If you want to really get your hockey stats geekery fix this morning, head over to HockeyAnalytics.com and check out Alan Ryder’s 2009 NHL Review (PDF). It’s a densely packed, well thought-out analysis that aims to determine that amount that each individual NHL player contributed to his team’s success in the 2008-9 season, taking both offense and defense into account, along with a player’s propensity to take and draw penalties.
It’s always an entertaining read, and for Nashville fans, you’ll find some support for Pekka Rinne as the proper Calder Trophy winner around page 40. Check out this snippet, from his comparison of Rinne with Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason:
Mason led in the headline statistics of wins and goals against average. He also led in games and minutes played. Rinne was the leader in save percentage, but not by much. The 20 year old surprise Columbus star was a landslide winner of the Calder Trophy on the basis of a win in 4 out of 5 of the conventional ways of looking at a goaltender.
But most of the conventional goaltender statistics are useless. Wins are a consequence of a team effort and goals against average are a measure of team defense.
It’s well worth your lunch hour today to print out Ryder’s 2009 NHL Review and give yourself a good, deep think about the game of hockey.