The term 'advanced' is just so annoying - there is nothing advanced about counting shots for and against. Or comparing them against the rest of the team. Etc. It's just a few more ways to count opportunities for and against. It's more data.
More importantly though, what really annoys me about 'advanced' stats is that most fans don't understand statistics and the fact that it is mostly noise due to the small actual amount of data. In order to have really meaningful numbers, you would need years of data on a player and they would be retired before you acquired enough to be really confident about its value. So you end up having to use data from smaller sample sizes that is largely noise. In and of itself, that is fine. But fans put way too much weight in the results because most don't understand this.
But that's all fine. Every team uses the data because why wouldn't you? Every bit of information you can acquire helps. Having said that, there are no secret recipes that will give one team an advantage over another team - they are all looking at the data.
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As for Chicago, I would expect that many - if not most, if not all - teams have some proprietary stats. That is not what is giving Chicago an advantage. What is giving them an advantage is that their team is extremely talented. And because they are so talented and deep, every decision that they make tends to work out well.
A good example from the past is the 80s Oilers. They were so talented that every single player they acquired worked out well and became a better player. Whether it was Tikannen, MacTavish, Krushelniski or whoever (there were dozens over the years), they all turned out to be good additions.
Conversely, look at any lousy team - like the current Oilers. On a bad team, every decision doesn't work. No matter who they acquire, that player almost invariably becomes a worse player. Is it because every decision they make is stupid? Or is it because the team sucks and no matter who you add to it, that player becomes worse?
Sure, there is probably some of both going on. But for the most part, good talented teams will make their management look smarter. And bad teams will make their management look dumber.
(my apologies for the long post and all that dirty Oiler talk)
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