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How three ‘fringe’ hockey departments operate, and what teams use them for – Sportsnet.ca

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If you’re even a casual NHL fan, there’s likely a number of team operation departments you’ve become familiar with as being a standard. You don’t flinch when you hear the words “Player Development Staff” or “Analytics Department,” and have at least heard of “Sport Science,” but … are you sure you know what they do? In fairness, are we sure that teams themselves know what they do? (My guesses here are “probably not exactly” and “not always,” for the record.)

Below is an overview to better understand just what these groups do within an NHL club, how much power they hold over the tangible team decisions fans see each day, and how they can be used and misused.

We’ll start with what seems most necessary – I mean, of course you need to develop your prospects, right?

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Player Development Staff

What they do in theory: They work with a team’s prospects to help them become all they can be. They give young players the best shot to fulfill their potential. They take a team’s fringe players and turn them into capital-P Players.

The issue: Everyone has one of these departments, which means by sheer math half the teams are doing a below average job with this admirable, but rather nebulous aspiration. (It’s worth noting that even those doing a below average job today are probably doing exponentially better than teams were 20 years ago, even 10.)

What they do in practice: This would look very different from organization to organization. Given this is one of the few areas a team with financial clout can wield their advantage, here’s where you’ll see certain teams triple the less-funded ones in staff and resources. My experience with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization saw no expense spared here, including the thing that makes my co-worker Brian Burke most annoyed: affording the AHL team a second bus just for the players so rookies don’t have to double up and can sleep better on the road after games.

I’ll try to keep this more general and concise, so: the development staff starts each summer at development camp with each prospect and gets to know every kid on the ice, in the gym, and gets a sense for what they need. They help sort these talents for the organization, and from there, they try to put them in positions to succeed with workout programs that lead up to the season.

The best teams stay in touch with these players all throughout the next season with regular check-ins (and more if the players want), which may include in-person visits. The department will try to go through each player’s video at different times and show them areas where they can improve. If they can get on the ice with them during the season, they will. The drafted hockey player – particularly those draftees of well-funded teams – have some safety nets undrafted players simply do not.

One key area of difference from org to org: how much development do your NHL “prospects” still require (and hey, what about the vets?), and are you willing to find time for that? In-season schedules can be jam-packed, so can you find opportunities to continue working on the skill of your team? Some coaches will say “we have to,” some will tell you it simply isn’t feasible.

The issues: Part of the problem with “player development” staffs is that few are exactly sure who’s good at it, what works (the growth of technology has muddied the waters further here), and how much success has really been had (aside from the department heads responsible for the whole operation). As prospects try-and-fail or try-and-succeed, so much can be chalked up to the attributes of those individual players. “Well, he was just a lazy kid” is just as easy as “Well, that guy was a god-given talent.”

That leads to obvious questions: How many more NHL players would a great player development staff churn out than a good one, or even a bad one? (One every few years?) How much better could a good prospect get with the right help? How much would they stagnate without it? And can anyone tell whether those involved made a tangible difference in either direction?

I worry that sort of vagueness lends itself to recently retired and well-liked players being handed vaguely defined “player development roles.” I think a ton of great teachers and mentors will obviously come from the NHL, more than anywhere else. Plus, when you know a player and like that player, when they retire, hey, maybe you’ve found the perfect fit for that role from within your organization.

But I’m willing to bet this changes as the years pass, where we’ll see how effective talented players from around the world who also have experience in teaching younger players — and don’t have millions of dollars in the bank – can be in these roles. To me, good player development is a “boots on the ground” job and I’m not sold every former NHL leader is 100 per cent willing to take that on to the extent necessary to achieve maximal gains. (Some are! Just saying the pool should be deeper here than the almost-exclusive hires of recently retired NHLers.)

That little footnote aside, there’s still just a lot of figuring out going on in these roles. How do you best support a developing player and personality? Some need more carrots than sticks, some need more emotional support, and others simply need to be pointed in the right direction. Catch-all methods don’t work, which begs flexibility of big organizations, which … is never the strength of big organizations.

You can make the case that the need for good player development at the pro level is currently at its peak given the salary cap structure (and it being flat for years to come), while the understanding of how to use all the tools available is still in its infancy.

The Analytics Department

What they do in theory: They present the team with the details your eyes and brain can’t process in real-time. Between periods and after every game, coaches are presented with numbers, from how successful D-men were at defending the blue line, to their success on turning retrievals into breakouts, to how each line fared in shot attempts (and against which opposing line), and on and on.

They prepare info packs on upcoming opponents, optimal lineup configurations, and present big picture information about their own teams. They answer obscure questions like “What are the combined shot attempts for and against when Travis Dermott is on the ice playing his off-side against playoff-level opponents?” or whatever the obscure question is that a coach may have for them.

