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.

Samuel Girard

Position	Left Defense / Right Defense	Current Team	Colorado Avalanche
Shoots	Left	Current Contract	7 years
Height	5'10"	Expires	2026-27
Weight (lbs)	170	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	29
Age	27 (May 12, 1998)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	2016, Round 2, Overall 47 (NSH)

Date	Team	Transaction
Nov 13, 2025	Colorado Avalanche	Activated from IR
Oct 12, 2025	Colorado Avalanche	Placed on IR
Jul 31, 2019	Colorado Avalanche	Signed 7 years @ $5.000M AAV starting in 2020-21
Sep 29, 2016	Nashville Predators	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

2024-25 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/samuel-girard-8479398.png

2023-24 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/samuel-girard-8479398.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.
2017-18	COL	68	995:56	0.12	0.36	0.48	0.08	0.04	3.92	2.75	1.17	0.00	0.00
2017-18	NSH	5	72:27	0.83	0.83	1.66	0.15	0.68	16.67	2.98	13.69	0.00	0.00
2017-18	COL, NSH	73	1068:23	0.17	0.39	0.56	0.09	0.08	5.26	2.78	2.49	0.00	0.00
2018-19	COL	82	1358:28	0.18	0.53	0.71	0.16	0.02	4.08	3.68	0.40	0.00	3.23
2019-20	COL	70	1211:15	0.15	0.74	0.89	0.15	-0.00	4.05	4.07	-0.02	0.00	0.00
2020-21	COL	48	884:12	0.27	1.15	1.42	0.17	0.10	6.25	4.01	2.24	1.08	3.23
2021-22	COL	67	1205:54	0.20	0.75	0.95	0.13	0.07	5.71	3.80	1.92	0.96	1.92
2022-23	COL	76	1369:28	0.18	0.92	1.10	0.19	-0.01	3.81	4.05	-0.24	1.48	0.74
2023-24	COL	59	941:06	0.06	0.83	0.89	0.18	-0.12	1.49	4.27	-2.78	0.00	5.26
2024-25	COL	73	1293:40	0.09	0.79	0.88	0.15	-0.06	2.27	3.68	-1.41	0.78	0.78
2025-26	COL	4	64:15	0.00	0.93	0.93	0.13	-0.13	0.00	4.51	-4.51	0.00	0.00

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
2017-18	COL	68	995:56	37.95	2.35	2.15	43.44	2.23	2.51	51.32	46.20	-0.15	0.09	-2.56
2017-18	NSH	5	72:27	37.27	1.66	1.99	42.24	3.31	2.13	33.33	48.31	-0.49	-0.15	-3.74
2017-18	COL, NSH	73	1068:23	37.91	2.30	2.14	43.36	2.30	2.48	50.00	46.32	-0.17	0.07	-2.63
2018-19	COL	82	1358:28	40.59	2.43	2.40	42.44	2.03	2.51	54.46	48.86	-0.16	0.16	-3.34
2019-20	COL	70	1211:15	43.10	2.63	2.63	41.11	2.03	2.32	56.38	53.09	0.11	-0.03	1.37
2020-21	COL	48	884:12	48.31	2.99	3.00	32.30	2.24	1.90	57.14	61.21	0.24	0.06	1.20
2021-22	COL	67	1205:54	44.58	2.89	2.56	43.93	2.84	2.60	50.43	49.61	-0.21	0.26	-4.58
2022-23	COL	76	1369:28	43.11	2.41	2.71	41.71	2.80	2.60	46.22	51.00	-0.02	0.18	-1.92
2023-24	COL	59	941:06	49.22	3.00	2.99	39.66	3.19	2.43	48.45	55.16	0.20	0.02	1.55
2024-25	COL	73	1293:40	43.09	2.69	2.54	37.80	2.78	2.22	49.15	53.31	0.03	0.10	-0.87
2025-26	COL	4	64:15	42.96	4.67	2.90	55.10	1.87	2.89	71.43	50.06	0.53	0.82	-3.38

