Scott Lewis

Like the overly aggressive kid down the street that got away with whipping me in the face with a broken bicycle chain when I was six, if Wayne Simmonds says he didn’t do it then Wayne Simmonds didn’t do it. Mr. Simmonds met with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan Colin Campbell on Tuesday to discuss Sean Avery’s allegations that Simmonds had called him a “faggot” on the ice during Monday’s exhibition game between the Rangers and Flyers. After reviewing the incident with Simmonds, Campbell announced that the league would not be handing down any punishment.

Simmonds, who had a sudden case of amnesia during his post-game chat with the media Monday, denied the allegations on Tuesday. Without an official able to back Avery’s claims, Simmonds will walk away unscathed by the NHL’s hammer of justice.

Here’s the crux of Campbell’s statement:

“… we have looked into the allegations relating to the possible use of a homophobic slur by a Flyers player in the Rangers/Flyers preseason game last night in Philadelphia. Since there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice, we have been unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom. Specifically, Flyers Player Wayne Simmonds has expressly denied using the homophobic slur he is alleged to have said. Additionally, none of the on-ice officials close to the altercation in question heard any inappropriate slurs uttered by either of the primary antagonists. In light of this, we are unable at this time to take any disciplinary action with respect to last night’s events. To the extent we become aware of additional information conclusively establishing that an inappropriate slur was invoked, we are reserving the option to revisit the matter.”

So unless an official or the talking head between the benches magically remembers Simmonds shouting a homophobic slur in Avery’s direction, then this case would appear to be closed. And that’s a shame.

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While advanced statistics aren’t likely to inspire Michael Lewis to write a book on any of the handful of NHL teams that have begun to rely upon them to build their rosters, it’s become increasingly challenging for the anti-stats set to find a viable argument against the use of them for evaluation of talent. We’re probably still a few years away from your local Statler and Waldorf from tossing a “Corsi” or “GVT” around in a Monday morning Tim Horton’s hockey conversation, but the work that guys like Gabriel Desjardins have been doing for a few years has penetrated both mainstream hockey coverage and NHL executive offices.

James Mirtle penned two excellent pieces on advanced metrics at the Globe and Mail over the weekend, including an article examining the challenges that hockey’s sabermetrics have faced in catching on across the board, and a second article on the half-dozen or so NHL teams that have integrated ‘fancy stats’ into how they evaluate players. Both are well worth a read, even if the term “Moneypuck” is entirely insufferable.

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