Nick
Blankenburg
D · TOR · Offensive · Excellent
- PAL
- 89
- WAR
- 1.6
- Value
- 97
- PTS
- 3
2025-26№ 32 / 325
Nick Blankenburg (Toronto Maple Leafs) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Nick Blankenburg
HEIGHT : 175 cm · WEIGHT : 81 kg · SHOOTS : R
Born : May 11, 1998 · Washington, United States
Contract : $1,400,000 · 2026-27 → 2026-27 · Standard Contract · UFA
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Colorado Avalanche | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Nashville Predators | 49 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 10 |
| 2024-25 | Nashville Predators | 60 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 24 |
| 2023-24 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2022-23 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 36 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 16 |
| 2021-22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| NHL totals | 182 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 58 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Colorado Avalanche | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Playoff totals | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
Nick Blankenburg: our analysis
2025-26 season: 12 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PTS, +1 +/-, 12:02 TOI. WAR 1.6 (32nd of 325) · PAL 89, excellent.
In 2025-26, Nick Blankenburg, 28, posts a PAL Rating of 89 out of 100 (excellent), and his WAR of 1.6 ranks 32nd among 325 regulars, in the top quarter.
His strengths: discipline (98, among the best in the league), shooting (91, among the best in the league) and creation (90, among the best in the league). On the other hand, penalty kill (38, below average) holds him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: finishing (+3.0); his biggest cost: power play (-0.1).
A clear step forward: his PAL went from 62 in 2024-25 to 89; his WAR went from 0.4 to 1.6.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 97 (exceptional value) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Nick Blankenburg's story
His senior season at Romeo High produced numbers that forced attention: 35 goals and 32 assists in 30 games, and a state championship in 2016. That period defined his early hockey identity — originally a forward, Blankenburg learned to carry the puck and finish plays before shifting his focus to the defensive end.
Post-graduation, he faced setbacks. Two tryouts with the NAHL came to nothing, so he spent one more year at the AAA level with Victory Honda 18U, where a switch to defense stuck and he scored ten goals with 18 assists in 32 games. A step into junior with the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL followed, producing 16 goals and 26 assists in 57 games and opening the door to an offer from the University of Michigan.
Arriving at Michigan as a walk-on for 2018–19, he worked his way into a steady collegiate role: two goals and eight assists in 34 games his freshman year, then four goals and 12 assists in 35 games as a sophomore with an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Named an alternate captain for 2020–21, he posted five goals and eight assists in 26 games and a +19 rating. For 2021–22 he was named team captain and was awarded a scholarship; he finished that season with a career-high 14 goals and 15 assists in 38 games, tying a Michigan mark for goals by a senior defenseman and ranking among the NCAA leaders in goals and power-play goals for defensemen.
Blankenburg signed his first NHL contract with Columbus on April 8, 2022, debuted five days later, and scored his first NHL goal — a power-play, game-winner — on April 24. After a two-year extension with Columbus, he logged time with both the Blue Jackets and their AHL affiliate before signing with Nashville on July 1, 2024, and starting the 2024–25 season in Milwaukee. He was recalled by the Predators in November and later, on March 4, 2026, was traded to Colorado. He recorded his first points with the Avalanche on April 6 and his first Avalanche goal on April 11; he scored his first playoff goal in the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. In late September 2026 he earned a one-year deal with Toronto after attending camp on a professional try-out.