How anyone could hate on a team for having a department that provides answers to questions about situations where they previously flew blind is staggeringly dumb.

The issues: What percentage of total value should this input be given when paired up with eye test and informed intuition? How much weight do you give to individual stats when the answers lead to more questions? (In my above example, maybe you want to know how many of those games Dermott played with a specific partner, in which case sample sizes grow smaller and smaller, and the information gets harder to value.)

And then there’s paralysis by analysis. If at some point the numbers give you information that ties your opinions all in a knot, can you step out of the Zach Galifianakis GIF and get back to just making the decision you simply trust the most?

The super-unique issue: Do the final decision-makers listen to them at all? I’m not asking “are they heard,” every team will go through the motions there, but are they actually listened to? This has been a major issue in the early going with analytics departments and NHL teams. You can’t be a team that doesn’t have people running numbers. That would be embarrassing and a PR nightmare, for all information is just that – information — and you’re free to do with it what you will. So, you might as well have the information.

With that, some teams have hired analytics departments despite not believing in what they provide, and those voices are left internally unheard. They’re Milton in Office Space, left working in metaphorical Storage Room B, collecting a paycheck that’s an organizational rounding error which saves the team from being a troglodytic punchline.

This has also been a failing on the side of analytics hires, to a smaller extent. Effectively communicating your ideas and speaking the language of those you’re trying to convince is part of almost every job, and there hasn’t always been a smooth conductor between the two groups to say, “This is what this means for our team, practically.” By and large though, where analytics departments have been shut out, it’s been a failing of close-mindedness from those uncomfortable with new ideas.

Strides have been made, huge ones, over the past five years. But I’d say a quarter of NHL teams have people in positions of decision-making power who’d just rather not hear from the analytics department at all. (Also, pulling numbers like “a quarter” out of thin air is not how these departments work, I assure you.)

And finally,

Sport Science

What they do in theory: They focus on squeezing the most possible juice from the fruit, trying to maximize every player’s ability for their individual gain, and in turn, the team’s. They try to minimize injury and illness, since being in the lineup as many nights as possible is a value for the team.

What they do in practice: They provide information to the coaching staff about who needs what to get the most out of them using a variety of data points, conversation, and their education. I’ll speak generally about my time with the Marlies as examples, though there’s a big range on how teams treat this aspect of the game.

Every player on the Leafs/Marlies wore what looked like sport bras for practice, which monitored their heart rates and their physical outputs (this wasn’t for the coaches to see, luckily for lazy players). If those in that department noticed players working as hard as ever and getting way less out of each stride, something’s off, and they’d work on getting that player right. (Was it a groin issue? A rest issue?)

They had each player fill out a survey upon waking up every day about how they felt physically, about their mental health and more before they came to the rink. They operated as a go-between, advocating for the player while trying to get the most out them for the team. They worked with the strength and conditioning team, they encouraged different training (like yoga), and tried to provide what each unique player needed. (Hint: the answer almost always involves getting more sleep, or possibly more rest and more sleep, or maybe more sleep.)

The issue: If you’re on the sport science team, the worst thing that can happen is players getting hurt and being unavailable. You don’t want players to be dragging on the ice, and you don’t want players falling below expectations.

And so, the best thing to advocate for those players is rest, a la Kawhi Leonard. You’d want players to get more practice days off, to skip morning skates, and to not play unreasonable sums of ice time in games. Your job depends on presenting healthy players.

You can imagine how many NHL coaches would feel about being told Player X is unavailable yet again because the sport science team says they think they could use a little bit more rest. I mean it’s pro hockey, everyone’s tired, how will the rest of the team feel about this player sitting out yet again?

If you run an NHL team, part of the gig of being involved in a physical profession is being rugged and reliable. The NHL normally has an 82-game season followed by two months of rigorous hockey. Nobody wants a delicate sports car that can do great things in theory, but isn’t road ready day in, day out. It’s half the reason some hockey people love reliable steel-and-not-plastic, pickup-truck-style hockey players. Showing up is half the battle.

This is still an area of mild conflict, as of course coaches want healthy players who are able to be at their best. And if they knew giving them a day off here or there could aid that, of course they’d give it. But will it help? Will it help more than getting more reps in another area of the game, tired or not? Finding the line between protecting an asset and coddling players who’d of course rather not practice … it can be tough to find.

There is no shortage of information coming to those who have to make decisions on an NHL team each day. What changes from team to team is who values what and how much, and I’m not sure there’s ever going to be perfect answers to be found anywhere.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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