Advanced stats have slowly infiltrated the NHL over the past several seasons. Some teams continue to publicly ignore advanced statistics, but the majority of the league has at least recognized the value in looking beyond the traditional measurements. As terms such as Corsi, Fenwick and PDO continue to grow in populatiry, Dan Bylsma warns that it’s important to not place too much emphasis on the Corsi statistic.
Bylsma, the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres, is clearly in favor of using advanced stats, but he is willing to point out the limitations found in the Corsi stat.
Bylsma’s comments, as seen on WGR 550:
“I think you win hockey games by playing in the offensive zone, the puck’s there, you win the game. Corsi is a general version of that, it’s not perfect, its shot based so you can have possession of the puck and never shoot it and your Corsi is going to be zero, so you have to be careful when you talk about it. Some people fire the puck from the outside, so you have to be careful where the shots come from and the quality of shot when you talk Corsi.
The other generalization about Corsi and a lot of the analytics is it’s based on the league average and me and Craig Rivet are always going to be below the league average and Sidney Crosby and Jack Eichel are always going to be above the league average. A shot for Craig and I is not the same as it is for Jack Eichel and Sidney Crosby, so some of those things you have to be real careful about like who is shooting the puck as well as the quality of shot.”
The points made by Bylsma may seem obvious to more serious hockey fans, but they’re a solid reminder to those just beginning to use advanced stats. Corsi has its place, but it’s better when it’s supported by other elements. Zone starts and overall possession numbers can go a long way in completing the rest of the picture and filling in the blanks. Shot quality and shot location are other factors not taken into consideration by Corsi, but that would require much deeper analysis which goes beyond the simplicity found in Corsi.
