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Photo of Michael Kesselring

Michael Kesselring

#7 · Defence · San Jose Sharks

Born Jan 13, 2000 in Florence, South Carolina, USA (age 26) · 6'5", 215 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 164th overall in 2018 by EDM (round 6)

Compare with a similar player

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

Wyatt Kaiser CHI · 3 P in 9 GP Akito Hirose VAN · 3 P in 7 GP Philippe Myers TBL · 3 P in 11 GP Ryan Murray EDM · 3 P in 13 GP Jordan Gross NSH · 3 P in 15 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.

010202022-23: 3 points322-232023-24: 21 points2123-242024-25: 29 points2924-252025-26: 2 points225-262026-27: 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
2022-23 ARI 9 0 3 3 -1 6 8 12 0.33 $925K
2023-24 ARI 65 5 16 21 11 66 76 106 0.32 $925K
2024-25 UTA 82 7 22 29 4 89 150 87 0.35 $1.4M
2025-26 BUF 34 0 2 2 0 50 46 25 0.06 $1.4M
2026-27 SJS 5 0 0 0 -3 2 5 4 0.00 $4.5M
5 seasons Career 195 12 43 55 11 213 285 234 0.28

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2025-26 BUF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1 season Playoffs 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
9 0 3 3 -1 6 8 12 0.33 0.0 17:06

Contract

$925KCap hitends in 2024
$308KCap dollars per point3 points in 9 games
$4.729MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.2 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 Edmonton Oilers on Mar 22, 2021, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.775M, beginning in 2021-22. It runs through 2023-24, with 1 season left after this one.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2021-22 $925K $833K $93K $925K
2022-23 $925K $833K $93K $925K
2023-24 $925K $833K $93K $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
Jun 28, 2026 San Jose Sharks New contract 2026-27 to 2028-29 3 $13.5M $4.5M
Jun 28, 2024 Utah Hockey Club Extension 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $2.8M $1.4M
Mar 22, 2021 Edmonton Oilers Entry-level 2021-22 to 2023-24 3 $2.775M $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 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

Rating

+0.2Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.3Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence+0.4Even-strength defence0.0Power play0.0Penalty kill-0.2Penalties-0.5

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.

-202462022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

48.0Corsi for %110 attempts for, 119 against
+2.4CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.8Expected goals for %4.8 expected for, 5.4 against
+1.5xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
45.5Goals for %5 for, 6 against
99.9PDO9.4% shooting + 90.5% saves
25Attempts 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
Juuso Välimäki · Michael Kesselring973:2853.441.32-3
Michael Kesselring · Connor Mackey724:2540.459.63-0
Michael Kesselring · J.J. Moser418:2041.927.50-1
Michael Kesselring · Victor Soderstrom54:4420.024.00-1

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.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.5Expected goalsfrom 18 unblocked attempts
-0.5Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.19 expected goals per 60 minutes48th
Shot quality 2.7% chance per attempt19th
Finishing -0.5 goals above expected44thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 233 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.5Goals 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 13, 2023 vs VAN L 4-5 (OT) 0 2 2 2 0 0 1 13:20
Mar 26, 2023 vs COL L 3-4 (SO) 0 1 1 0 2 0 5 15:46
Mar 24, 2023 @ COL L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 16:28
Mar 22, 2023 @ EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 16:17
Mar 21, 2023 @ WPG L 1-2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 19:30
Mar 18, 2023 vs CHI W 4-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 16:45
Mar 16, 2023 vs VAN W 3-2 0 0 0 -2 0 3 1 18:27
Mar 14, 2023 vs CGY W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 21:14
Mar 3, 2023 vs CAR L 1-6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16:04