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Spotlight on Radim Vrbata
The free agent sweepstakes kick off in less than two weeks, and already pundits are guessing which players will find new homes and which will re-up with their existing teams. Among available forwards, there are some big names: Thomas Vanek, Marian Gaborik, Paul Stastny and Jarome Iginla, to name a few. Each comes […]
More on the Kings and Rangers
In this week’s column in the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2014/06/05/stanley_cup_jonathan_quick_has_been_awful_in_nhl_playoffs_for_la_kings_analytics_show.html), we focused on the goaltending matchup between Jonathan Quick and Henrik Lundqvist in this year’s final. The chart below (to access it, copy the link into your browser) gives a picture of how both of these goalies have performed over the past 3 seasons, and […]
The Crosby vs. Toews "Debate"
It probably went unnoticed by most fans, but Tuesday’s game 7 between the Penguins and Rangers was more than just a hockey game. It was nothing less than a culture war. On the one side, there were the old school pundits. On Tuesday morning, Kevin Allen of USA Today was musing about the Penguins’ […]
Additional Thoughts on Special Teams and Playoff Success
In today’s article in the Toronto Star we looked at whether regular season special teams success translates into playoff success. This is a very specific question that seemed highly relevant as we watch this season’s NHL playoffs unfold. However, there are other questions, and we will be looking at them in the coming […]
The Mythical President's Trophy Curse
With NHL playoffs coming up next week, fans and players alike are ready to channel their nervous excitement in weird and interesting ways. I’m not talking something boring like a standard-issue playoff beard. Or watching the game from your “lucky chair”. I’m imagining something along the lines of former Ottawa Senator Bruce Gardiner, […]
The Department of Hockey Analytics on SiriusXM
A few weeks ago we were interviewed with Darryl Metcalf from extraskater.com on The War Room with Mick Kern and Peter Berce on the NHL Network on SiriusXM. You can listen to a recording of the interview here:
Why Some Guys Miss the Net More Often
In today’s Toronto Star article (http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2014/03/20/alex_ovechkin_a_perfect_example_of_why_the_nhls_shooting_percentage_is_flawed.html), I talked about Sh% and why it doesn’t tell us enough about how good players are at turning scoring opportunities into goals. Specifically, I pointed out that Sh% excludes shots that never make it to the net because they’re either blocked or miss entirely. At one extreme of the […]
Do NHL trade deadline deals actually work?
It’s trade deadline time, and fans of middling teams are no doubt dreaming of a shining knight who will ride into town and inspire the team President to dust off his long abandoned Stanley Cup parade map. But do deadline acquisitions actually work, or is adding a key part now like trying to fix […]
Canada an underdog against field to defend men’s Olympic gold
As Canadian hockey fans gear up for the Olympics, I have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good news: Team Canada is the best team in this tournament, and the one most likely to win gold. The bad news is Canada probably won’t win gold. Before you start clamoring for my passport, […]