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Zach Whitecloud

#28 · Defence · Calgary Flames

Born Nov 28, 1996 in Brandon, Manitoba, CAN (age 29) · 6'2", 210 lb · Shoots right

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Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2022-23

Compare with a similar player

The defencemen closest to him in points in 2017-18. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Andreas Englund OTT · 0 P in 1 GP Brian Lashoff DET · 0 P in 1 GP Kyle Capobianco ARI · 0 P in 1 GP Mitch Reinke STL · 0 P in 1 GP Philip Holm VAN · 0 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.

0510152017-18: 0 points017-182019-20: 1 points119-202020-21: 12 points1220-212021-22: 19 points1921-222022-23: 12 points1222-232023-24: 14 points1423-242024-25: 13 points1324-252025-26: 17 points1725-262026-27: 0 points026-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2017-18 VGK 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 $925K
2019-20 VGK 16 0 1 1 3 4 9 10 0.06 $925K
2020-21 VGK 51 2 10 12 9 24 54 85 0.24 $725K
2021-22 VGK 59 8 11 19 21 20 94 98 0.32 $725K
2022-23 VGK 59 5 7 12 10 41 64 90 0.20 $2.75M
2023-24 VGK 61 2 12 14 -3 32 51 129 0.23 $2.75M
2024-25 VGK 74 4 9 13 7 37 72 117 0.18 $2.75M
2025-26 VGK 47 2 5 7 -8 20 33 73 0.15 $2.75M
2025-26 CGY 31 0 10 10 2 10 34 51 0.32
2026-27 CGY 5 0 0 0 -6 0 3 9 0.00 $2.75M
9 seasons Career 404 23 65 88 38 188 414 662 0.22

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2019-20 VGK 17 1 0 1 1 6 18 44 0.06
2020-21 VGK 19 1 3 4 3 16 16 31 0.21
2022-23 VGK 22 2 6 8 14 21 19 37 0.36
2023-24 VGK 6 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 0.00
2024-25 VGK 11 0 2 2 -3 8 8 28 0.18
5 seasons Playoffs 75 4 11 15 15 53 65 149 0.20

2017-18 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0.00 0.0 16:42

Contract

$925KCap hitends in 2020
$29.321MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.0 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 Vegas Golden Knights on Mar 8, 2018, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $4.475M, beginning in 2017-18. It runs through 2019-20, with 2 seasons left after this one.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2017-18 $925K $833K $93K $925K
2018-19 $925K $833K $93K $850K $925K
2019-20 $925K $833K $93K $850K $925K

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
Oct 28, 2021 Vegas Golden Knights Extension 2022-23 to 2027-28 6 $16.5M $2.75M
Mar 22, 2020 Vegas Golden Knights Extension 2020-21 to 2021-22 2 $1.45M $725K
Mar 8, 2018 Vegas Golden Knights Entry-level 2017-18 to 2019-20 3 $4.475M $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 2017-18 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.

2017-18 analytics

Rating

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

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. 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.

-202462017-182020-212022-232024-252026-27Goals 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

51.7Corsi for %15 attempts for, 14 against
+2.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.2Expected goals for %0.9 expected for, 0.8 against
+10.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
53.8Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
100.0Goals for %3 for, 0 against
127.3PDO27.3% shooting + 100.0% saves
1Attempts 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
Brayden McNabb · Zach Whitecloud112:1152.452.22-0
Shea Theodore · Zach Whitecloud12:1650.049.21-0
Jon Merrill · Zach Whitecloud11:5250.00.00-0

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.

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. "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 5, 2018 @ EDM L 3-4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 16:42