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

Game Preview: Girard Returns As Avalanche Host Sabres Without Nichushkin at Colorado Hockey Now (Thu Nov 13, 2025)
Avalanche Mailbag 2.0: Malinski’s Future, Girard’s Fit, Pending UFA Scott Wedgewood, & More at Colorado Hockey Now (Fri Nov 7, 2025)
Colorado Avalanche already feeling bite of injury bug at Mile High Sticking (Sun Oct 12, 2025)
Samuel Girard Out Week-to-Week for Avalanche at Colorado Hockey Now (Sat Oct 11, 2025)
Latest Avalanche Updates for Blackwood, Girard Injuries at Colorado Hockey Now (Wed Oct 1, 2025)
Samuel Girard injury update: Avalanche defenseman possibly in doubt for Opening Night at Mile High Sticking (Sat Sep 27, 2025)
Why The Avalanche Should Retain Samuel Girard at Mile High Hockey (Fri Sep 26, 2025)
Keys to the Stanley Cup Part 4: Colorado Avalanche climb to the peak at Mile High Sticking (Thu Sep 11, 2025)
Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: Girard Trade Scenarios, Early Deadline Thoughts, and When Will Makar and Necas Sign Extensions? at Colorado Hockey Now (Tue Sep 9, 2025)
Which Avalanche Player Is Most Likely to Be Traded This Season? at The Hockey Writers (Tue Aug 12, 2025)
Non, Samuel Girard n’est pas une cible logique pour le CH at Dans Les Coulisses (Mon Aug 11, 2025)
NHL Rumor Roundup: Could The Avalanche Trade Samuel Girard? Will The Maple Leafs Peddle Nick Robertson? at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed Aug 6, 2025)
Avalanche Reportedly Planning Trade Involving Stanley Cup Champ - Canadiens Named as Target at Habs Fanatics (Tue Aug 5, 2025)
Trading Girard makes no sense for Colorado Avalanche at Mile High Sticking (Mon Aug 4, 2025)
« Je continue de penser que l’Avalanche cherche encore à échanger Samuel Girard » at Dans Les Coulisses (Sat Aug 2, 2025)
Un avenir incertain pour Samuel Girard chez l’Avalanche at HABSolument Fan (Sat Aug 2, 2025)
NHL Rumor Mill – August 2, 2025 at Spectors Hockey (Sat Aug 2, 2025)
Colorado Avalanche fans hate the idea of trading Sam Girard at Mile High Sticking (Sat Jun 14, 2025)

Current Contract

Samuel Girard signed a $35,000,000 7-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche and General Manager Joe Sakic on July 31, 2019 with an AAV of $5,000,000. This contract will start in 2020-21 and end after the 2026-27 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 6.13% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2020-21	22		$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	RFA
2021-22	23		$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	RFA-arb
2022-23	24		$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	RFA-arb
2023-24	25		$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	RFA-arb
2024-25	26	M-NTC	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	UFA
2025-26	27	M-NTC	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	UFA
2026-27	28	M-NTC	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	-	-	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	UFA
Total					-	-	$35,000,000	$35,000,000	$35,000,000

Signed: July 31, 2019

Team: Colorado Avalanche

GM: Joe Sakic

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 6.13

Clause: Player can submit a 9 team no trade list for 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Samuel Girard signed a $2,277,500 3-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager David Poile on September 29, 2016 with an AAV of $717,500. This contract will start in 2016-17 and end after the 2019-20 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.98% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2016-17	18	$717,500	$925,000	-	$92,500	-	$92,500	-	ELC
2017-18	19	$728,333	$935,833	$257,500	$92,500	$650,000	$742,500	$70,000	ELC
2018-19	20	$728,333	$935,833	$182,500	$92,500	$650,000	$742,500	$70,000	ELC
2019-20	21	$728,333	$935,833	$182,500	-	$700,000	$700,000	$70,000	ELC
Total				$622,500	$277,500	$2,000,000	$2,277,500	$210,000

Signed: Sep 29, 2016

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: David Poile

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	QC Int PW	Lac-St-Jean Espoirs	2	0	0	0		2				2					2
2011-12	LHDAAQ	Lac-St-Jean Espoirs Bantam AAA R	20	1	9	10		6				5		3	3
2012-13	LHDAAQ	Lac-St-Jean Espoirs Bantam AAA R	19	7	22	29		18				5	2	5	7		2
2013-14	QAAA	Jonquiere	42	7	29	36		16
2014-15	QMJHL	Shawinigan	64	5	38	43	+15	8	57	880.0		7		2	2	+5	2	6	0.0
2015-16	Hlinka Gretzky Cup	Canada U18	4	1	0	1	+4
2015-16	U18-Dev	Team Red	3	0	2	2
2015-16	QMJHL	Shawinigan	67	10	64	74	+24	10				21	2	20	22	+15	4
2016-17	QMJHL	Shawinigan Cataractes	59	9	66	75	+26	29				5	1	8	9	+3	4
2016-17	AHL	Milwaukee Admirals	6	1	0	1	-4					2				-3	2
2017-18	NHL	Nashville Predators	5	1	2	3	-3	2	8	12.5	16:55
2017-18	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	68	3	17	20	-8	6	76	4.0	17:42	3				-3		6	0.0	21:59
2018-19	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	82	4	23	27	+8	6	116	3.4	19:54	9		2	2	+3		6	0.0	18:42
2019-20	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	70	4	30	34	+1	17	96	4.2	21:19	15	1	9	10	+4	6	20	5.0	21:42
2020-21	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	48	5	27	32	+15	16	79	6.3	23:13	10		5	5	-5	2	13	0.0	22:21
2021-22	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	67	5	23	28	-4	20	79	6.3	21:39	7	1	2	3	-1		14	7.1	17:59
2022-23	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	76	6	31	37	-10	16	119	5.0	21:30	7		2	2	-4	2	9	0.0	21:04
2023-24	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	59	3	15	18		10	73	4.1	19:23	9		3	3	+3		9	0.0	22:58
2024-25	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	73	3	21	24	+7	14	95	3.2	20:51	7	1	2	3	+2		7	14.3	17:38
2025-26	NHL	Colorado Avalanche	5	0	2	2	+4	2	4	0.0	17:14
NHL Career			553	34	191	225	+10	109	745	4.6	20:33	67	3	25	28	-1	10	84	3.6	20:42