The Habs announced Thursday morning that they’ve hired a new data analyst.
Marc Bergevin says Habs have hired someone to fill an analytics role, would not say who or what the position is.
— Аrpon Basu (@ArponBasu) September 15, 2016
As per usual with the Canadiens, the veil of secrecy is present, although this has to be seen as a positive move in terms of organizational improvements. The Habs used Matt Pfeffer last season, but declined to renew his contract at the end of the season. Pfeffer argued against the idea of trading Weber for Subban, which was ultimately not enough to nix the trade.
Seeing as the Canadiens are one of the richest teams in the league, it’s encouraging that they seem to be intent on delving into statistical analysis. Ideally they would set up a complete research and development team like the Toronto Maple Leafs have in place, but that takes time.
Many were worried that the Habs had abandoned the idea of analytics following the disastrous season in 2015-16, but that’s not the case.
