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Photo of Brayden Yager

Brayden Yager

#29 · Centre · Winnipeg Jets

Born Jan 3, 2005 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CAN (age 21) · 5'11", 180 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 14th overall in 2023 by PIT (round 1)

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.

Boris Katchouk TBL · 0 P in 3 GP Braeden Cootes VAN · 0 P in 3 GP Dryden Hunt CGY · 0 P in 3 GP Garrett Wilson PHI · 0 P in 3 GP John Hayden SEA · 0 P in 3 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.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2025-26 WPG 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00 $950K
1 season Career 3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00

2025-26 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
3 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0.00 0.0 10:59

Contract

$950KCap hitends in 2028, then RFA
$43.278MCap dollars per goal above replacement0.0 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 Pittsburgh Penguins on Jul 25, 2024, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $4.35M, beginning in 2025-26. It runs through 2027-28, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit
2025-26 $950K
2026-27 $950K
2027-28 $950K

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
Jul 25, 2024 Pittsburgh Penguins Entry-level 2025-26 to 2027-28 signed for 2024-25, slid 3 $4.35M $950K

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

Rating

+0.0Goals above replacementsix goals are worth about one win
+0.0Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-0.1Goals above averagethe five parts below added up
Even-strength offence-0.3Even-strength defence+0.3Power play0.0Penalty kill+0.0Penalties-0.2

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

40.0Corsi for %18 attempts for, 27 against
-4.6CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
52.8Expected goals for %0.9 expected for, 0.8 against
+15.0xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.7Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
50.0Goals for %1 for, 1 against
107.1PDO14.3% shooting + 92.9% saves
3Attempts 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

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
Cole Koepke · Nikita Chibrikov · Brayden Yager27:4563.696.31-0
Nino Niederreiter · Nikita Chibrikov · Brayden Yager16:4258.357.00-1
Nino Niederreiter · Cole Koepke · Brayden Yager14:0414.30.00-0
Mark Scheifele · Kyle Connor · Brayden Yager10:510.00.00-0

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.

0Goalsnot counting empty-netters
0.2Expected goalsfrom 4 unblocked attempts
-0.2Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.33 expected goals per 60 minutes1st
Shot quality 4.6% chance per attempt1st
Finishing -0.2 goals above expected59thOne 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.

00.20.40.60.81Expected 0.2Goals 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 16, 2026 vs SJS L 1-6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12:17
Apr 14, 2026 @ UTA L 3-5 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 10:16
Apr 13, 2026 @ VGK L 2-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 10:25