What is Takeaways?

The number of times a player forces the opponent to lose the puck during their shifts.

What this tells us

When a player is on the ice, takeaways count loose pucks they directly cause the other team to give up — a check that dislodges the puck, a stick lift, a deflection. A higher number means the player is actively disrupting the opponent's possession and creating turnovers their team can attack from.

Limitations

Takeaways are counted by hand by arena scorekeepers, which means they're inconsistent across rinks and games. One arena's "forced takeaway" might be another's "loose puck." They also don't capture *where* on the ice the takeaway happened — a takeaway in the offensive zone is far more valuable than one in your own end, but they count the same. That's why we pair takeaways with giveaways to see the full picture of a player's possession discipline.

Example

A defenseman or checking forward might rack up 10–15 takeaways in a 20-game stretch. A skilled playmaker focused on zone entry and spacing might post fewer takeaways but still drive his team's shot volume through smarter positioning.