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Nick Blankenburg

Position	Left Defense / Right Defense	Current Team	Colorado Avalanche
Shoots	Right	Current Contract	2 years ($775.0K CapHit)
Height	5'9"	Expires	2025-26
Weight (lbs)	177	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	28
Age (DOB)	28 (May 12, 1998)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	Undrafted

Date	Team	Transaction
Mar 5, 2026	Colorado Avalanche	Acquired from Nashville Predators
Mar 5, 2026	Nashville Predators	Traded to Colorado Avalanche
Nov 27, 2024	Nashville Predators	Recalled from AHL
Oct 4, 2024	Nashville Predators	Assigned to AHL
Oct 4, 2024	Nashville Predators	Cleared Waivers
Oct 3, 2024	Nashville Predators	Placed on Waivers
Jul 1, 2024	Nashville Predators	Signed 2 years @ $775K AAV starting in 2024-25
Jul 15, 2022	Columbus Blue Jackets	Signed 2 years @ $825K AAV starting in 2022-23
Apr 8, 2022	Columbus Blue Jackets	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/nick-blankenburg-8483565.png

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/nick-blankenburg-8483565.png

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/nick-blankenburg-8483565.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.
You do not mass copy/duplicate/publish dozens or hundreds of player cards. A few, or a handful for a written article is fine. Be reasonable. Fair use rules apply.
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	Producer	Playmaker	Shooter	Sniper	Rebound	Rush	Skating	Defend
2021-22	CBJ	7	4.79	11.11	-1.00	-1.42	-	-1.07	0.93	-2.05
2022-23	CBJ	36	-0.06	-0.42	0.49	0.91	-	-0.89	0.06	-1.68
2023-24	CBJ	12	-1.57	-1.70	0.30	2.05	-	-1.10	-0.17	2.65
2024-25	NSH	60	-1.08	-1.19	-0.41	-1.41	-	0.84	0.92	1.11
2025-26	COL, NSH	61	0.61	0.08	0.89	0.32	-	-0.70	-0.33	-0.18

Situational and Secondary Archetypes

Season	Team(s)	GP	5v5 TOI	5v4 TOI	4v5 TOI	Possession	Drive	Suppress	Faceoffs
2021-22	CBJ	7	-0.55	-0.94	-1.33	0.84	0.36	-0.96	-
2022-23	CBJ	36	-0.17	-0.21	-0.58	0.60	0.95	0.16	-
2023-24	CBJ	12	-0.95	-1.48	-1.63	-0.11	0.48	0.85	-
2024-25	NSH	60	-0.59	-0.37	0.85	-0.61	-0.17	0.81	-
2025-26	COL, NSH	61	-1.49	-0.19	-0.42	0.06	0.22	0.16	-

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.
2021-22	CBJ	7	103:48	0.00	1.16	1.16	0.26	-0.26	0.00	3.78	-3.78	0.00	0.00
2022-23	CBJ	36	572:41	0.31	0.52	0.84	0.23	0.08	7.50	5.50	2.00	0.00	0.00
2023-24	CBJ	12	178:21	0.34	0.00	0.34	0.15	0.19	10.00	4.49	5.51	0.00	0.00
2024-25	NSH	60	926:35	0.13	0.39	0.52	0.28	-0.15	2.86	6.13	-3.28	0.98	4.90
2025-26	COL	12	142:25	0.84	0.42	1.26	0.38	0.46	15.38	7.00	8.38	0.00	5.26
2025-26	NSH	49	679:16	0.18	0.80	0.97	0.22	-0.04	5.41	6.66	-1.26	0.00	1.37
2025-26	COL, NSH	61	821:41	0.29	0.73	1.02	0.25	0.05	8.00	6.75	1.25	0.00	2.17

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
2021-22	CBJ	7	103:48	38.73	1.16	2.41	40.46	2.89	2.87	28.57	45.66	-0.07	-0.05	-0.34
2022-23	CBJ	36	572:41	42.64	2.30	2.64	48.40	4.09	3.05	36.07	46.46	0.15	-0.10	2.17
2023-24	CBJ	12	178:21	41.38	3.03	2.71	49.79	2.69	3.04	52.94	47.11	0.47	0.17	3.33
2024-25	NSH	60	926:35	39.95	2.20	2.40	42.09	2.59	2.57	45.95	48.38	-0.04	0.18	-2.29
2025-26	COL	12	142:25	46.76	2.95	2.98	39.60	2.53	2.53	53.85	54.08	-0.23	0.41	-6.16
2025-26	NSH	49	679:16	43.72	2.03	2.81	40.46	2.83	2.46	41.82	53.38	0.28	-0.12	3.82
2025-26	COL, NSH	61	821:41	44.25	2.19	2.84	40.31	2.77	2.47	44.12	53.51	0.17	-0.01	1.66

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%
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Legend

Percentile 0-25

Percentile 25-50

Percentile 50-75

Percentile 75-100

Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Defense Pairs

Season

Season	Teammate	Team	TOI	GF/60	GA/60	GF%	xGF/60	xGA/60	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
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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.

Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Nick Blankenburg’s Breakthrough Moment Comes With Perspective, Faith at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sun Apr 12, 2026)
The 411 on new Maple Leaf prospect Vincent Borgesi at Maple Leafs Hot Stove (Tue Mar 17, 2026)
Breaking Down the Avalanche’s Trade Deadline Acquisitions at The Hockey Writers (Mon Mar 9, 2026)
Avalanche Made a Solid Move by Adding Blankenburg at The Hockey Writers (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Nashville Predators NHL Trade Deadline Tracker: Blankenburg Traded, Multiple Admirals Called Up at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Nashville Predators Trade Nick Blankenburg to Avalanche For 2027 5th Round Pick at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Breaking: Colorado acquires Nick Blankenburg at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Breaking: Colorado acquires Nick Blankenburg at Mile High Hockey (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Avalanche Acquire Nick Blankenburg at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Nick Blankenburg is the biggest mystery for the Nashville Predators at the 2026 Trade Deadline at Pred Lines (Sat Feb 28, 2026)
Why the Maple Leafs should target Predators defenceman Nick Blankenburg at The Leafs Nation (Sat Jan 10, 2026)
Takeaways: Preds' Rally Comes Up Short In Loss To Jets at Yahoo Sports NHL (Sun Nov 30, 2025)
Red Wings-Predators Tweetcap: pre-Thanksgiving setback to Nashville due to mental mistakes at The Malik Report (Wed Nov 26, 2025)
Ranking Roman Josi's potential defensive pairing linemates for Nashville Predators at Pred Lines (Wed Aug 27, 2025)
Nick Blankenburg has mysterious future with Nashville Predators despite strong play in 2024-25 at Pred Lines (Wed Jul 9, 2025)

Current Contract

Nick Blankenburg signed a $1,550,000 2-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager Barry Trotz on July 1, 2024 with an AAV of $775,000. This contract will start in 2024-25 and end after the 2025-26 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.88% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (UFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2024-25	26	$775,000	$775,000	-	-	$775,000	$775,000	$350,000	UFA-Grp6
2025-26	27	$775,000	$775,000	-	-	$775,000	$775,000	$775,000	UFA
Total				-	-	$1,550,000	$1,550,000	$1,125,000

Signed: July 1, 2024

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: Barry Trotz

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 0.88

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Nick Blankenburg signed a $1,650,000 2-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets and General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen on July 15, 2022 with an AAV of $825,000. This contract will start in 2022-23 and end after the 2023-24 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.00% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2022-23	24	$825,000	$825,000	-	-	$800,000	$800,000	$800,000	10.2(c)
2023-24	25	$825,000	$825,000	-	-	$850,000	$850,000	$850,000	RFA
Total				-	-	$1,650,000	$1,650,000	$1,650,000

Signed: July 15, 2022

Team: Columbus Blue Jackets

GM: Jarmo Kekalainen

Exp. Status: UFA-Grp6

Cap %: 1.0

Nick Blankenburg signed a $900,000 1-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets and General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen on April 8, 2022 with an AAV of $1,688,452. This contract will start in 2021-22 and end after the 2021-22 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 2.07% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2021-22	23		$1,688,452	$1,926,547	$25,000	$92,500	$807,500	$900,000	$80,000	ELC
Total					$25,000	$92,500	$807,500	$900,000	$80,000

Signed: Apr 8, 2022

Team: Columbus Blue Jackets

GM: Jarmo Kekalainen

Exp. Status: 10.2(c)

Note: This contract was signed after the start of the season resulting in an elevated salary cap hit.

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
2010-11	QC Int PW	Detroit Jr. Red Wings	5	0	1	1
2011-12	13U AAA	Little Caesars 13U AAA	20	5	7	12		20
2011-12	HPHL 13U	Little Caesars 13U AAA										2	1	2	3
2012-13	HPHL 14U	Little Caesars 14U AAA	23	7	3	10		4
2013-14	USHS-MI	Romeo High	28	16	11	27		30
2014-15	USHS-MI	Romeo High	30	35	32	67		30
2014-15	USPHL Elite	Florida Bulldogs	3	0	1	1		6
2015-16	USHS-MI	Romeo High	30	35	32	67		30
2015-16	MDHL	MDHL Blue	8	7	3	10		2
2016-17	T1EHL 18U	Victory Honda 18U AAA	32	10	18	28		40				5	1		1		2
2017-18	AJHL	Okotoks Oilers	57	16	26	42		65				15	6	6	12		10
2018-19	NCAA	Univ. of Michigan	34	2	8	10	+11	12
2019-20	NCAA	Univ. of Michigan	35	4	12	16	+3	14
2020-21	NCAA	Univ. of Michigan	26	5	8	13	+19	14
2021-22	NCAA	Univ. of Michigan	38	14	15	29	+17	22
2021-22	NHL	Columbus Blue Jackets	7	1	2	3	-3	4	13	7.7	17:34
2021-22	WC	USA	4	0	0	0	+1
2022-23	NHL	Columbus Blue Jackets	36	4	10	14	-16	16	50	8.0	19:10
2023-24	NHL	Columbus Blue Jackets	12	1	0	1	+1	4	10	10.0	16:13
2023-24	AHL	Cleveland Monsters	24	3	10	13	+7	22				1				-1
2024-25	NHL	Nashville Predators	60	4	12	16	-2	24	84	4.8	19:33
2024-25	AHL	Milwaukee Admirals	13	3	5	8		2
2025-26	NHL	Nashville Predators	49	6	15	21	-11	10	59	10.2	17:58
2025-26	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	12	2	1	3	+1		13	15.4	12:02	4	1		1	-2	2	2	50.0	9:26
NHL Career			176	18	40	58	-30	58	229	7.9	18:13	4	1		1	-2	2	2	50.0	9:26