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fredr123 · 03-22-2013, 08:12 AM

NHLNumbers.com has a reference library section which compiles articles from around the internet on various advanced stats topics. The goalie section is here: http://nhlnumbers.com/2012/11/2/refe...ltending-stats

I think it's problematic to rely solely on only fancy stats or watching the game to describe the results on the ice. I don't think very many proponents of advanced statistics will tell you that the math is perfect and there is no need to watch the game any more. There is still a lot of variance in the numbers that is attributed to "luck" or some other stuff that hasn't been defined yet.

On the other hand, there does seem to be a lot of people in the "Do you even watch the game?" camp that are willing to disregard advanced stats, especially when the numbers contradict what we think we see on the ice. I was in this group until recently and gleefully made fun of guys like mudcrutch79 for attempting to explain hockey with regression analysis.

Advanced statistics in hockey is really only in its infancy. They are useful tools with obvious limitations. There is much work to be done and there are a lot of smart people out there making fantastic progress. Even smart people in the media are starting to introduce these concepts into their work. This is good. There are still plenty of traditionalists in hockey (Brian Burke, for example) that eschew the maths so people that laugh at the nerds in the stands with their pocket protectors and slide rules are in good company.

Edit: Here's an article from James Mirtle about how Pittsburgh used advanced statistics prepared by a consultancy firm to pull the trigger on the James Neal deal a couple years ago. Mirtle notes that the work of the consultant is based on shot quality data which, as has been noted, is a bit of a hot-button topic for fancy stats advocates: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle10122427/

03-22-2013, 08:12 AM	#180
fredr123 Franchise Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Exp:	NHLNumbers.com has a reference library section which compiles articles from around the internet on various advanced stats topics. The goalie section is here: http://nhlnumbers.com/2012/11/2/refe...ltending-stats I think it's problematic to rely solely on only fancy stats or watching the game to describe the results on the ice. I don't think very many proponents of advanced statistics will tell you that the math is perfect and there is no need to watch the game any more. There is still a lot of variance in the numbers that is attributed to "luck" or some other stuff that hasn't been defined yet. On the other hand, there does seem to be a lot of people in the "Do you even watch the game?" camp that are willing to disregard advanced stats, especially when the numbers contradict what we think we see on the ice. I was in this group until recently and gleefully made fun of guys like mudcrutch79 for attempting to explain hockey with regression analysis. Advanced statistics in hockey is really only in its infancy. They are useful tools with obvious limitations. There is much work to be done and there are a lot of smart people out there making fantastic progress. Even smart people in the media are starting to introduce these concepts into their work. This is good. There are still plenty of traditionalists in hockey (Brian Burke, for example) that eschew the maths so people that laugh at the nerds in the stands with their pocket protectors and slide rules are in good company. Edit: Here's an article from James Mirtle about how Pittsburgh used advanced statistics prepared by a consultancy firm to pull the trigger on the James Neal deal a couple years ago. Mirtle notes that the work of the consultant is based on shot quality data which, as has been noted, is a bit of a hot-button topic for fancy stats advocates: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...ticle10122427/ Last edited by fredr123; 03-22-2013 at 08:20 AM.