Mike Milbury slams decision to include more analytics in NHL broadcast.

The National Hockey League has been one of the slowest sports in North America to incorporate advanced statistical analysis, otherwise known simply as analytics. It has been a long held belief that hockey's "old school" mentality has held it back in this regard, but there may be some exceptions where keeping analytics away from the game has actually helped. 

I believe that one such example as come up this week and in a very odd circumstance I find myself agreeing with one of the National Hockey League's most notorious curmudgeons, and one of its most controversial figures in Mike Milbury. The former NHL player, coach and general manager has long since taken his talents up to the broadcast boost where he serves as part of the entertainment for NBC's broadcast of the games, but analytics have now entered Milbury's world as well and he is not all that happy about it. 

If Milbury is to be believe it appears as though NBC, or the NHL itself, is trying to do a better job of incorporating analytics into its broadcast. Now while that may sound like a great idea to hardcore hockey fans, I fear that it could take away from the experience for more casual fans who have learned to trust their eyes more than the numbers on a stat sheet. Milbury was clearly against the idea and he made his feelings public this week when he spoke candidly about the potential changes. 

“I have zero interest in it,” Milbury said this past week, reached by telephone at his home by the Boston Globe. “I know they’re counting on it, but I’ve made my feelings known. No thanks. I mean, every move measured and calculated . . . what the [bleep] is the fun in that?! I guess I could be wrong, and there’ll be something in all of it that will catch my eye, but . . . ”

It is clear that Millbury values the human element of the game far more than he does the numbers, and for the purpose of an NHL broadcast I think he's probably right about this one. 

“Things like, you know, why is Bruce Cassidy making a line change at a certain point in a game?” said Milbury, who was once the Bruins coach himself. “How is a team adjusting its power play or forecheck . . . what are a player’s strengths? That, for me, is the fun of it. Now we’re going to be talking about equations based on that? Come on, really?”

What do you think? Are you in agreement with Milbury on this one? Or does he simply need to get with the times?