If you enjoy TheStanleyCap.com and want to keep it ad-free and support future growth please consider subscribing or making a donation. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Ryan Graves

Position	Left Defense	Current Team	Pittsburgh Penguins
Shoots	Left	Current Contract	6 years
Height	6'5"	Expires	2028-29
Weight (lbs)	225	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	34
Age	30 (May 21, 1995)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	2013, Round 4, Overall 110 (NYR)

Date	Team	Transaction
Nov 4, 2025	Pittsburgh Penguins	Recalled from AHL
Oct 6, 2025	Pittsburgh Penguins	Assigned to AHL
Oct 5, 2025	Pittsburgh Penguins	Cleared Waivers
Oct 4, 2025	Pittsburgh Penguins	Placed on Waivers
Jul 1, 2023	Pittsburgh Penguins	Signed 6 years @ $4.500M AAV starting in 2023-24
Oct 12, 2020	Colorado Avalanche	Signed 3 years @ $3.167M AAV starting in 2020-21
Jul 8, 2019	Colorado Avalanche	Signed 1 year @ $735K AAV starting in 2019-20
Jul 16, 2018	Colorado Avalanche	Signed 1 year @ $650K AAV starting in 2018-19
Mar 17, 2014	New York Rangers	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

2025-26 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/ryan-graves-8477435.png

2024-25 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/ryan-graves-8477435.png

2023-24 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/ryan-graves-8477435.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance. In this case it shows the player performance over a 3 season span. Each square is separated into three separate sub-boxes with the two smaller boxes on top representing the past two seasons and the larger box on the bottom representing the current or most recent season. This allows the reader to guage how consistent a player has been, and if early in the season it can help identify whether a players performance may be impacted by small sample size and subject to regression or is consistent with recent past performance.

Notes and Definitions

The numbers represent percentiles so the higher the better.
Percentiles are determined by comparing Forwards to Forwards and Defensemen to Defensemen.
Bursts/mi are calculated from NHL Edge Data are are speed bursts above 20mpg per mile skated. The NHL doesn't adjust for ice time so the players that skate more will naturally have more bursts over 20, or at least more opportunity to have more. The NHL also does not provide ice time in the context of NHL Edge Statistics, however, it does provide distance skated. By adjusting for distance skated it will have a similar effect to adjusting for ice time but also adjust for situationional effect. For example, Players don't typically skate as much on the PK, mostly within the defensive zone, so don't get significant opportunity in that ice time to get speed bursts above 20mph. Adjusting with miles skates would account for this better than adjusting with ice time.
Sh%AE is Shooting Percentage above Expected (Sh% - xSh%) and is an indicator of how good a shooter is at converting chances into goals.
Relative statistics are On Ice - Off Ice statistics and can be an indicator of whether the player makes his teammates better or worse.
All data is 5v5 except Shooting Hardest and Average, Skating Top Speed and Bursts/mi which are all situations, ES Average which is even strength (NHL doesn't give a specific definition).

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: The image 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.

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.
2018-19	COL	26	248:42	0.48	0.48	0.96	0.23	0.25	8.70	4.19	4.51	0.00	5.26
2019-20	COL	69	1025:35	0.47	0.76	1.23	0.29	0.18	6.35	3.91	2.44	1.20	4.82
2020-21	COL	54	803:14	0.15	0.90	1.05	0.24	-0.09	2.25	3.57	-1.32	0.00	2.34
2021-22	NJD	75	1286:53	0.28	0.84	1.12	0.21	0.07	6.06	4.51	1.55	2.72	2.72
2022-23	NJD	78	1306:22	0.32	0.60	0.92	0.24	0.09	5.34	3.92	1.43	2.35	1.18
2023-24	PIT	70	1113:07	0.16	0.49	0.65	0.14	0.02	4.11	3.56	0.55	1.98	4.95
2024-25	PIT	61	796:15	0.08	0.23	0.30	0.10	-0.03	2.56	3.53	-0.96	0.00	0.00
2025-26	PIT	9	133:27	0.45	0.00	0.45	0.14	0.31	9.09	2.76	6.34	0.00	7.14

