from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

Michael Schuckers likes numbers. Schuckers is an associate professor of statistics at St. Lawrence University and director of the school’s Quantitative Resource Center. Schuckers is also cofounder of Statistical Sports Consulting, where he applies his experience in analytics toward providing numbers-based conclusions in hockey.

There are numbers, however, that Schuckers and some of his peers in analytics do not like. They are 34, 4, and 13.5 million: Rob Scuderi’s age, the number of contract years he received from the Penguins July 5, and his total salary for returning to Pittsburgh.

Of all the signings during unrestricted free agency, the former Boston College defenseman may have landed the biggest head-scratcher.

“That’s the one that sticks out to me this year,” Schuckers said. “Pittsburgh is supposed to be a team that’s fairly analytic. All the analytics I’ve seen suggest he’s well past his prime.”

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