The thing about changes in tactics is this: if someone halfway credible asserts that there’s been a change, nobody really wants to say otherwise because who wants to admit that they can’t actually see the Emperor’s fine new clothes? In the absence of good hard data, of which there is little in hockey, it’s hard to really say anything about these things. As a result, anyone can pretty much say anything about what hockey teams are trying to do and it tends to pass without challenge. It’s great if you’re in the bullshit business because you can say whatever the hell you want and call it a day but if you care about being right about things, it’s frustrating because it makes it very difficult to pin things down.



One of the threads running through the 2017-18 season for me has been the question of why the Toronto Maple Leafs were such a mediocre possession team. It’s one of the most important questions that the Maple Leafs need to...