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
2018-19	COL	26	248:42	49.46	2.65	2.59	44.87	2.41	2.80	52.38	48.07	0.11	0.48	-3.65
2019-20	COL	69	1025:35	43.12	3.69	2.47	39.72	1.81	2.29	67.02	51.90	-0.12	-0.08	-0.38
2020-21	COL	54	803:14	44.82	2.69	2.52	34.73	2.02	1.99	57.14	55.84	-0.46	0.09	-5.23
2021-22	NJD	75	1286:53	43.55	2.89	2.66	43.13	3.40	2.55	45.93	51.03	-0.00	0.06	-0.64
2022-23	NJD	78	1306:22	44.41	3.12	2.86	41.11	2.34	2.54	57.14	52.94	-0.09	0.27	-3.56
2023-24	PIT	70	1113:07	44.31	1.99	2.61	44.25	2.05	2.63	49.33	49.82	-0.19	-0.02	-1.60
2024-25	PIT	61	796:15	37.15	1.58	2.18	39.26	2.49	2.21	38.89	49.67	-0.46	-0.49	0.24
2025-26	PIT	9	133:27	35.07	1.80	1.93	30.12	1.80	1.83	50.00	51.28	-0.78	-0.75	0.10

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

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
This table is for Basic and Premium subscribers only. To view please login to and/or subscribe to one of our subscription plans.

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

Rangers Continue to Be Haunted by Joe Sakic at The Hockey Writers (Sat Nov 29, 2025)
A Breakdown of Every Trade Tom Fitzgerald Has Made Since Becoming Devils General Manager at All About the Jersey (Wed Nov 19, 2025)
Heinen, Graves Look To Take Advantage Of Second-Chance Opportunity With Penguins at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Nov 6, 2025)
Penguins call up Heinen, Graves, Murashov; Jarry, Acciari, Brazeau to IR at Pens Burgh (Tue Nov 4, 2025)
Ryan Graves clears waivers, opening night roster takes shape at Pens Burgh (Sun Oct 5, 2025)
Graves, MacEwen Among 17 Players on Waivers – 10/04/25 at The Hockey Writers (Sat Oct 4, 2025)
Penguins waive Graves, send several young players to AHL at Pens Burgh (Sat Oct 4, 2025)
Les Penguins placent Ryan Graves au ballotage at HABSolument Fan (Sat Oct 4, 2025)
Can Penguins' Defenseman Bounce Back This Season? at Yahoo Sports (Sun Sep 7, 2025)
3 Ways Change Can Improve Penguins; From Coaches, Fans, to Defense at Yahoo Sports (Wed Aug 27, 2025)
What Will The Penguins' Left Side Look Like In 2025-26? at Yahoo Sports (Sun Aug 17, 2025)
Summer hypothetical: What does a bounce-back look like for Ryan Graves in 2025-26? at Pens Burgh (Wed Aug 6, 2025)
Summer hypothetical: What does a bounce-back look like for Ryan Graves in 2025-26? at Pens Burgh (Wed Aug 6, 2025)
What could a Ryan Graves bounce back look like in 2025-26? at Pens Burgh (Tue Aug 5, 2025)
Penguins Update: Can Ryan Graves (and His Game) Be Rebuilt? at PenguinPoop.com (Wed Jul 16, 2025)

Current Contract

Ryan Graves signed a $27,000,000 6-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins and General Manager Kyle Dubas on July 1, 2023 with an AAV of $4,500,000. This contract will start in 2023-24 and end after the 2028-29 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 5.39% 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	28	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$3,750,000	$5,750,000	$5,750,000	UFA
2024-25	29	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$3,500,000	$5,500,000	$5,500,000	UFA
2025-26	30	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$2,750,000	$4,750,000	$4,750,000	UFA
2026-27	31	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$1,750,000	$3,750,000	$3,750,000	UFA
2027-28	32	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$1,750,000	$3,750,000	$3,750,000	UFA
2028-29	33	M-NTC	$4,500,000	$4,500,000	-	$2,000,000	$1,500,000	$3,500,000	$3,500,000	UFA
Total					-	$12,000,000	$15,000,000	$27,000,000	$27,000,000

Signed: July 1, 2023

Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

GM: Kyle Dubas

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 5.39

Clause: Player has a 12 team no trade list for 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 and an 8 team no trade list for 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29.