Internationally, he was selected to represent the United States at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, appearing in four games without a point. His game reads as that of an offensively minded defenseman who began as a forward: puck skills, power-play scoring, and the ability to contribute noticeably on the scoresheet.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 13:05
- PP TOI/GP
- 0:30
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:03
- Pts/GP
- 0.17
- EV points
- 1
- Hits
- 6
- Blocks
- 2
- Takeaways
- 0
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 51.2 %
- Off. zone starts
- 46.8 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
23between 10 and 35 (80% range)
- Goals
- 9
- Assists
- 15
- Games
- 66
So far: 1 pts in 6 games. The team has played 0 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.37 pts per game (last season: 0.39).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Trending up
- Points per game: 0.27 in 24-25, 0.39 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 62 → 89
Outlook, age included
↑ Trending upAge 28: prime years
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
Injured reserve· Upper Body· expected back November 23
OV · OverallConfidence 75 %
80
Very good
- SK
- Skating
- 74
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 63
- Confidence 79 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 69
- Confidence 75 %
- DU
- Durability
- 59
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 76
- Confidence 79 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 71
- Confidence 51 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 93
- Confidence 79 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- —
- PA
- Passing
- 81
- Confidence 75 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 85
- Confidence 75 %
- DF
- Defense
- 74
- Confidence 71 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 76
- Confidence 0 %
- EX
- Experience
- 62
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating74
- Top speed (35 %)35.1 · 71
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)2.145 · 78
- Distance /60 (20 %)14.4 · 79
- Speed consistency (15 %)33.9 · 65
ST — Strength63
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)5.956 · 81
- Body mass (50 %)-1.535 · 49
EN — Endurance69
- Ice time per game (45 %)17.9 · 70
- Total ice time (20 %)1,003 · 68
- Shift length (15 %)46.1 · 69
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)16.7 · 71
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)2.724 · 79
DU — Durability59
- Share of games played (100 %)0.679 · 59
CK — Checking76
- Hits /60 (70 %)3.413 · 76
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)2.852 · 76
- Season volume (10 %)4.025 · 76
FG — Fighting71
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.761 · 71
DI — Discipline93
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.017 · 93
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.448 · 85
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.548 · 84
PA — Passing81
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.457 · 81
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.379 · 72
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.101 · 85
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)4.566 · 85
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.278 · 79
SC — Scoring85
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.338 · 85
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.271 · 83
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)0.46 · 83
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)0.213 · 87
- xG per shot (10 %)0.036 · 86
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)10.7 · 79
DF — Defense74
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.024 · 76
- Relative xG against (20 %)0.026 · 72
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.624 · 74
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)-0.032 · 69
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.832 · 79
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)59.8 · 66
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)3.952 · 68
PS — Penalty shot76
- Shootouts (60 %)32.7 · 76
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience62
- Career regular-season games (65 %)73
- Career playoff games (25 %)34
- NHL seasons (10 %)61
OV — Overall80
- DF · Defense (30 %)74
- PA · Passing (22 %)81
- SK · Skating (12 %)74
- SC · Scoring (12 %)85
- EN · Endurance (9 %)69
- ST · Strength (6 %)63
- DI · Discipline (5 %)93
- CK · Checking (4 %)76
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 80 | 74 | 85 | 74 |
| 2024-25 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 73 |
| 2023-24 | 72 | 64 | 79 | 73 |
| 2022-23 | 75 | 66 | 78 | 77 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26 (season in progress)
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
PAL Rating
89/ 100
Performance · Excellent
25 of 250 at the position
Value Rating
97/ 100
Exceptional value
0.78 M$ · expected PAL 36
ProfileOffensiveValue comes mostly from offense
- Offense
- 89
- Defense
- 50
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 88
- Creation
- 90
- Shooting
- 91
- Possession
- 74
- Defense
- 47
- Discipline
- 98
- Power play
- 84
- Penalty kill
- 38
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | COL | 1.6 | 89 | 97 | 0.78 M$ |
| 2024-25 | NSH | 0.4 | 62 | 83 | 0.78 M$ |
| 2022-23 | CBJ | 0.4 | 61 | 74 | 0.83 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
94/ 100
Elite
better than 94% of defensemen, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
92/ 100
Elite
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
81/ 100
Very good
