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Photo of Nick Blankenburg

Nick Blankenburg

#3 · Defence · Toronto Maple Leafs

Born May 12, 1998 in Washington, Michigan, USA (age 28) · 5'9", 179 lb · Shoots right

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.

Conor Timmins TOR · 14 P in 27 GP Gavin Bayreuther CBJ · 14 P in 51 GP TJ Brodie TOR · 14 P in 58 GP Jonas Brodin MIN · 14 P in 60 GP Ilya Lyubushkin BUF · 14 P in 68 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.

051015202021-22: 3 points321-222022-23: 14 points1422-232023-24: 1 points123-242024-25: 16 points1624-252025-26: 24 points2425-262026-27: 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
2021-22 CBJ 7 1 2 3 -3 4 13 19 0.43 $1.688M
2022-23 CBJ 36 4 10 14 -16 16 50 61 0.39 $825K
2023-24 CBJ 12 1 0 1 1 4 10 21 0.08 $825K
2024-25 NSH 60 4 12 16 -2 24 84 53 0.27 $775K
2025-26 NSH 49 6 15 21 -11 10 59 47 0.43 $775K
2025-26 COL 12 2 1 3 1 0 13 8 0.25
2026-27 TOR 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 1.00 $1.4M
6 seasons Career 177 19 40 59 -29 58 230 213 0.33

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 COL 5 1 0 1 -2 2 2 3 0.20
1 season Playoffs 5 1 0 1 -2 2 2 3 0.20

2022-23 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
36 4 10 14 -16 16 50 61 0.39 8.0 19:10

Contract

$825KCap hitends in 2024
$59KCap dollars per point14 points in 36 games
$568KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.5 goals above replacement
$1.8MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$952KValueworth 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 695 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jul 15, 2022, as a new contract: 2 years and $1.65M, beginning in 2022-23. 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
2022-23 $825K $800K $0 $800K
2023-24 $825K $850K $0 $850K

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
Sep 27, 2026 Toronto Maple Leafs New contract 2026-27 to 2026-27 1 $1.4M $1.4M
Jul 1, 2024 Nashville Predators New contract 2024-25 to 2025-26 2 $1.55M $775K
Jul 15, 2022 Columbus Blue Jackets New contract 2022-23 to 2023-24 2 $1.65M $825K
Apr 8, 2022 Columbus Blue Jackets Entry-level 2021-22 to 2021-22 1 $925K $1.688M

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

+1.5Goals above replacement403rd of 696 skaters, 122nd of 235 defencemen
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.8Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 235 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 offence0.0 69th percentileEven-strength defence0.0 48th percentilePower play-0.3 29th percentilePenalty kill0.0 38th percentilePenalties-0.4 57th 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. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. 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.

0123452021-222022-232023-242024-252025-262026-27Goals 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

46.6Corsi for %559 attempts for, 641 against
+1.9CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.2Expected goals for %24.5 expected for, 28.5 against
+2.2xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
46.6Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
37.1Goals for %23 for, 39 against
96.3PDO7.7% shooting + 88.6% saves
86Attempts 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

Defence pairGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Andrew Peeke · Nick Blankenburg29224:1243.945.15-14
Erik Gudbranson · Nick Blankenburg24102:4543.540.83-9
Zach Werenski · Nick Blankenburg784:5254.355.14-7
Adam Boqvist · Nick Blankenburg1962:3451.449.65-2

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.

3Goalsnot counting empty-netters
2.7Expected goalsfrom 70 unblocked attempts
+0.3Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.23 expected goals per 60 minutes64th
Shot quality 3.8% chance per attempt71st
Finishing +0.3 goals above expected62ndOne 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.

0123Game 20Goals 3Expected 2.7

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
Mar 25, 2023 @ MTL L 2-8 0 0 0 -1 0 2 1 19:40
Mar 24, 2023 vs NYI W 5-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 3 15:19
Mar 21, 2023 @ WSH W 7-6 (OT) 0 1 1 -2 2 2 0 18:44
Mar 19, 2023 @ VGK L 2-7 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 18:07
Mar 17, 2023 @ ANA L 4-7 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 18:42
Mar 16, 2023 @ LAK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 19:19
Mar 14, 2023 @ SJS W 6-5 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 1 2 21:02
Mar 11, 2023 vs STL L 2-5 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 17:44
Mar 7, 2023 @ PIT L 4-5 (OT) 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 21:47
Mar 4, 2023 @ OTT L 2-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 21:05
Mar 3, 2023 vs SEA L 2-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 2 18:19
Feb 28, 2023 @ BUF W 5-3 0 2 2 0 0 2 1 18:53
Feb 26, 2023 @ MIN L 2-3 (OT) 0 0 0 0 2 1 5 25:42
Feb 25, 2023 vs EDM W 6-5 0 0 0 2 2 1 2 19:30
Feb 23, 2023 vs MIN L 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23:07
Feb 19, 2023 @ ARI L 2-3 (OT) 0 1 1 -1 0 2 2 21:43
Feb 18, 2023 @ DAL W 4-1 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 20:26
Feb 16, 2023 vs WPG W 3-1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 22:30
Feb 14, 2023 vs NJD L 2-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 1 18:04
Feb 11, 2023 @ TOR W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 17:35
Feb 10, 2023 vs TOR L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 17:56
Jan 25, 2023 @ EDM W 3-2 (OT) 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 19:42
Jan 23, 2023 @ CGY L 3-4 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 2 17:36
Jan 21, 2023 vs SJS W 5-3 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 18:35
Jan 19, 2023 vs ANA L 3-5 1 0 1 -1 0 5 1 19:45
Jan 17, 2023 @ NSH L 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 17:48
Jan 16, 2023 vs NYR L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 18:54
Jan 14, 2023 @ DET W 4-3 0 1 1 -1 0 1 2 19:44
Jan 12, 2023 vs CAR L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 2 0 1 16:41
Nov 10, 2022 vs PHI W 5-2 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 22:25
Nov 5, 2022 vs COL L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 1 2 21:52
Nov 4, 2022 @ COL L 3-6 0 0 0 -1 0 2 0 17:42
Oct 23, 2022 @ NYR W 5-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 07:59
Oct 22, 2022 vs PIT L 3-6 0 0 0 -2 0 2 3 19:37
Oct 20, 2022 vs NSH W 5-3 1 1 2 1 0 2 2 15:36
Oct 18, 2022 vs VAN W 4-3 (OT) 0 0 0 -1 2 4 5 21:06