Nikolas Matinpalo
| Position | Right Defense | Current Team | Ottawa Senators |
| Shoots | Right | Current Contract | 2 years ($875.0K CapHit) |
| Height | 6'3" | Expires | 2026-27 |
| Weight (lbs) | 213 | Expiry Age (Jun 30) | 28 |
| Age (DOB) | 27 (Oct 5, 1998) | Expiry Status | UFA |
| Drafted | Undrafted |
| Date | Team | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2025 | Ottawa Senators | Signed 2 years @ $875K AAV starting in 2025-26 | |
| Jan 6, 2025 | Ottawa Senators | Recalled from AHL | |
| Jan 3, 2025 | Ottawa Senators | Assigned to AHL | |
| Dec 28, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Recalled from AHL | |
| Dec 11, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Assigned to AHL | |
| Dec 10, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Recalled from AHL | |
| Dec 8, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Assigned to AHL | |
| Dec 3, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Recalled from AHL | |
| Jun 20, 2024 | Ottawa Senators | Signed 1 year @ $775K AAV starting in 2024-25 | |
| May 25, 2023 | Ottawa Senators | Signed 1 year @ $885K AAV starting in 2023-24 |
URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/nikolas-matinpalo-8484321.png
URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/nikolas-matinpalo-8484321.png
About Player Cards
Player cards present an infographic of a players performance using a series of Player Archetypes developed for Puckalytics.com and TheStanleyCap.com. The boxes in the rink image show the archetype ratings for the season specified in the card while the graphs to the right show the five-year trends for those archetypes.
Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in punk. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.
The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.
All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI, Skating (even strength) and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.
Archetypes Summary
- Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
- Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
- 5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
- Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
- Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
- Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
- Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
- Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
- Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
- Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).
- 5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
- Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
- Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
- Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
- 4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
Data Sources
- Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
- Shooting and Skating (except Sh%AE) are from NHL Edge
- Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com
Terms of Use
You are free to use include player cards in written articles, share on social media, or on other public websites under the following conditions:
- You credit TheStanleyCap.com as the source and provide a link back to TheStanleyCap.com or this player page.
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- If you are a high-traffic website you must download and host the image(s) on your site rather than overload TheStanleyCap servers with traffic.
Note: Player cards will update daily throughout the season so if you want to include snapshot then you must download the image.
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to the e-mail address at the top of this page.
Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.
Core Archetypes
| Season | Team(s) | GP | TOI | Producer | Playmaker | Shooter | Sniper | Rebound | Rush | Skating | Defend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | OTT | 4 | -1.77 | -1.70 | -1.01 | -0.80 | - | -1.10 | 1.97 | 0.83 | |
| 2024-25 | OTT | 41 | -1.09 | -1.20 | -0.42 | -0.60 | - | 1.90 | 1.96 | -0.04 | |
| 2025-26 | OTT | 50 | -1.50 | -1.50 | -0.95 | -1.89 | - | -0.70 | 1.31 | 1.27 |
Situational and Secondary Archetypes
| Season | Team(s) | GP | TOI | 5v5 TOI | 5v4 TOI | 4v5 TOI | Possession | Drive | Suppress | Faceoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | OTT | 4 | -5.17 | -1.46 | -1.98 | 7.01 | 5.40 | -5.24 | - | |
| 2024-25 | OTT | 41 | -2.03 | -1.49 | -2.02 | -1.12 | -1.27 | 0.24 | - | |
| 2025-26 | OTT | 50 | -1.23 | -1.51 | -0.16 | -2.92 | -2.16 | 2.23 | - |
About Archetypes
Player archetypes are a look at a players strengths and weaknesses in his game when compared to other players around the leeague. Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in punk. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.
The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.
All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.
Archetypes Summary
- Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
- Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
- Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
- Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
- Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
- Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
- Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
- Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
- 5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
- 5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
- 4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
- Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
- Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
- Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
- Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).
Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.
