I swear every year pro sports leagues try and out duel each other when it comes to analytics. For the most part traditional stats work, but I understand the need to analyze more than just points scored or given up. Which leads me to the new Corsi stat. Created by an Edmonton blogger when he heard a league GM say on radio, there should be a stat to accurately track shot differential. The NHL adopted the statistic and it’s currently being tracked this season.

So what the hell is Corsi? Well, thanks to the good people at Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com this is it.

  • Corsi = Shots + Missed Shots + Blocked Shots

It’s fairly simple when you read the formula, it’s just the addition of all shots attempted, rather than the standard ‘Shots’ stat which disregards a large number of attempts. With a Corsi rating, teams can look at pucks shot at their net, versus shot at their opponent’s net. It’s a good barometer of how aggressive and efficient team offenses can be. Corsi can also help teams game plan defensively knowing your opponent’s average shot differential.

Avalanche Coach Patrick Roy said he didn’t like Corsi because it’s tracking all shots. Roy’s concern is Corsi tracks poor angle and red line shots. However, our favorite Brough, Pro Hockey Talk’s Jason Brough, pointed out, not many NHL teams are taking horrible shots to boost their Corsi rating. Sorry Patrick.

Next is Fenwick.

  • Fenwick = Shots + Missed Shots

Fenwick is just Corsi without blocked shots. I would think Corsi and Fenwick would be a good tool for organizations. If the coach is concerned with poor Fenwick rating, he may have the team shoot less and more efficiently. Or, start passing more.

Imagine if Corsi ratings were charted during the Gretzky-Oiler days or the Lemieux-Penguin days. The shot differential must’ve been ridiculous as is. Add in blocked and missed shots and their Corsi ratings would’ve been sky high. Although maybe skewed because they didn’t miss the net much.

All I know is that these stats are certainly the future, and if we are going to have success here in Vegas, we’ll have to have someone who can dive balls deep into analytics. We know a guy…but he doesn’t seem to want to give us a straight answer.