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Cole Smith

#22 · Right wing · Chicago Blackhawks

Born Oct 28, 1995 in Brainerd, Minnesota, USA (age 30) · 6'3", 195 lb · Shoots left

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2025-26. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Isac Lundeström CBJ · 12 P in 68 GP Oskar Bäck DAL · 12 P in 72 GP Gustav Nyquist WPG · 12 P in 51 GP Danton Heinen CBJ · 12 P in 46 GP Barclay Goodrow SJS · 12 P in 82 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.

051015202020-21: 0 points020-212021-22: 0 points021-222022-23: 17 points1722-232023-24: 23 points2323-242024-25: 12 points1224-252025-26: 12 points1225-262026-27: 1 points126-27

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

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2020-21 NSH 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 $793K
2021-22 NSH 8 0 0 0 -3 0 3 21 0.00 $750K
2022-23 NSH 69 4 13 17 -3 60 64 198 0.25 $750K
2023-24 NSH 80 9 14 23 5 63 112 235 0.29 $775K
2024-25 NSH 71 4 8 12 -15 69 69 163 0.17 $1M
2025-26 NSH 42 6 4 10 -7 31 51 119 0.24 $1M
2025-26 VGK 21 2 0 2 0 9 18 54 0.10
2026-27 CHI 6 1 0 1 1 2 6 12 0.17 $3M
7 seasons Career 298 26 39 65 -22 234 324 802 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
2023-24 NSH 5 0 0 0 -1 0 5 12 0.00
2025-26 VGK 22 3 3 6 3 24 14 100 0.27
2 seasons Playoffs 27 3 3 6 2 24 19 112 0.22

2025-26 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
63 8 4 12 -7 40 69 173 0.19 11.6 13:17

Contract

$1MCap hitends in 2026, then UFA
$83KCap dollars per point12 points in 63 games
-$1.4MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$2.4MValueworth 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 715 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Nashville Predators on Jan 24, 2024, as an extension of the contract he was on: 2 years and $2M, beginning in 2024-25. It runs through 2025-26, so this is its last season, after which he is an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2024-25 $1M $1M $0 $1M
2025-26 $1M $1M $0 $1M

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 Chicago Blackhawks New contract 2026-27 to 2028-29 3 $9M $3M
Jan 24, 2024 Nashville Predators Extension 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $2M $1M
Feb 6, 2023 Nashville Predators Extension 2023-24 to 2023-24 1 $775K $775K
Jul 14, 2022 Nashville Predators New contract 2022-23 to 2022-23 1 $750K $750K
Jul 15, 2021 Nashville Predators Extension 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $750K $750K
Mar 19, 2020 Nashville Predators Entry-level 2020-21 to 2020-21 1 $925K $793K

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 2025-26 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.

2025-26 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

-2.6Goals above replacement670th of 715 skaters, 456th of 476 forwards
-0.4Wins 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 476 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-4.9 3rd percentileEven-strength defence+1.4 74th percentilePower play-0.1 49th percentilePenalty kill-0.2 16th percentilePenalties-1.1 5th 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.

-3-2-10122020-212021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

50.8Corsi for %607 attempts for, 587 against
-1.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
47.6Expected goals for %24.6 expected for, 27.0 against
-4.4xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
51.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
33.3Goals for %14 for, 28 against
94.7PDO4.9% shooting + 89.8% saves
124Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

Each share is coloured by where it ranks among the 615 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 lineTeamGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Michael McCarron · Cole Smith · Reid SchaeferNSH16135:1048.138.91-7
Nic Dowd · Keegan Kolesar · Cole SmithVGK18117:1053.152.32-1
Michael McCarron · Cole Smith · Ozzy WiesblattNSH15100:0154.660.34-5
Jonathan Marchessault · Michael McCarron · Cole SmithNSH844:2951.254.31-1

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.

