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Paul Cotter

#47 · Left wing · Vancouver Canucks

Born Nov 16, 1999 in Canton, Michigan, USA (age 26) · 6'2", 213 lb · Shoots left · Drafted 115th overall in 2018 by VGK (round 4)

Trophy case

Stanley Cup NHL Champion 2022-23

Compare with a similar player

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

Mathieu Joseph OTT · 18 P in 56 GP Adam Erne DET · 18 P in 61 GP Derek Grant ANA · 18 P in 46 GP Tomas Nosek BOS · 18 P in 66 GP Keegan Kolesar VGK · 18 P in 74 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.

05101520252021-22: 2 points221-222022-23: 18 points1822-232023-24: 25 points2523-242024-25: 22 points2224-252025-26: 15 points1525-262026-27: 6 points626-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2021-22 VGK 7 2 0 2 1 6 11 17 0.29 $760K
2022-23 VGK 55 13 5 18 -5 15 76 168 0.33 $760K
2023-24 VGK 76 7 18 25 -11 41 100 233 0.33 $775K
2024-25 NJD 79 16 6 22 -14 62 90 245 0.28 $775K
2025-26 NJD 79 9 6 15 -24 19 61 192 0.19 $775K
2026-27 VAN 7 4 2 6 3 0 8 21 0.86 $2.15M
6 seasons Career 303 51 37 88 -50 143 346 876 0.29

Playoffs

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2024-25 NJD 5 0 1 1 -1 2 5 22 0.20
1 season Playoffs 5 0 1 1 -1 2 5 22 0.20

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
55 13 5 18 -5 15 76 168 0.33 17.1 12:50

Contract

$760KCap hitends in 2023, then extended to 2026
$42KCap dollars per point18 points in 55 games
-$1.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.2MValueworth 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. He rated at or below a spare-part player, so there is no cost per goal to show. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 695 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec 28, 2018, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $2.55M, beginning in 2020-21. It runs through 2022-23, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Vegas Golden Knights on Aug 13, 2022, 3 years and $2.325M at $775K a season, beginning in 2023-24.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2020-21 $760K $700K $80K $70K $780K
2021-22 $760K $750K $0 $20K $750K
2022-23 $760K $750K $0 $20K $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
Jul 1, 2026 Vancouver Canucks New contract 2026-27 to 2026-27 1 $2.15M $2.15M
Aug 13, 2022 Vegas Golden Knights Extension not begun 2023-24 to 2025-26 3 $2.325M $775K
Dec 28, 2018 Vegas Golden Knights Entry-level 2020-21 to 2022-23 signed for 2018-19, slid 3 $2.55M $760K

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

-3.0Goals above replacement644th of 696 skaters, 440th of 461 forwards
-0.5Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-4.9Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 461 ranked forwards: 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-1.9 24th percentileEven-strength defence-3.6 6th percentilePower play-0.3 38th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 45th percentilePenalties+0.9 72nd 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 forwards. 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.

-6-4-20242021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

42.5Corsi for %571 attempts for, 772 against
-7.1CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
42.6Expected goals for %25.1 expected for, 33.8 against
-9.6xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
42.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
45.6Goals for %26 for, 31 against
100.6PDO8.4% shooting + 92.3% saves
125Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 613 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Jonathan Marchessault · Jack Eichel · Paul Cotter16111:3253.053.77-7
Mark Stone · Chandler Stephenson · Paul Cotter958:3646.451.81-2
Phil Kessel · Chandler Stephenson · Paul Cotter1857:5035.727.82-4
Phil Kessel · Nicolas Roy · Paul Cotter1147:1140.727.31-3

The lines 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 lines 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.