Data Sources
- Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
- Shooting and Skating (except Sh%AE) are from NHL Edge
- Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com
5v5 Individual Stats
| Season | Team(s) | GP | TOI | G/60 | A/60 | Pts/60 | xG/60 | GAE/60 | Sh% | xSh% | Sh%AE | %SA Rush | %SA Reb. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | OTT | 4 | 24:29 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.08 | -0.08 | 0.00 | 1.63 | -1.63 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2024-25 | OTT | 41 | 500:52 | 0.12 | 0.36 | 0.48 | 0.19 | -0.07 | 2.38 | 3.81 | -1.43 | 1.67 | 3.33 |
| 2025-26 | OTT | 50 | 691:54 | 0.00 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.17 | -0.17 | 0.00 | 5.42 | -5.42 | 0.00 | 5.17 |
5v5 On Ice Stats
| Season | Team(s) | GP | TOI | SAF/60 | GF/60 | xGF/60 | SAA/60 | GA/60 | xGA/60 | GF% | xGF% | xGF Rel | xGA Rel | xGF% Rel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | OTT | 4 | 24:29 | 53.91 | 4.90 | 2.80 | 36.76 | 2.45 | 1.92 | 66.67 | 59.24 | 0.69 | -1.79 | 23.03 |
| 2024-25 | OTT | 41 | 500:52 | 36.30 | 1.92 | 2.03 | 41.57 | 2.16 | 2.42 | 47.06 | 45.52 | -0.36 | 0.14 | -5.55 |
| 2025-26 | OTT | 50 | 691:54 | 34.77 | 1.82 | 2.39 | 41.19 | 2.34 | 2.26 | 43.75 | 51.41 | -0.34 | 0.11 | -4.58 |
NHL Edge Stats
| Skating | Shooting | Zone Time | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | Top Speed | Bursts>20/mi | Avg. Speed | ES Avg. Speed | Top Speed | Avg. Speed | %Long Range | %Mid Range | %High Danger | ES DZ% | ES NZ% | ES OZ% |
| This table is for Basic and Premium subscribers only. To view please login to and/or subscribe to one of our subscription plans. | |||||||||||||
Legend
| Percentile 0-25 | Percentile 25-50 | Percentile 50-75 | Percentile 75-100 |
5v5 Defense Pairs
| Season | Teammate | Team | TOI | GF/60 | GA/60 | GF% | xGF/60 | xGA/60 | xGF% | xGF Rel | xGA Rel | xGF% Rel |
|---|
Glossary
| Type | Statistic | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | G/60 | Goals Against per 60 minutes. |
| Individual | A/60 | Assists per 60 minutes. |
| Individual | Pts/60 | Points per 60 minutes. |
| Individual | xG/60 | Expected Goals per 60 minutes. |
| Individual | GAE/60 | Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60). |
| Individual | Sh% | Shooting Percentage. |
| Individual | xSh% | Expected Shooting Percentage. |
| Individual | Sh%AE | Shooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%). |
| Individual | %SA Rush | Percentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush. |
| Individual | %SA Reb. | Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds. |
| On Ice | SAF/60 | Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes. |
| On Ice | GF/60 | Goals For per 60 minutes. |
| On Ice | xGF/60 | Expected Goals For per 60 minutes. |
| On Ice | SAA/60 | Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better). |
| On Ice | GA/60 | Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better). |
| On Ice | xGA/60 | Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better). |
| On Ice | GF% | Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against) |
| On Ice | xGF% | Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against) |
| On Ice | xGF Rel | xGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice. |
| On Ice | xGA Rel | xGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better). |
| On Ice | xGF% Rel | xGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice. |
News and Opinions
-
The Overlooked Gem: Why Nikolas Matinpalo's Rise Shouldn't Be Forgotten Amid Jordan Spence's Arrival at Silver Seven Sens (Sat Sep 27, 2025)
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Why Senators not re-signing Travis Hamonic benefits Nikolas Matinpalo big at SenShot (Wed Sep 10, 2025)
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Expectations for Senators’ Nikolas Matinpalo in 2025-26 at The Hockey Writers (Tue Aug 26, 2025)
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Nikolas Matinpalo has his mind set for 2025-26 season with Senators at SenShot (Tue Aug 12, 2025)
Current Contract
Nikolas Matinpalo signed a $1,750,000 2-year contract with the Ottawa Senators and General Manager Steve Staios on May 5, 2025 with an AAV of $875,000. This contract will start in 2025-26 and end after the 2026-27 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.92% of the salary cap.
Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)
Nikolas Matinpalo signed a $775,000 1-year contract with the Ottawa Senators and General Manager Steve Staios on June 20, 2024 with an AAV of $775,000. This contract will start in 2024-25 and end after the 2024-25 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.88% of the salary cap.
Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)
| Season | Age* | Clause | Cap Hit | AAV | Perf. Bonus | Sign. Bonus | Salary | Compensation | Minors Salary | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25 | $775,000 | $775,000 | - | - | $775,000 | $775,000 | $200,000 | RFA-arb | ||
| Total | - | - | $775,000 | $775,000 | $200,000 |
Nikolas Matinpalo signed a $885,000 1-year contract with the Ottawa Senators and General Manager Pierre Dorion on May 25, 2023 with an AAV of $885,000. This contract will start in 2023-24 and end after the 2023-24 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.06% of the salary cap.
Standard Contract (UFA) ( ) (0 ratings)
| Season | Age* | Clause | Cap Hit | AAV | Perf. Bonus | Sign. Bonus | Salary | Compensation | Minors Salary | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 24 | $885,000 | $885,000 | - | $85,000 | $800,000 | $885,000 | $80,000 | RFA | ||
| Total | - | $85,000 | $800,000 | $885,000 | $80,000 |
Career Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | League | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | Shots | Sh% | TOI/G | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | Shots | Sh% | TOI/G |
| 2013-14 | U16 SM-sarja | Kiekko-Espoo U16 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2014-15 | U18 SM-sarja | Kiekko-Espoo U18 Akatemia | 25 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | |||||||||||||
| 2015-16 | U18 SM-sarja | Kiekko-Espoo U18 Akatemia | 47 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 75 | |||||||||||||
| 2016-17 | U20 Mestis | Kiekko-Espoo U20 Ch | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |||||||||||||
| 2016-17 | U20 SM-liiga | Kiekko-Espoo U20 | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | +16 | 37 | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | ||||||||
| 2017-18 | U20 Mestis | Kiekko-Espoo U20 Ch | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 2017-18 | U20 SM-liiga | Kiekko-Espoo U20 | 52 | 7 | 14 | 21 | +17 | 59 | 4 | -1 | 2 | |||||||||
| 2018-19 | Mestis | KOOVEE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | |||||||||||||
| 2018-19 | Liiga | Ilves | 30 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +7 | 10 | 7 | -1 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2019-20 | Liiga | Ilves | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 47 | ||||||||||||
| 2019-20 | Mestis | KOOVEE | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 2019-20 | Suomen Cup | KOOVEE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2020-21 | Liiga | Ässät | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -2 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| 2020-21 | Liiga | Ilves | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 2020-21 | Mestis | KOOVEE | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 2021-22 | Liiga | Ässät | 50 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 20 | ||||||||||||
| 2023-24 | NHL | Ottawa Senators | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 2 | 0.0 | 7:00 | ||||||||||
| 2023-24 | AHL | Belleville Senators | 67 | 4 | 10 | 14 | +15 | 26 | 7 | +1 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2024-25 | AHL | Belleville Senators | 24 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -4 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 2024-25 | WC | Finland | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +3 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 2024-25 | 4 Nations | Finland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 13:10 | |||||||||
| 2024-25 | NHL | Ottawa Senators | 41 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -2 | 20 | 43 | 2.3 | 12:37 | 6 | +1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 13:04 | |||
| 2025-26 | OG | Finland | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 4 | 25.0 | 4:36 | ||||||||||
| 2025-26 | NHL | Ottawa Senators | 50 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -1 | 16 | 37 | 0.0 | 15:38 | 4 | +1 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 20:53 | |||
| NHL Career | 95 | 1 | 8 | 9 | -2 | 36 | 82 | 1.2 | 13:58 | 10 | +2 | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 16:12 | |||||