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Urho Vaakanainen

Position	Left Defense / Right Defense	Current Team	New York Rangers
Shoots	Left	Current Contract	2 years
Height	6'2"	Expires	2026-27
Weight (lbs)	202	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	28
Age	26 (Jan 1, 1999)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	2017, Round 1, Overall 18 (BOS)

Date	Team	Transaction
Mar 7, 2025	New York Rangers	Signed 2 years @ $1.550M AAV starting in 2025-26
Dec 6, 2024	Anaheim Ducks	Traded to New York Rangers
Dec 6, 2024	New York Rangers	Acquired from Anaheim Ducks
Dec 4, 2024	Anaheim Ducks	Placed on IR
Jul 1, 2024	Anaheim Ducks	Signed 1 year @ $1.100M AAV starting in 2024-25
Jul 22, 2022	Anaheim Ducks	Signed 2 years @ $850K AAV starting in 2022-23
Jun 13, 2018	Boston Bruins	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

2025-26 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/urho-vaakanainen-8480001.png

2024-25 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/urho-vaakanainen-8480001.png

2023-24 Player Card

URL: https://www.thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/urho-vaakanainen-8480001.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

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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	BOS	2	17:14	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	-0.10	0.00	1.39	-1.39	0.00	0.00
2019-20	BOS	5	74:58	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.05	-0.05	0.00	5.79	-5.79	0.00	0.00
2020-21	BOS	9	140:30	0.00	0.85	0.85	0.22	-0.22	0.00	4.03	-4.03	0.00	0.00
2021-22	ANA	14	248:32	0.00	0.24	0.24	0.04	-0.04	0.00	1.57	-1.57	0.00	0.00
2021-22	BOS	15	237:40	0.00	0.25	0.25	0.15	-0.15	0.00	4.06	-4.06	0.00	8.70
2021-22	ANA, BOS	29	486:12	0.00	0.25	0.25	0.09	-0.09	0.00	3.07	-3.07	0.00	5.56
2022-23	ANA	23	361:05	0.00	0.33	0.33	0.15	-0.15	0.00	3.24	-3.24	0.00	2.50
2023-24	ANA	68	1022:50	0.06	0.65	0.70	0.12	-0.06	1.59	3.13	-1.55	0.00	0.00
2024-25	ANA	5	64:12	0.00	0.93	0.93	0.15	-0.15	0.00	5.38	-5.38	0.00	0.00
2024-25	NYR	46	719:08	0.17	1.08	1.25	0.15	0.02	5.13	4.60	0.53	1.56	0.00
2024-25	ANA, NYR	51	783:20	0.15	1.07	1.23	0.15	0.00	4.76	4.66	0.11	1.39	0.00
2025-26	NYR	8	114:56	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.18	-0.18	0.00	4.20	-4.20	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
2018-19	BOS	2	17:14	38.30	0.00	1.98	31.33	3.48	2.91	0.00	40.54	-0.50	1.09	-17.18
2019-20	BOS	5	74:58	32.81	2.40	1.87	53.62	0.80	2.91	75.00	39.13	-0.37	1.02	-15.03
2020-21	BOS	9	140:30	38.43	1.28	1.97	38.43	3.42	2.16	27.27	47.76	-0.45	-0.25	-2.39
2021-22	ANA	14	248:32	32.83	3.38	2.03	50.46	4.59	3.29	42.42	38.12	-0.44	0.19	-6.20
2021-22	BOS	15	237:40	41.66	2.02	2.43	41.66	3.03	2.36	40.00	50.77	-0.05	0.35	-4.58
2021-22	ANA, BOS	29	486:12	37.15	2.71	2.23	46.15	3.83	2.84	41.51	43.97	-0.25	0.27	-5.17
2022-23	ANA	23	361:05	38.05	1.00	2.22	48.69	3.66	2.96	21.43	42.83	-0.16	-0.84	4.35
2023-24	ANA	68	1022:50	39.24	2.41	2.08	41.18	2.52	2.33	48.81	47.16	-0.18	-0.38	1.64
2024-25	ANA	5	64:12	46.73	0.93	2.87	33.64	0.93	1.88	50.00	60.44	0.25	-1.74	18.45
2024-25	NYR	46	719:08	38.30	2.67	2.13	44.47	2.25	2.53	54.24	45.72	-0.44	0.01	-4.73
2024-25	ANA, NYR	51	783:20	38.99	2.53	2.19	43.58	2.14	2.48	54.10	46.95	-0.38	-0.16	-2.46
2025-26	NYR	8	114:56	40.20	1.57	2.25	38.63	1.57	1.71	50.00	56.80	-0.27	-0.43	2.82

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

What’s next for Rangers defensive corps with Carson Soucy’s return at Forever Blueshirts (Mon Oct 20, 2025)
Urho Vaakanainen is on track for a Rangers roster spot, and that’s a problem at Blue Line Station (Sat Sep 27, 2025)
2024-2025 Urho Vaakanainen report card at Blue Seat Blogs (Mon Sep 8, 2025)
2025 Rangers Season Previews: Urho Vaakanainen at Blue Shirt Banter (Mon Aug 25, 2025)
Why Rangers could turn to Urho Vaakanainen as under radar lineup regular at Forever Blueshirts (Sat Aug 23, 2025)