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Why 94, higher than both scores? Overall IQ isn't an average, it's a rank: 13 of 225 defensemen. Few players are good at both ends at once; being so puts Nick Blankenburg ahead of almost everyone else.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 76
- Shot selection
- 86
- Penalties drawn
- 76
- Puck management
- 92
Defense
- Takeaways
- 48
- Discipline
- 91
- Safe zone exits
- 56
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | COL | 94 | 92 | 81 |
| 2024-25 | NSH | 94 | 95 | 62 |
| 2022-23 | CBJ | 69 | 82 | 44 |
Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.2
wins above replacement
0.0 to 0.5 — 90% interval
77 of 267 defensemen
+1.0 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +0.2
- EV defense
- +0.0
- Power play
- 0.0
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- +0.5
- Penalties
- +0.2
- Average → replacement
- +0.2
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | TOR | 6 | 0.2 | 0.0 to 0.5 | 77/267 |
| 2025-26 | COL | 61 | 1.6 | 0.8 to 2.7 | 32/325 |
| 2024-25 | NSH | 56 | 0.4 | -0.2 to 1.2 | 113/314 |
| 2023-24 | CBJ | 12 | 0.2 | 0.0 to 0.5 | 121/316 |
| 2022-23 | CBJ | 36 | 0.4 | -0.3 to 0.9 | 91/334 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 130.3 km/h15th percentileleague avg. 140.2 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 33.2 km/h25th percentileleague avg. 34.1 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 539th percentileleague avg. 9
- Offensive zone time
- 44.6 %88th percentileleague avg. 41.2 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 18.1 km14th percentileleague avg. 61.8 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 3.79 km13th percentileleague avg. 5.00 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 44.2 %85th percentileleague avg. 41.3 %
- Neutral zone time
- 17.7 %31st percentileleague avg. 19.0 %
- Defensive zone time
- 37.7 %85th percentileleague avg. 39.8 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 622nd percentile | 170th percentile | 16.7 %95th percentile |
| High danger | 285th percentile | 198th percentile | 50.0 %94th percentile |
| Mid range | 248th percentile | 072nd percentile | 0.0 %51st percentile |
| Long range | 113th percentile | 074th percentile | 0.0 %61st percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
NYR
SJS
NYI
BUF
UTA
COLNick Blankenburg: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Nick Blankenburg have in 2026-27?
Nick Blankenburg has 1 goal and 1 point (0 assists) in 6 games in 2026-27.
How old is Nick Blankenburg?
Nick Blankenburg is 28 years old: he was born on May 12, 1998.
How tall is Nick Blankenburg, and how much does he weigh?
Nick Blankenburg is 5'9" (175 cm) and weighs 179 lb (81 kg).
Where is Nick Blankenburg from?
United States: Nick Blankenburg was born in Washington, Michigan, United States.
What team does Nick Blankenburg play for?
Nick Blankenburg plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL, at D, wearing number 3.
Is Nick Blankenburg injured?
Yes: Nick Blankenburg is on injured reserve (upper body). He is expected back around November 23.
How good is Nick Blankenburg?
Nick Blankenburg produced 0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026-27 (season in progress), 77th of 267 players at his position in the NHL.
How much does Nick Blankenburg make?
Nick Blankenburg carries a cap hit of $1.4M per season, on a contract worth $1.4M in total over 1 years.
When does Nick Blankenburg's contract end?
Nick Blankenburg's contract runs through the 2026-27 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent.
Is Nick Blankenburg a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 77th of 267 players at his position in the NHL in 2026-27. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is Nick Blankenburg getting better?
Yes: his PAL rating went from 62 in 2024-25 to 89 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has Nick Blankenburg played lately?
Over his last 6 games, Nick Blankenburg has 1 point (1 goal, 0 assists).
What are Nick Blankenburg's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Nick Blankenburg has 182 games, 19 goals, 40 assists and 59 points. His best season: 2025-26, with 21 points in 49 games.
How does Nick Blankenburg perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Nick Blankenburg has 5 games and 1 point in his career. His pace (0.20 points per game) is lower than his regular-season pace (0.32).
Is Nick Blankenburg a good fantasy pick?
Probably not, except in deep leagues: our projection has him at 23 points in 2026-27, or 0.35 points per game.
Does Nick Blankenburg have siblings?
Yes: his older brother Alex (played college ice hockey for Omaha from 2015–2019).
What is Nick Blankenburg's nationality?
Nick Blankenburg is American. Internationally: United States: named to the national team for the 2022 IIHF World Championship (4 games, scoreless).
What awards has Nick Blankenburg won?
Honorable Mention All‑Big Ten (2019–20) ; Honorable Mention All‑Big Ten (2020–21) ; Honorable Mention All‑Big Ten (2021–22) ; Big Ten First Star of the Week (week ending November 30, 2021) ; Finalist for the Senior CLASS Award (2022) ; University of Michigan Big Ten Medal of Honor (2022).
How many championships has Nick Blankenburg won?
1: High school state championship with Romeo High School Bulldogs (2016).
Where did Nick Blankenburg play before turning pro?
Victory Honda 18U (2016–17); Okotoks Oilers (AJHL, 2017–18); University of Michigan (college hockey, 2018–2022).
How many points is Nick Blankenburg projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 23 points in 66 games in 2026-27 (10 to 35 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)