Analytics are changing hockey.



Even if you don’t notice it. Passion projects that people like me rely on are going offline and NHL clubs are staffing their creators to bolster their own in-house analytics teams. With the amount of data available, teams are doing their fans a disservice by ignoring it.



No analytics person will say stats and numbers can build the perfect team. No sane scout or GM thinks scouting and “eye testing” can build the perfect team. The perfect middle ground is where everyone strives to be.



My goal at The Athletic will be to drag Minnesota Wild coverage out of the statistical dark ages, no offense to Michael Russo, of course. With my analytics features and Russo’s conventional hockey wisdom. That perfect middle ground is where we should be.



My claim to fame is Game Score charts that I post on Twitter at @stateofstats, which I urge you to follow. I post charts there every morning after a...