13Goalsnot counting empty-netters
7.7Expected goalsfrom 95 unblocked attempts
+5.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.65 expected goals per 60 minutes30th
Shot quality 8.1% chance per attempt47th
Finishing +5.3 goals above expected90thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 446 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0510Game 20Game 40Goals 13Expected 7.7

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 8, 2023 @ DAL L 1-2 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 13:06
Apr 1, 2023 vs MIN W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 13:53
Mar 30, 2023 @ SJS L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 12:06
Mar 21, 2023 @ VAN W 4-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 11:55
Mar 19, 2023 vs CBJ W 7-2 1 0 1 0 0 3 4 13:29
Mar 16, 2023 vs CGY L 2-7 0 0 0 -1 5 2 3 09:14
Mar 14, 2023 @ PHI W 5-3 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 12:56
Mar 12, 2023 @ STL W 5-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 10:24
Mar 11, 2023 @ CAR W 4-0 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 13:46
Mar 9, 2023 @ TBL W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 06:33
Mar 7, 2023 @ FLA L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 09:29
Mar 5, 2023 vs MTL W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 4 11:13
Mar 1, 2023 vs CAR W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 11:09
Feb 27, 2023 @ COL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10:19
Feb 25, 2023 vs DAL L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 1 11:25
Feb 23, 2023 vs CGY W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 3 6 18:40
Feb 21, 2023 @ CHI L 2-3 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 15:18
Feb 18, 2023 vs TBL W 5-4 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 14:26
Feb 16, 2023 vs SJS W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 3 5 13:12
Feb 12, 2023 vs ANA W 7-2 1 0 1 -1 0 1 2 16:18
Feb 9, 2023 @ MIN W 5-1 1 0 1 3 0 1 2 15:52
Feb 7, 2023 @ NSH W 5-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 12:59
Jan 28, 2023 @ NYI L 1-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 17:28
Jan 27, 2023 @ NYR L 1-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 5 14:47
Jan 24, 2023 @ NJD L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 17:34
Jan 22, 2023 @ ARI L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 2 2 5 17:34
Jan 21, 2023 vs WSH W 6-2 2 0 2 2 0 5 3 11:43
Jan 19, 2023 vs DET L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 3 2 16:09
Jan 16, 2023 vs DAL L 0-4 0 0 0 -2 0 2 5 19:27
Jan 14, 2023 vs EDM L 3-4 1 0 1 0 0 1 6 16:17
Jan 12, 2023 vs FLA W 4-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 3 12:17
Jan 7, 2023 vs LAK L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 7 15:16
Jan 5, 2023 vs PIT W 5-2 1 1 2 1 0 3 4 13:31
Dec 15, 2022 @ CHI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 09:16
Dec 13, 2022 @ WPG W 6-5 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 15:30
Dec 11, 2022 vs BOS L 1-3 0 0 0 -1 0 0 6 17:47
Dec 9, 2022 vs PHI W 2-1 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 13:07
Dec 7, 2022 vs NYR L 1-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 6 15:42
Dec 5, 2022 @ BOS W 4-3 (SO) 2 0 2 2 0 3 3 15:49
Dec 3, 2022 @ DET W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 14:06
Dec 1, 2022 @ PIT L 3-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 05:24
Nov 28, 2022 @ CBJ W 3-2 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 09:36
Nov 26, 2022 vs VAN L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 2 5 13:42
Nov 25, 2022 vs SEA L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 3 07:57
Nov 23, 2022 vs OTT W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 10:16
Nov 21, 2022 @ VAN W 5-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 08:58
Nov 19, 2022 @ EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 08:36
Nov 17, 2022 vs ARI W 4-1 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 08:20
Nov 15, 2022 vs SJS L 2-5 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 08:12
Nov 12, 2022 vs STL L 2-3 0 1 1 1 0 2 4 11:13
Nov 10, 2022 @ BUF W 7-4 1 1 2 2 0 2 1 12:08
Oct 18, 2022 @ CGY L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 09:53
Oct 15, 2022 @ SEA W 5-2 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 13:59
Oct 13, 2022 vs CHI W 1-0 1 0 1 1 2 2 4 12:19
Oct 11, 2022 @ LAK W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 13:54