I used to be pretty anti metric in the early days, 10 years or so ago. Back in the early days of Corsi when there was zero consideration for shot quality, for example, there were logic gaps big enough to drive a 747 through.
That said I have definitely come around over the years and consider them a valuable resource. By keeping an open mind I have found that they have challenged many of my preconceptions held and developed through my amateur playing career (not at a very high level of course)…basic and IMO non controversial things like spending more time in your opponents zone is a great way to defend.
Now when I watch games I often look at the metrics in real time and ask myself if they confirm or counter what I thought I just observed. Vastly more often than not they align to my perception of what I just watched. I would challenge any skeptics to test out the same exercise.
I have absolutely no doubt that Boyle has a TON of experience and insight to offer. Insight I could never dream of possessing as someone who never played at the D1 level let alone the NHL. But I do wonder how much, if any, time he has spend challenging his preconceived assumptions instilled in him 10-30 years ago. Maybe he has - I have no idea. But as we know this sport has changed a lot in a short period of time. And so often the support in the media or from team sources for players that don’t fit the current analytics narrative seems knee jerk and often tribal. Which is what I often find grating and insufficient.
Now that said I am purely talking about basic “counting” statistics like #of shot attempts, scoring chances, and expected goals. When we get into a predictive model made by some guy on Twitter I take it with a heft grain of salt.
