BOSTON — The summer of analytics has turned into the winter of discontent. Several NHL teams hired data-oriented people in the off-season and some have struggled so far. The list includes the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs – four of the bottom seven teams in the league standings.

“Those teams haven’t magically transformed overnight into good teams, and people will jump on and say, ‘I told you that analytics [stuff] didn’t work. Those teams are no good,’ ” said Toronto assistant general manager Kyle Dubas, the summer’s highest-profile hire. “You go on my Twitter timeline after any game the Maple Leafs lose and see that firsthand.”

There is a simple explanation, though.

“It’s not magic,” Dubas said. “It’s not really magic. It’s a process, and it’s hard work, and it’s difficult, and you have to push your way through it.”

To have the best chance of success, no matter the philosophy, you need buy-in throughout the organization and time for the parts to align. You need management to draft, develop and acquire players that fit. You need the coaches to use the players in a way that fits.

View photos The Leafs hired Dubas and created an analytics department in July, trying to catch up with other NHL teams. More

Some teams have been using analytics for years, like the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings – winners of four of the last five Stanley Cups. Other teams are just getting started. There are different levels of buy-in from team to team.

The Leafs are a fascinating case study. They went from thumbing their noses at analytics to embracing analytics. They went from leaving their analytics budget unspent – choosing not to use their considerable financial advantage as the NHL’s richest team – to investing in an analytics department. It hasn’t paid off. Yet.

“There’s teams that are so far even ahead of us in our own league, and we’re trying to play catch-up as fast as we can,” Dubas said. “You’ve got to watch it, because if you try to rush it, you stumble and fall.”

Dubas spoke Saturday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The title of his session: “How analytics has limited the impact of cognitive bias on personnel decisions.” In other words, he explained how analytics had helped him avoid bad influences and illogical decisions as the GM of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, shedding light on how analytics might help the Leafs.

At the end, he showed a graph. A red line showed the Greyhounds’ shot attempt differential from 2011-12 to present. It trended down, bottomed out for a while and finally shot up like a hot stock. A blue line showed the Leafs’ shot attempt differential this season. It traced the red line almost exactly at the start.

Where will it go from here? Well, the Greyhounds finished ninth in their conference in 2011-12, then sixth in 2012-13, then second in 2013-14. They’re first this season. The Leafs are 14th in their conference right now.

Dubas said he thought it would take longer with the Leafs. In the OHL, players are drafted and step right into the lineup. Their eligibility expires when they’re 20 years old, and the roster turns over. In the NHL, players are drafted and take years to develop. They can sign long-term contracts. There is a salary cap.

“It just takes time,” Dubas said.

* * * * *

The Leafs were a referendum on analytics last season. They were one of the worst possession teams in the NHL and allowed a league-high 35.9 shots per game, and as many predicted in the analytics community, it caught up with them. They missed the playoffs.

Story continues