Nikolas Matinpalo headshot

Nikolas
Alex Kannok Leipert Anders Lee Brandon Scanlin Brett Kulak Cameron Butler Carter Verhaeghe Chris Kreider Connor Murphy Curtis Lazar David Pastrnak Declan Carlile Jared Wright Jordan Martinook Justin Dowling Justin Faulk Justin Sourdif Marshall Rifai Matthew Robertson Mattias Samuelsson Mikael Backlund Nikolas Matinpalo Oskar Sundqvist Rhett Pitlick Sam Carrick Sidney Crosby Tage Thompson Trevor Janicke Trevor Moore Vsevolod Komarov Zach Metsa Zemgus Girgensons Arturs Silovs Justus Annunen Linus Ullmark Philipp Grubauer Victor Ostman
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D · Buffalo Sabres Sabres · FIN
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Status
Pro 100%
Age / YOB
28 (1998)
Contract
$875,000 × 3y
Expires
UFA 2029
Waivers
Eligible
Acquired
Free Agent · Aug 2025
Drafted
Undrafted
Vitals
6'3" · 213 lb
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Ratings

Percentile vs 258 d-men
CK 75 57th
FG 44 41st
DI 89 74th
SK 85 94th
ST 79 72nd
EN 67 25th
DU 70 30th
PH 59 19th
FO 25 98th
PA 49 25th
SC 47 30th
DF 85 55th
PS 25 69th
EX 56 20th
LD 57 21st
OV 68 38th

Contract

Cap hit $875,000 $870k remaining
Year 2 of 4
2025-26
2026-27
2028-29
Expiry Status
UFA
2029 age 31
Clauses —

Stats

No OTHL stats on record
2026-27 Regular Season
XtraStats →

No regular-season games played yet.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PiM GW PPG PPP S TOI
2026-27 OTT 10 0 2 2 +5 6 0 0 0 6 15:23
On Pace - 82 0 16 16 +41 49 0 0 0 49 -
NHL Career Stats
Season Team GP G A P P/GP +/- PiM GW PPG PPP S% TOI
2023-24 OTT 4 0 0 0 0.00 +1 0 0 0 0 0.0% 7:00
2024-25 OTT 41 1 3 4 0.10 -2 20 0 0 0 2.3% 12:37
2025-26 OTT 50 0 5 5 0.10 -1 16 0 0 0 0.0% 15:38
2026-27 OTT 10 0 2 2 0.20 +5 6 0 0 0 0.0% 15:23
Career NHL 105 1 10 11 0.10 +3 42 0 0 0 1.1% -

History

Overall, season by season

Above the band is elite. Inside it, above average. Below it, below average.

OV Defensemen, average to top 10%

Attributes

Season Age Pos Team CK FG DI SK ST EN DU PH FO PA SC DF PS EX LD OV
2024-25 26 D BUF 80 77 87 63 77 66 72 47 25 37 41 63 39 44 44 59
2025-26 27 D BUF 67 43 85 73 79 60 84 59 25 46 47 66 25 48 48 62
2026-27 28 D BUF 75 44 89 85 79 67 70 59 25 49 47 85 25 56 57 68
Season Age Pos Team CK FG DI SK ST EN DU PH FO PA SC DF PS EX LD OV
2024-25 26 D BUF 80 77 87 63 77 66 72 47 25 37 41 63 39 44 44 59
2025-26 27 D BUF −13 −34 −2 +10 +2 −6 +12 +12 · +9 +6 +3 −14 +4 +4 +3
2026-27 28 D BUF +8 +1 +4 +12 · +7 −14 · · +3 · +19 · +8 +9 +6
Starting Team Salary Length Cap % Age Signed as
2024-25 BUF $885,000 1 yr 1.0% 26 RFA
2025-26 BUF $875,000 4 yr 0.9% 27 RFA CURRENT
No trades on record