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Urho Vaakanainen

#18 · Defence · New York Rangers

Born Jan 1, 1999 in Joensuu, FIN (age 27) · 6'2", 204 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 18th overall in 2017 by BOS (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Nick Blankenburg NSH · 16 P in 60 GP Connor Clifton BUF · 16 P in 73 GP Radko Gudas ANA · 16 P in 81 GP Zach Bogosian MIN · 16 P in 81 GP Brenden Dillon NJD · 16 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.

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

2024-25 season totals

Contract

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 698 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Anaheim Ducks on Jul 1, 2024, as a new contract: 1 year and $1.1M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2024-25, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the New York Rangers on Mar 7, 2025, 2 years and $3.1M at $1.55M a season, beginning in 2025-26.

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

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 2024-25 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.

2024-25 analytics

Rating

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 242 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.

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.

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 598 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

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.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 244 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

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