4Goalsnot counting empty-netters
9.0Expected goalsfrom 109 unblocked attempts
-5.0Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.64 expected goals per 60 minutes25th
Shot quality 8.2% chance per attempt47th
Finishing -5.0 goals above expected11thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 444 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

02468Game 20Game 40Game 60Expected 9.0Goals 4

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 15, 2026 vs SEA W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 11:08
Apr 13, 2026 vs WPG W 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 11:25
Apr 11, 2026 @ COL W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 11:47
Apr 9, 2026 @ SEA L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12:05
Apr 7, 2026 @ VAN W 2-1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 09:30
Apr 4, 2026 @ EDM W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 11:17
Apr 2, 2026 vs CGY W 6-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 6 10:27
Mar 30, 2026 vs VAN W 4-2 1 0 1 1 0 1 7 09:55
Mar 28, 2026 vs WSH L 4-5 (SO) 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 12:55
Mar 26, 2026 vs EDM L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 09:33
Mar 24, 2026 @ WPG L 1-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 10:45
Mar 22, 2026 @ DAL W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 12:13
Mar 21, 2026 @ NSH L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 14:38
Mar 19, 2026 vs UTA L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12:19
Mar 17, 2026 vs BUF L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 10:03
Mar 14, 2026 vs CHI W 4-0 0 0 0 1 2 2 3 10:24
Mar 12, 2026 vs PIT W 6-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 12:35
Mar 10, 2026 @ DAL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 10:59
Mar 8, 2026 vs EDM L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 12:17
Mar 6, 2026 vs MIN L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 13:41
Mar 4, 2026 @ DET W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 14:13
Mar 3, 2026 @ CBJ L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00:03
Mar 2, 2026 vs DET L 2-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 11:35
Feb 28, 2026 @ DAL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 14:09
Feb 26, 2026 vs CHI W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 16:20
Feb 5, 2026 @ WSH L 2-4 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 14:25
Feb 4, 2026 vs MIN L 5-6 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 14:46
Feb 2, 2026 vs STL W 6-5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 16:20
Jan 31, 2026 @ NYI W 4-3 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 15:24
Jan 29, 2026 @ NJD L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 0 4 0 1 16:00
Jan 27, 2026 @ BOS L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 16:57
Jan 24, 2026 vs UTA L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 15:51
Jan 22, 2026 vs OTT W 5-3 1 0 1 1 0 3 6 16:53
Jan 20, 2026 vs BUF L 3-5 0 0 0 -1 0 2 5 13:21
Jan 17, 2026 @ VGK L 2-7 0 0 0 -2 0 2 0 13:49
Jan 16, 2026 @ COL W 7-3 0 0 0 -2 2 0 2 12:13
Jan 13, 2026 vs EDM W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 17:06
Jan 11, 2026 vs WSH W 3-2 1 0 1 1 0 2 4 16:16
Jan 10, 2026 vs CHI L 0-3 0 0 0 -1 2 2 2 11:20
Jan 8, 2026 vs NYI W 2-1 (SO) 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 15:17
Jan 6, 2026 @ EDM L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 2 2 16:35
Jan 3, 2026 @ CGY W 4-3 0 0 0 1 5 1 7 17:33
Jan 1, 2026 @ SEA L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 2 5 13:36
Dec 31, 2025 @ VGK W 4-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 15:51
Dec 29, 2025 @ UTA W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 2 0 1 13:18
Dec 27, 2025 @ STL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 12:13
Dec 23, 2025 @ MIN W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 14:59
Dec 21, 2025 vs NYR W 2-1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 12:44
Dec 20, 2025 vs TOR W 5-3 1 0 1 0 2 1 7 15:16
Dec 17, 2025 vs CAR L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 17:45
Nov 1, 2025 vs CGY W 4-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 01:55
Oct 30, 2025 @ PHI L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 13:07
Oct 28, 2025 vs TBL L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 3 14:03
Oct 26, 2025 vs DAL L 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 9 14:23
Oct 25, 2025 vs LAK W 5-4 (SO) 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 16:49
Oct 23, 2025 vs VAN W 2-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 3 15:55
Oct 21, 2025 vs ANA L 2-5 0 0 0 -1 2 3 5 13:42
Oct 18, 2025 @ WPG L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 13:47
Oct 16, 2025 @ MTL L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 14:11
Oct 14, 2025 @ TOR L 4-7 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 13:05
Oct 13, 2025 @ OTT W 4-1 1 0 1 1 0 2 1 15:49
Oct 11, 2025 vs UTA L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 0 1 13:34
Oct 9, 2025 vs CBJ W 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:21