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StaTuesday: Wild's Niederreiter stands out in advanced stats
The Minnesota Wild avoided an arbitration hearing earlier this week, signing forward Nino Niederreiter to a five-year, $26.25 million contract.
He'll be just 29 when he hits free agency in 2022.
If Niederreiter keeps improving at this rate, $5.25 million annually won't be nearly enough to keep him in Minnesota.
Niederreiter's surface-level numbers are good, particularly for a player who has been shuffled up and down the lineup over the last few years.
He scored 25 goals last season -- his third straight 20-goal season -- finishing fourth on the team in scoring with 57 points despite averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game.
But while his scoring totals are solid, his numbers get even better once his ice time is taken out of the equation, suggesting that Niederreiter's ceiling goes far beyond a few 20-goal seasons.
He ranked 15th in the NHL last year in 5-on-5 scoring per 60 minutes, comparable to top-six forwards like Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Victor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators.
| Player | Team | TOI (minutes) | Goals | Assists | Points | Points/60 |
| Conor Sheary | Pittsburgh | 836.5 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 3.0126 |
| Connor McDavid | Edmonton | 1309.93 | 21 | 42 | 63 | 2.8856 |
| Jake Guentzel | Pittsburgh | 562.233 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 2.8814 |
| Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh | 871.667 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 2.8222 |
| Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh | 1118.1 | 26 | 24 | 50 | 2.6831 |
| Thomas Vanek | Florida | 759.8 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 2.6059 |
| Mark Scheifele | Winnipeg | 1217.15 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 2.5141 |
| Scott Hartnell | Columbus | 819.883 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 2.415 |
| Jason Pominville | Minnesota | 921.467 | 12 | 25 | 37 | 2.4092 |
| Brad Marchand | Boston | 1097.43 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 2.4056 |
| Jason Zucker | Minnesota | 1104.32 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 2.3906 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | Washington | 1107.27 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 2.3842 |
| James van Riemsdyke | Toronto | 1058.4 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 2.381 |
| Victor Arvidsson | Nashville | 1064.22 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 2.3679 |
| Nino Niederreiter | Minnesota | 1041.93 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 2.361 |
| Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay | 1097.08 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 2.3517 |
| T.J. Oshie | Washington | 896.317 | 23 | 12 | 35 | 2.3429 |
| Patrik Laine | Winnipeg | 1031.45 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 2.3268 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | Detroit | 1274.33 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 2.3071 |
| Ryan Getzlaf | Anaheim | 1119.58 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 2.3044 |
The numbers don't lie: The Wild are just better when Niederreiter is on the ice.
| Player | TOI (minutes) | GF | GA | GF60 | GA60 |
| Jason Zucker | 1104.32 | 65 | 32 | 3.532 | 1.739 |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1041.93 | 55 | 37 | 3.167 | 2.131 |
| Matt Dumba | 1267.63 | 63 | 48 | 2.982 | 2.272 |
| Jared Spurgeon | 1405.6 | 69 | 45 | 2.945 | 1.921 |
| Jason Pominville | 921.467 | 45 | 43 | 2.93 | 2.8 |
| Ryan Suter | 1689.08 | 82 | 57 | 2.913 | 2.025 |
| Zach Parise | 909.65 | 44 | 43 | 2.902 | 2.836 |
| Mikael Granlund | 1152.68 | 55 | 39 | 2.863 | 2.03 |
| Eric Staal | 1136.53 | 54 | 44 | 2.851 | 2.323 |
| Charlie Coyle | 1107.55 | 51 | 43 | 2.763 | 2.329 |
| Mikko Koivu | 1117.85 | 51 | 34 | 2.737 | 1.825 |
| Jonas Brodin | 1056.5 | 45 | 38 | 2.556 | 2.158 |
| Marco Scandella | 1119.57 | 46 | 50 | 2.465 | 2.68 |
| Christian Folin | 699.067 | 28 | 23 | 2.403 | 1.974 |
| Martin Hanzal | 931.033 | 37 | 48 | 2.384 | 3.093 |
| Erik Haula | 869.333 | 34 | 32 | 2.347 | 2.209 |
| Ryan White | 662.6 | 21 | 36 | 1.902 | 3.26 |
| Chris Stewart | 795.367 | 25 | 22 | 1.886 | 1.66 |
They averaged 3.17 goals per 60 minutes with Niederreiter on the ice last year, up from an overall team average of 2.73.
Only speedy winger Jason Zucker had a greater impact on team scoring.
Niederreiter's possession metrics factored on defense as well.
His CA60 -- the number of shot attempts opponents averaged while he was on the ice, per 60 minutes -- led the team.
| Player | TOI (minutes) | CF60 | CA60 |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1041.93 | 57.873 | 46.702 |
| Jonas Brodin | 1056.5 | 52.589 | 52.191 |
| Erik Haula | 869.333 | 56.526 | 53.006 |
| Jared Spurgeon | 1405.6 | 56.005 | 53.571 |
| Jason Pominvlle | 921.467 | 61.793 | 53.719 |
| Mikko Koivu | 1117.85 | 53.406 | 53.997 |
| Jason Zucker | 1104.32 | 54.55 | 54.441 |
| Charlie Coyle | 1107.55 | 55.203 | 54.553 |
| Ryan Suter | 1689.08 | 55.415 | 54.562 |
| Eric Staal | 1136.53 | 57.491 | 54.851 |
| Mikael Granlund | 1152.68 | 52.625 | 55.28 |
| Martin Hanzal | 931.033 | 56.131 | 55.422 |
| Matt Dumba | 1267.63 | 51.971 | 55.473 |
| Marco Scandella | 1119.57 | 53.431 | 56.808 |
| Christian Folin | 699.067 | 52.27 | 59.136 |
| Ryan White | 662.6 | 50.075 | 60.217 |
| Zach Parise | 909.65 | 58.572 | 61.606 |
| Chris Stewart | 795.367 | 42.697 | 61.858 |
Statistics courtesy of Puckalytics.com
