Good High-Danger Shooting Percentage: NHL EDGE Benchmarks
NHL EDGE benchmarks put 22.7% at the team-leading level in 2025–26. Compare player examples, the shot definition and sample-size limits.
About 23% is an excellent team high-danger shooting percentage in NHL EDGE data. Buffalo and Chicago tied for the NHL lead at 22.7% in 2025–26, converting roughly one in every 4.4 high-danger shots on goal. That is a league-leading benchmark for that season—not the league average or a universal cutoff for “good.” Source: NHL’s Buffalo outlook.
For an individual player, use a player comparison rather than that team ceiling. Gabriel Vilardi’s 27.1% in 2025–26 provides a high-conversion example: he scored 23 goals on 85 high-danger shots on goal. His rate alone does not establish a league-wide percentile or a permanent finishing ability. Source: NHL’s Winnipeg outlook.
What the percentage measures
High-danger shooting percentage = high-danger goals ÷ high-danger shots on goal × 100.
The denominator includes goals and saved shots, not misses or blocked attempts. It measures conversion among shots on goal, rather than every scoring opportunity. NHL EDGE defines its high-danger area as within 29 feet of the center of the goal, bounded on each side by an imaginary line from the face-off dot to two feet outside the goalpost. Source: NHL EDGE glossary.
That location definition matters. A percentage from a differently defined high-danger category should not automatically be judged against these EDGE benchmarks. For the broader statistic covering shots from everywhere, see overall shooting percentage in hockey.
Player benchmarks: percentage and volume together
These examples use the NHL’s published 2025–26 high-danger goal and shot totals. The percentages below are calculated from those totals and rounded to one decimal place. Buffalo figures; Winnipeg figures.
| Player | High-danger goals | High-danger shots on goal | Calculated percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Vilardi | 23 | 85 | 27.1% |
| Tage Thompson | 15 | 73 | 20.5% |
| Mark Scheifele | 11 | 66 | 16.7% |
Vilardi combined the highest conversion rate of these three with the greatest shot volume. His 23 high-danger goals tied for eighth in the NHL. Thompson’s 15 high-danger goals ranked in the 90th percentile among forwards, despite a conversion rate below Buffalo’s team-leading figure. A high goal-total percentile is not a shooting-percentage percentile.
How to judge your number
Before labeling another result good, match the provider, season, regular-season/playoff setting and strength filter. Also check whether the statistic measures a player’s own shots or the team’s shots while that player is on the ice. The examples above do not establish a league-wide average or player cutoff.
Keep the shot count beside the percentage. At a fixed total of 20 high-danger shots on goal, changing one save to a goal raises the rate by five percentage points; at 100 shots, it raises it by one point. A short run at 30% is therefore much less informative than a season of substantial volume.
For youth or recreational hockey, establish a benchmark from the same competition and shot definition rather than treating an NHL rate as a target.