Reluctance to Adapt: Brian Burke
- Ian Boisvert
- Oct 30, 2016
- 2 min read
Photo from thestar.com
Despite the revolutionary work done the hockey analytics community, there are people in positions of power in the National Hockey League who are reluctant to use analytics as a primary source of information. One of the most outspoken doubters of the analytic movement is Brian Burke, one time general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and current president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames.
In an interview with Michaela Vernava of the New England Sports Network (NESN) in March 2015, Burke offered his opinion of analytics, saying “My view is that analytics is a useful part of preparing for the draft and analyzing trades. It’s an important part of our business, but it’s not the primary tool in player evaluation and it never will be, in my mind.”
Doubling down on his reluctance to use analytics as a primary tool, Burke appeared on Sportsnet 960 radio in Calgary in September 2015 to clarify. Burke elaborated on his dismissal of analytics when he said, “I’m not a big analytics guy. I think analytics are useful and important, but in our organization (The Calgary Flames), they’re the third tool we use to evaluate players.”
The two tools Burke puts ahead of analytic research are “eyeballs” and character assessments. These two categories, according to Burke, encompass “All the stuff a computer is never going to show you.”
The validity of these statements is questionable when looking at Burke’s track record. While Burke built a Stanley Cup Champion in Anaheim in 2007 with the Ducks, Burke was also responsible for building the Toronto Maple Leafs and failing to reach the playoffs in his five years as president and general manager.
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