The sports world was given a new perspective on analyzing team management on a grand scale following the 2003 release of Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball,” an inside look at how the Oakland Athletics had built a competitive team through the use of advanced statistics. Instead of putting an emphasis on buying marquee players, the A’s front office put an emphasis on getting on base to try and score as many runs as possible.
In the hockey world, pretty much every NHL franchise has a department of analytics in some shape or form. In some cases it is just one or two people, the New York Rangers’ director of Player care & development/analytics and hockey technology is Jim Sullivan.