Current Contract

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2025-26	26	$1,550,000	$1,550,000	-	$250,000	$1,400,000	$1,650,000	$1,650,000	RFA-arb
2026-27	27	$1,550,000	$1,550,000	-	-	$1,450,000	$1,450,000	$1,450,000	UFA
Total				-	$250,000	$2,850,000	$3,100,000	$3,100,000

Signed: Mar 7, 2025

Team: New York Rangers

GM: Chris Drury

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 1.62

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Standard Contract (UFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2024-25	25		$1,100,000	$1,100,000	-	-	$1,100,000	$1,100,000	$1,100,000	RFA-arb
Total					-	-	$1,100,000	$1,100,000	$1,100,000

Signed: July 1, 2024

Team: Anaheim Ducks

GM: Pat Verbeek

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Cap %: 1.25

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2022-23	23	$850,000	$850,000	-	-	$800,000	$800,000	$800,000	RFA
2023-24	24	$850,000	$850,000	-	-	$900,000	$900,000	$900,000	RFA-arb
Total				-	-	$1,700,000	$1,700,000	$1,700,000

Signed: July 22, 2022

Team: Anaheim Ducks

GM: Pat Verbeek

Exp. Status: UFA(no QO)

Cap %: 1.03

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2018-19	19	$925,000	$1,333,333	-	$92,500	-	$92,500	-	ELC
2019-20	20	$894,167	$1,302,500	$300,000	$92,500	$832,500	$925,000	$70,000	ELC
2020-21	21	$894,167	$1,302,500	$425,000	$92,500	$832,500	$925,000	$70,000	ELC
2021-22	22	$894,167	$1,302,500	$500,000	-	$832,500	$832,500	$70,000	ELC
Total				$1,225,000	$277,500	$2,497,500	$2,775,000	$210,000

Signed: June 13, 2018

Team: Boston Bruins

GM: Don Sweeney

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
2011-12	Jr. C I-divisioona	Jokipojat U16	1	0	0	0		2				3		1	1		16
2011-12	QC Int PW	Finland Selects U13										2	1	2	3		2
2012-13	Jr. C SM-sarja	Jokipojat U16	15	5	14	19		16
2012-13	Jr. B Mestis	Jokipojat U18	13	3	9	12		52
2013-14	Jr. B SM-sarja	Blues U18	41	8	25	33		48				5		3	3		2
2013-14	Jr. C SM-sarja	Blues U16	6	4	6	10		10				1
2014-15	WHC-17	Finland U17	6	0	1	1		2
2014-15	Jr. A SM-liiga	Kiekko-Espoo U20	30	4	8	12	+20	34				9	2		2	-2
2014-15	EYOF	Finland U17										3		1	1	+3
2014-15	Jr. B SM-sarja	Blues U18										1
2015-16	Liiga	Blues	25	1	5	6	-8	8
2015-16	WJC-18	Finland U18	7	1	2	3	+6	6
2015-16	WHC-17	Finland U17	5	0	0	0		6
2015-16	Champions HL	Blues	2	0	1	1		2
2015-16	U20 SM-sarja	Kiekko-Espoo U20	18	2	11	13	+10	8				2					2
2016-17	WJC-20	Finland U20	6	1	0	1	-2	4
2016-17	WJC-18	Finland U18	5	3	3	6	+4	2
2016-17	Champions HL	JYP	5	0	1	1	+2	4
2016-17	Hlinka Gretzky Cup	Finland U18	4	0	1	1	-1	2
2016-17	Mestis	JYP-Akatemia	3	0	1	1	-2	29
2016-17	U20 SM-sarja	JYP U20	1	0	0	0	-1
2016-17	Liiga	JYP	41	2	4	6	+5	12				14		3	3	+1	2
2017-18	WJC-20	Finland U20	5	0	1	1	+3	2
2017-18	EHT	Finland	5	0	1	1	+4	2
2017-18	Liiga	SaiPa	43	4	7	11	+8	24				9		1	1	+1
2018-19	WJC-20	Finland U20	7	0	4	4	+5	6
2018-19	NHL	Boston Bruins	2	0	0	0	-1		2	0.0	9:06
2018-19	AHL	Providence Bruins	30	4	10	14	+2	10				4				+1	2
2019-20	AHL	Providence Bruins	54	5	9	14	+18	18
2019-20	NHL	Boston Bruins	5	0	0	0	+2		2	0.0	16:51
2020-21	AHL	Providence Bruins	11	1	2	3	+1	6
2020-21	NHL	Boston Bruins	9	0	2	2	-3	2	15	0.0	18:55
2020-21	Liiga	SaiPa	2	1	0	1	+2	2
2021-22	AHL	Providence Bruins	23	1	7	8	+6	20
2021-22	NHL	Boston Bruins	15	0	4	4		4	15	0.0	19:17
2021-22	NHL	Anaheim Ducks	14	0	2	2	-5	6	12	0.0	19:21
2022-23	NHL	Anaheim Ducks	23	0	2	2	-16		27	0.0	16:27
2022-23	AHL	San Diego Gulls	1	0	0	0	-1
2023-24	NHL	Anaheim Ducks	68	1	13	14		26	67	1.5	17:29
2024-25	NHL	New York Rangers	46	2	13	15	+8	16	39	5.1	16:43
2024-25	NHL	Anaheim Ducks	5	0	1	1		2	3	0.0	13:36
2024-25	4 Nations	Finland	3	0	0	0	-5				38:46
2025-26	NHL	New York Rangers	7	0	0	0		6	7	0.0	15:02
NHL Career			194	3	37	40	-15	62	189	1.6	17:14