4-3-2-1012019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24Goals 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

43.5Corsi for %30 attempts for, 39 against
-3.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
53.5Expected goals for %1.1 expected for, 1.0 against
+8.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
40.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
50.0Goals for %2 for, 2 against
97.6PDO14.3% shooting + 83.3% saves
6Attempts 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Kale Clague · Henri Jokiharju114:4246.247.01-0
Erik Johnson · Kale Clague110:2835.034.00-1
Kale Clague · Ryan Johnson17:2147.474.31-0
Connor Clifton · Kale Clague31:59100.0100.00-0

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.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.1Expected goalsfrom 3 unblocked attempts
-0.1Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.17 expected goals per 60 minutes43rd
Shot quality 3.4% chance per attempt63rd
Finishing -0.1 goals above expected50thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 250 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.1Goals 0

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 11, 2024 vs WSH W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:25
Feb 23, 2024 @ CBJ W 2-1 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 08:31
Feb 21, 2024 @ MTL W 3-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 11:53