Nikolai Knyzhov
#71 · Defence · San Jose Sharks
Born Mar 20, 1998 in Kemerovo, RUS · 6'3", 222 lb · Shoots left
Compare with a similar player
The defencemen closest to him in points in 2023-24. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.
Adam Ginning
PHI ·
1 P in 9 GP
Tyler Kleven
OTT ·
1 P in 9 GP
Daemon Hunt
MIN ·
1 P in 12 GP
Nick Blankenburg
CBJ ·
1 P in 12 GP
Maxime Lajoie
TOR ·
1 P in 7 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.
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | SJS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 | $797K |
| 2020-21 | SJS | 56 | 2 | 8 | 10 | -9 | 39 | 51 | 84 | 0.18 | $797K |
| 2022-23 | SJS | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -13 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 0.08 | $850K |
| 2023-24 | SJS | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 0.10 | $1.25M |
| 4 seasons | Career | 81 | 3 | 9 | 12 | -29 | 55 | 67 | 112 | 0.15 |
2023-24 season totals
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | P/GP | Shooting % | Avg TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 0.10 | 0.0 | 17:39 |
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.
The contract
Who signed him to it, and when, are not on record. It runs through 2024-25, with 1 season left after this one.
| Season | Cap hit |
|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $1.25M |
| 2024-25 | $1.25M |
Each season left on the contract. Only its cap hit and its end are known: how the pay is split by season, and any signing bonus, are not.
Contracts he has signed
| Signed | Signed by | Kind | Seasons | Years | In all | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 to 2024-25 | $1.25M | |||||
| 2022-23 to 2022-23 | $850K | |||||
| 2020-21 to 2020-21 | $797K | |||||
| 2019-20 to 2021-22 | $797K |
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 2023-24 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.
2023-24 analytics
Rating
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.
On the ice
What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean
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 pair | GP | Time | CF% | xGF% | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Rutta · Nikolai Knyzhov | 10 | 49:52 | 37.9 | 34.1 | 0-1 |
| Ty Emberson · Nikolai Knyzhov | 4 | 28:57 | 45.5 | 50.6 | 0-2 |
| Kyle Burroughs · Nikolai Knyzhov | 8 | 17:45 | 57.9 | 74.5 | 0-0 |
| Matt Benning · Nikolai Knyzhov | 5 | 13:23 | 30.8 | 7.9 | 0-1 |
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.
Each bar shows the share of defencemen he is ahead of, among the 250 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
| Date | Opponent | Result | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | Shots | Hits | TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 2023 | @ SEA | L 1-7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:34 |
| Nov 12, 2023 | @ ANA | L 1-4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 14:28 |
| Nov 4, 2023 | vs PIT | L 2-10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 17:00 |
| Oct 27, 2023 | @ CAR | L 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:12 |
| Oct 26, 2023 | @ TBL | L 0-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15:05 |
| Oct 24, 2023 | @ FLA | L 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:58 |
| Oct 21, 2023 | @ NSH | L 1-5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:50 |
| Oct 19, 2023 | vs BOS | L 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21:45 |
| Oct 17, 2023 | vs CAR | L 3-6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16:53 |
| Oct 14, 2023 | vs COL | L 1-2 (SO) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19:40 |