Number Chains - November 8, 2012 Links
Josh L.
November 08 2012 02:00PM
This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome to edition number ten of the rebooted Number Chains. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
On this fine Thursday we begin with a post by Gus Katsaros at Leafs Nation. In the post Gus broke down the Leafs season into 20 game segments to see if any conclusions could be drawn about what went wrong. His final conclusion?
Number Chains - November 7, 2012 Links
Josh L.
November 07 2012 02:02PM
This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome to edition number nine of the rebooted Number Chains. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
The NHL and NHLPA met for several hours on Tuesday and have further meeting scheduled for today. The rumor floating out there is the hope for hockey by December first. In the mean time, Mike Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune looked at the potential perks the NHLPA could receive in the next CBA. Among the perks are the following:
1) Joint NHL/NHLPA Health and Safety Committee with equal representation by the league and union;
2) Establishment of a "standard of care" and "primary allegiance" obligations between the team medical staff and players (this is directly due to the tragic Derek Boogaard situation that remains ongoing);
3) Offseason rehab activities would no longer be required in the team's home city;
4) Players have access to second medical opinions at the club expense;
Thanks to Puck Daddy for digging up that link. These are obviously not the sticking points keeping us from having hockey, but they're interesting nonetheless. The emphasis on player safety comes through again in spades. The players are obviously conscious of the concussion problem, and it's interesting to see the role they want the NHL to play in their health. These perks also won't be free, and I wonder how much impact the inclusion of these perks has had on the other negotiations. I imagine the owners would like these expenses to be counted as part of HHR.
After the jump we have some statistical goodness from Kent Wilson and Jonathan Willis, another crazy proposal by Jesse Spector, and other nuggest of hockey fun.
Number Chains - November 5, 2012 Links
Josh L.
November 05 2012 01:41PM
This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome to edition number eight of the rebooted Number Chains. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
Welcome to another hockey-less week. That may not be the most original introduction to a post, and I have little doubt that reading it several times is annoying, grating, and tiresome. But, such is the lockout in general. Speaking of the lockout, "news" broke this weekend. On Saturday the NHLPA and NHL met for several hours. I'll let Bill Daly and Steve Fehr expound:
"We had a series of meetings yesterday (Saturday) and exchanged views on the most important issues separating us," wrote Daly in an email to TSN on Sunday morning."We plan to meet again sometime early this week.''
Fehr sent out a release later Sunday morning saying that he agreed with how Daly summed up the session.
"Hopefully we can continue the dialogue, expand the group, and make steady progress," said Fehr.
The secret meeting in the secret location supposedly went well, and both sides will be meeting again tomorrow. Whether or not any actual progress was made is anyone's guess, but at this point it's foolish to get your hopes up one way or the other. The emotion swings aren't justified at this point.
After the jump, Larry Brooks gets emotional (angry?) about the owners role in the lockout, JW muses about Anton Lander, and a few other tasty treats.
Number Chains - November 2, 2012 Links
Josh L.
November 02 2012 01:01PM
This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome to edition number seven of the rebooted Number Chains. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
Yesterday Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy fame asked if NHL fans would cancel their season tickets even if the league played games this year. He points out one big difference between this lockout and the lost year of 2004-05:
But there will (sic) some, like these Hurricanes fans, that don't come back. The deeper the lockout goes, the more fans will leave. It's not going to be through some petition or pledge drive or Twitter hash-tagged boycott. It's going to be dedicated fans who evaluate their finances, think about how this League had punched them in the stomach and spit in their hair twice in seven years, and then reallocate their entertainment expenditures to cover life's more pertinent costs.
The biggest difference between 2005 and 2012, to that end: One glance at Facebook, one search on Twitter, and they'll know they're not alone. That's comforting and empowering to fans, and should scare the feces out of the National Hockey League.
I know that one way or the other I will still be around, but I would have a hard time being critical of anyone chosing to spend their money elsewhere. The NHL Lockout is obviously not on par with the civil unrest in the Middle East or the Occupy protests, but we've seen the power of social media in organizing and documenting those protests. Protests springing up via Facebook or Twitter in response to the NHL once they finally get back to work wouldn't be the most shocking response to the lockout.
After the jump more national writing about hockey in Houston, more lockout news, some statistical work from around The Nation, and Carolina Hurricanes point projections.
Number Chains - November 1, 2012 Links
Josh L.
November 01 2012 01:27PM
This new, regular feature on NHLNumbers will share interesting stats-related posts from around the web almost every day.
Welcome to edition number six of the rebooted Number Chains. In this space you will be able to find the best analytical hockey writing from around the internet on a close-to-daily basis. Subject matter will include statistical evaluation, financial analysis, contractual issues, and (sometimes) closely-related tangential works. If you have something you would like to submit for a future edition (your writing or that of someone else) feel free to send it to me via Twitter @JoshL1220 or leave a comment.
The Hockey News is singing the praises of a pair of Detroit Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg and Damien Brunner are playing together for EV Zug in the Swiss league.To put it mildly, they're working out well together:
"Detroit said they were going to put (Brunner) on a line with Zetterberg, so I got to do it first," Zug coach Doug Shedden said Wednesday in an interview. "I texted (Red Wings GM) Kenny Holland and said: `It works."'
Has it ever.
Zetterberg is playing like a man possessed with seven goals and 11 points in just five league games—four of them victories for Zug to go along with a shootout loss—while Brunner sits on top of the Swiss scoring table. The third member of the line, former Edmonton Oilers forward Linus Omark, is also among the league leaders in points.
It's only a matter of time before Omark is a Red Wing and leading the league in scoring.
All the analytical writing you can handle to begin November can be found after the jump. Rob Vollman, Timo Seppa, Justin Bourne, Slava Malamud, and Gabe Desjardins all await your readership.
