The First 20 Games
on December 5th, 2011 by Pulver Sports
Following up on my post after the first ten-game segment, here’s a look at how success or lack thereof after twenty translated into a playoff spot. All sixteen teams that have had 29+ points after 20 games have made the playoffs and only one of nineteen teams that were at or under 16 made it [...]
more..HHOF Breakdown & Looking Ahead
on November 23rd, 2011 by Pulver Sports
After watching last week’s Hall of Fame Induction ceremony that featured both a seventh round pick (Doug Gilmour) and undrafted player (Ed Belfour) I thought I’d take a look at where recent HOF inductees have been drafted. Over the last ten years of inductees, excluding players from older generations and players who did not play [...]
more..Draft Picks by Team
on November 2nd, 2011 by Pulver Sports
To get a sense of which teams have drafted well in recent memory, we analyzed opening rosters across the league. You’ll see that some organizations have stocked not only their own organization but those around the league. Others haven’t fared nearly as well on draft day due to trading of picks and poor selections:
* Montreal leads the way with 34 players that they’ve drafted on opening day rosters, followed by New Jersey at 31 and Pittsburgh at 29.
* At the bottom of the list is Tampa Bay with only 13 players, followed by Calgary at 14 and a four-way tie at 16.
* Looking at which teams have produced and retained home-grown talent, Nashville blows away the competition at 20, followed by Buffalo and Detroit at 15 each.
* Calgary had just two players they drafted on their opening day roster – Mikael Backlund (injured) and David Moss (7th round pick in 220). Philadelphia and Phoenix came in next with five apiece.
* In all, 39% of players leaguewide were suiting up for the tema that drafted them and the number climbs to 45% when you remove the UDFAs.
Size Factor
on October 31st, 2011 by Pulver Sports
It’s not exactly breaking news that players continue to get taller and stronger. If you look back at guys who were once feared in the 60s, 70s & 80s it’s interesting to think about how they’d stack up against today’s prototypical NHL players.
Almost five percent of the league’s players are 6’5 and up and almost a quarter are 6’3 and up.
There are 25% more players who are 6’3 and taller than there are under 6 ft.
Four out of every five players are 6 ft or over.
Interestingly enough undrafted players are, on average, shorter than NHL players. To me that means size is overvalued at the draft which allows smaller players to slip through the cracks as 18 and 19 year-olds.
Only 16.8% of undrafted players are 6’3 or taller, compared to 25.3% for drafted players.
15.8% of undrafted players are 5’10 or shorter, compared to just 6.9% for drafted players.
11.9% of undrafted players are 5’9 or shorter, compared to 2.1% for drafted players.
So 44% of players on opening day rosters under 5’9 went undrafted, even though undrafted players only make up 12.2% of players leaguewide.
Of the 14 who did get drafted, only two went in the first round (Kane & Ennis), two went in the second round (Cammalleri & Roy) and two went in the third round (Marchand & Gionta).
The remaining 19 players who are 5’9 or shorter were either mid-to-late round picks or weren’t drafted at all.
When it comes to scouting for the NHL draft scouts certainly put a lot of stock in size.
Maybe too much?
The First 10 Games
on October 26th, 2011 by Pulver Sports
You can’t clinch a playoff spot in the first 10 games but a fast start matters.
Since the lockout, teams that have posted 16+ points in their first ten games have made the playoffs 16 out of 18 times (89%).
The only two exceptions were the 05-06 Canucks (started 8-1-1, finished with 92 pts) and 10-11 Blues (started 7-2-1, finished with 87 pts).
At the other end of the spectrum, teams that have gained 6 or less points in the first ten have missed the playoffs on all thirteen occasions, most recently the Devils who started last year at 2-7-1.
Prior to this season, the teams with the best & worst combined starts over the past three years are:
Detroit, 39-14-7, 6 playoff appearances
Montreal, 38-14-8, 5 playoff appearances
Buffalo, 38-18-4, 4 playoff appearances
Phoenix, 23-33-4, 2 playoff appearances
Florida, 24-33-3, 0 playoff appearances
Atlanta, 24-30-6, 1 playoff appearance
The best single-season start belongs to the Sabres who went 10-0 in 2006-07.
The 2009-10 Leafs had the worst start at 1-7-2, while the 06-07 Coyotes and 07-08 Thrashers also had just four pts (2-8-0).
With their 0-7-1 start, Columbus has a very strong chance at matching or beating those numbers.
To make the playoffs they’ll have to dig out of an early season hole deeper than any team has climbed post-lockout.
Free Agent Contract Summary
on October 24th, 2011 by Pulver Sports
From July 1st at noon when the markets opened through to the time the puck was dropped on opening night, by my count 441 contracts were signed totaling 762 years worth $1,311,292,600.
The most expensive contract signed was worth $60 million (Brad Richards) and sixty-six players signed for the league minimum of $525k, many on two-way deals.
There were thirteen contracts signed worth more than $20 million and those deals made up 33% of the total of all contracts signed ($434.050 mil).
Another seventeen contracts were signed worth between $10 mil and $20 mil. The top thirty accounted for 51% of all deals signed ($669.475 mil).
Of the contracts signed:
240 UFAs signed for $512,502,500 – an average of $2.135 mil/deal
146 RFAs signed for $508,417,600 – an average of $3.482 mil/deal
9 Extensions worth $149,200,000 – an average of $16.58 mil/deal
46 Entry Level Deals worth $141,172,500 – an average of $3.07 mil/deal
Almost an identical amount was spent on UFAs as RFAs but the average RFA deal was worth 63% more per player.
Only two UFA deals were signed worth more than $20 mil and a total of eleven were worth over $10 mil (7 forwards, 4 defencemen).
Twelve deals were worth between $5-10 million (9 F, 3 D).
The most expensive package signed by a goaltender was $4 mil.
Teams certainly showed more willingness to pay RFAs than UFAs and to buy up UFA years from their current young players rather than spend big money on this year’s crop of UFAs.
19.9% of RFAs were signed at $2 mil+ AAV compared to 12.5% for UFAs
7.5% of RFAs were signed for 3 years or longer, compared to 4.6% of UFAs.
In all, the money continues to shift to the younger players and teams are choosing to retain their own instead of paying to bring in talent, which in turn is weakening the UFA classes. Star players who do hit the market are rare which drives up their cost considerably.
Pulver Sports Aligns With Tolensky
on September 26th, 2011 by Pulver Sports
Pulver Sports is pleased to announce that it has formed a strategic alliance with Daniel Tolensky. Tolensky will work with Pulver Sports as a Business Analyst and Marketplace Specialist.
“Daniel is uniquely situated in that he’s been building his business credentials at the same time he’s been building up his hockey credentials,” said Pulver. “I’m impressed with his ‘genius like’ analytical abilities combined with his creativity, a deep knowledge and passion for the sport. I have been following his blogs and ‘tweets’ (3,000 on Twitter – @dtolensky) for quite some time and simply put he is a person I wanted part of our team.”
Daniel is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Extreme Group, an advertising agency based out of Toronto and Halifax. He has a Business Degree from the Schulich School of Business, his Certified Management Accounting Designation and studied negotiation at the Harvard Business School.
Daniel is also a recognized hockey writer who has been a member of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association and penned stories for TSN.ca and The Hockey News. Daniel has been referenced on Hockey Night in Canada, among many media outlets and has appeared on multiple radio shows – including a regular guest spot on XM’s ‘Business of Hockey’ show.
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