from Noah Davis and Michael Lopez of FiveThirtyEight,
Like pitcher wins in baseball and quarterback rating in football, the NHL’s second assist isn’t a great barometer of talent. Carolina Hurricanes analyst Eric Tulsky once showed that secondary-assist totals for forwards at even strength are mostly noise, not a reflection of player skill. But we’ve also identified another problem with the second assist: The likelihood of one being awarded varies greatly depending on the arena and, in certain cases, whether the player is wearing the home team’s uniform. (This despite the fact that each arena’s official scorer is assigned by the league, not the team itself.)
Point totals have a demonstrable effect on awards such as the Art Ross and Hart trophies (MVP); Crosby, for instance, doubled up on those honors in 2013-14, one of six times an Art Ross winner also took the Hart in the 11 seasons since the 2004-05 lockout — with a seventh likely coming this season in the form of Patrick Kane. They also help determine player salaries and incentive-based bonuses. So it’s worth asking whether certain players have been unfairly valued because of the way different official scorers award secondary assists.
In fairness to Crosby, he’s far from the only player who earns a disproportionate number of secondary assists at home.
thanks to a KK member for the pointer
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