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Ryan Graves signed a $9,500,000 3-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche and General Manager Joe Sakic on October 12, 2020 with an AAV of $3,166,667. This contract will start in 2020-21 and end after the 2022-23 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 3.89% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2020-21	25	$3,166,667	$3,166,667	-	-	$2,500,000	$2,500,000	$2,500,000	RFA-arb
2021-22	26	$3,166,667	$3,166,667	-	-	$3,000,000	$3,000,000	$3,000,000	RFA-arb
2022-23	27	$3,166,667	$3,166,667	-	-	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	UFA
Total				-	-	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	$9,500,000

Signed: Oct 12, 2020

Team: Colorado Avalanche

GM: Joe Sakic

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 3.89

Ryan Graves signed a $735,000 1-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche and General Manager Joe Sakic on July 8, 2019 with an AAV of $735,000. This contract will start in 2019-20 and end after the 2019-20 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.90% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2019-20	24		$735,000	$735,000	-	-	$735,000	$735,000	$350,000	RFA-arb
Total					-	-	$735,000	$735,000	$350,000

Signed: July 8, 2019

Team: Colorado Avalanche

GM: Joe Sakic

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Cap %: 0.9

Note: Guaranteed minimum salary is $400,000.

Ryan Graves signed a $650,000 1-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche and General Manager Joe Sakic on July 16, 2018 with an AAV of $650,000. This contract will start in 2018-19 and end after the 2018-19 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.82% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2018-19	23		$650,000	$650,000	-	-	$650,000	$650,000	$85,000	RFA
Total					-	-	$650,000	$650,000	$85,000

Signed: July 16, 2018

Team: Colorado Avalanche

GM: Joe Sakic

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Cap %: 0.82

Ryan Graves signed a $2,060,000 3-year contract with the New York Rangers and General Manager Glen Sather on March 17, 2014 with an AAV of $660,000. This contract will start in 2014-15 and end after the 2017-18 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.96% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2014-15	19	$660,000	$850,000	-	$90,000	-	$90,000	-	ELC
2015-16	20	$656,667	$846,667	$260,000	$85,000	$575,000	$660,000	$65,000	ELC
2016-17	21	$656,667	$846,667	$190,000	$80,000	$580,000	$660,000	$67,500	ELC
2017-18	22	$656,667	$846,667	$120,000	-	$650,000	$650,000	$67,500	ELC
Total				$570,000	$255,000	$1,805,000	$2,060,000	$200,000

Signed: Mar 17, 2014

Team: New York Rangers

GM: Glen Sather

Exp. Status: RFA

Note: This entry level contract slid one season as player did not meet the games played threshold to start the contract.

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	NSMHL	South Shore	32	5	7	12		58				5		6	6		8
2010-11	MJrHL	Yarmouth	1	0	0	0		2				3					2
2011-12	QMJHL	P.E.I.	62	2	7	9	-23	34
2012-13	QMJHL	P.E.I.	68	3	13	16	+7	90	81	370.0		6				-2	6	7	0.0
2013-14	QMJHL	Charlottetown	39	3	9	12	-2	52	101	300.0
2013-14	QMJHL	Val-d'Or	26	2	8	10	+22	16	65	310.0		24	1	7	8	+12	24
2013-14	M-Cup	Val-d'Or										4		2	2	+1	4
2014-15	QMJHL	Quebec	50	15	24	39	+17	49	160	940.0		21	5	6	11	+11	25	60	830.0
2014-15	M-Cup	Quebec										5	2	3	5	+1	4	11	1,820.0
2015-16	AHL	Hartford	74	9	12	21	+6	53	150	600.0
2016-17	AHL	Hartford Wolf Pack	76	8	22	30	-17	69
2017-18	AHL	Hartford Wolf Pack	57	4	7	11	-15	66
2017-18	AHL	San Antonio Rampage	21	1	5	6	-5	7
2018-19	AHL	Colorado Eagles	32	2	7	9	+4	26
2018-19	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	26	3	2	5	+4	2	26	11.5	11:06
2019-20	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	69	9	17	26	+40	45	134	6.7	18:57	15	1	2	3	+9	6	33	3.0	20:11
2020-21	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	54	2	13	15	+15	55	101	2.0	19:03	10	1	5	6	+5	10	15	6.7	18:31
2021-22	NHL	New Jersey Devils	75	6	22	28	-9	24	111	5.4	20:43
2021-22	WC	Canada	10	2	5	7	+8
2022-23	NHL	New Jersey Devils	78	8	18	26	+34	28	141	5.7	19:57	10		1	1	-1	4	9	0.0	19:48
2023-24	NHL	Pittsburgh Penguins	70	3	11	14	+10	30	77	3.9	18:23
2024-25	NHL	Pittsburgh Penguins	61	1	3	4	-15	29	39	2.6	14:59
2025-26	NHL	Pittsburgh Penguins	12	1	0	1		6	13	7.7	15:50
2025-26	AHL	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	10	1	6	7	+9	4
NHL Career			445	33	86	119	+79	219	642	5.1	18:16	35	2	8	10	+13	20	57	3.5	19:36