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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 2020-21. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Ryan McDonagh TBL · 12 P in 50 GP K'Andre Miller NYR · 12 P in 53 GP Colin Miller BUF · 12 P in 48 GP Danny DeKeyser DET · 12 P in 47 GP Vladislav Gavrikov CBJ · 12 P in 55 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

2020-21 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
51 2 10 12 9 24 54 85 0.24 3.7 17:49

Contract

$725KCap hitends in 2022
$60KCap dollars per point12 points in 51 games
$157KCap dollars per goal above replacement4.6 goals above replacement
$5.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$4.7MValueworth 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 633 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Mar 22, 2020, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $1.45M, beginning in 2020-21. It runs through 2021-22, with 1 season left after this one.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2020-21 $725K $700K $0 $700K
2021-22 $725K $750K $0 $750K

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 2020-21 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.

2020-21 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+4.6Goals above replacement155th of 643 skaters, 41st of 213 defencemen
+0.8Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+1.6Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 213 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.

Even-strength offence-1.4 29th percentileEven-strength defence+2.6 91st percentilePower play0.0 75th percentilePenalty kill+1.1 98th percentilePenalties-0.7 38th 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. 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

51.9Corsi for %717 attempts for, 665 against
-2.0CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
54.0Expected goals for %33.3 expected for, 28.4 against
+0.8xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
58.0Goals for %29 for, 21 against
101.8PDO8.1% shooting + 93.8% saves
120Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 579 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Nicolas Hague · Zach Whitecloud48526:4454.258.923-11
Alec Martinez · Zach Whitecloud34121:1748.351.13-2
Brayden McNabb · Zach Whitecloud2166:0353.657.02-4
Shea Theodore · Zach Whitecloud2627:5840.021.40-1

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. 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.

2Goalsnot counting empty-netters
3.0Expected goalsfrom 87 unblocked attempts
-1.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.20 expected goals per 60 minutes52nd
Shot quality 3.4% chance per attempt66th
Finishing -1.0 goals above expected26thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 218 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

012Game 20Game 40Expected 3.0Goals 2

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
May 12, 2021 @ SJS W 6-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 18:55
May 10, 2021 vs COL L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 19:16
May 8, 2021 vs STL W 4-1 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 17:39
May 7, 2021 vs STL W 4-3 (OT) 0 1 1 2 0 3 1 14:02
May 5, 2021 @ MIN W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 14:04
May 3, 2021 @ MIN L 5-6 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 15:10
May 1, 2021 @ ARI W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 18:49
Apr 30, 2021 @ ARI L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 4 17:21
Apr 28, 2021 vs COL W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 2 1 0 14:48
Apr 24, 2021 @ ANA W 5-1 0 0 0 -1 2 1 1 16:37
Apr 21, 2021 vs SJS W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 14:58
Apr 19, 2021 vs SJS W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 09:32
Apr 18, 2021 @ ANA W 5-2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 18:55
Apr 16, 2021 @ ANA W 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 15:06
Apr 14, 2021 @ LAK W 6-2 0 1 1 1 0 3 4 21:07
Apr 12, 2021 @ LAK W 4-2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 15:11
Apr 11, 2021 vs ARI W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 17:31
Mar 31, 2021 vs LAK L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 14:39
Mar 29, 2021 vs LAK W 4-1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 19:37
Mar 27, 2021 @ COL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 2 2 17:47
Mar 25, 2021 @ COL L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 19:29
Mar 22, 2021 vs STL W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 16:10
Mar 21, 2021 @ LAK L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 17:15
Mar 19, 2021 @ LAK W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 18:02
Mar 17, 2021 vs SJS W 5-4 0 1 1 1 0 4 2 16:24
Mar 15, 2021 vs SJS W 2-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 18:48
Mar 13, 2021 @ STL W 5-1 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 17:01
Mar 12, 2021 @ STL W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 21:02
Mar 10, 2021 @ MIN L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 19:11
Mar 8, 2021 @ MIN L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 21:48
Mar 6, 2021 @ SJS W 4-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 17:23
Mar 5, 2021 @ SJS W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:31
Mar 3, 2021 vs MIN W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 16:46
Mar 1, 2021 vs MIN W 5-4 (OT) 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 21:32
Feb 27, 2021 @ ANA W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 3 21:03
Feb 22, 2021 @ COL W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 18:47
Feb 20, 2021 @ COL L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 14:02
Feb 16, 2021 vs COL L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 17:20
Feb 14, 2021 vs COL W 1-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 19:19
Feb 13, 2021 @ SJS W 3-1 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 16:12
Feb 11, 2021 vs ANA L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 16:52
Feb 9, 2021 vs ANA W 5-4 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 21:47
Feb 7, 2021 vs LAK W 4-3 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 21:51
Feb 5, 2021 vs LAK W 5-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 21:54
Jan 26, 2021 vs STL L 4-5 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13:28
Jan 24, 2021 @ ARI W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:13
Jan 22, 2021 @ ARI L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 22:35
Jan 20, 2021 vs ARI W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 17:54
Jan 18, 2021 vs ARI W 4-2 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 17:09
Jan 16, 2021 vs ANA W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 4 2 22:02
Jan 14, 2021 vs ANA W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 22:47