Yes, your favourite NHL team should still be trying to acquire Erik Karlsson

Something I think people get misconstrued when it comes to the concept of offence in hockey is that it’s not always just about scoring goals.

A significant part of it is about possession of the puck and keeping it out of your own zone. It’s a reason why the Edmonton Oilers going after Erik Karlsson made so much sense.

Did it all work out for them in acquiring Mattias Ekholm instead? Absolutely it did. No denying how significant his impact has been on the team.

And for as strong of an in-zone defenceman as Ekholm is, a major strength of his game is getting the puck into the offensive zone.

This, in turn, is why analytics, namely things like shot attempt share and expected goal share, are so important in hockey. If you have a player who is + in either one of these categories, it means that they are spending more time in the offensive zone than in the defensive zone. And remember — the word expected goal share really just means “of what quality were the shot attempts taken.”

If you are spending more time in the offensive zone than in the defensive zone, you have a greater chance to score goals and not be scored on. That’s how you win hockey games. It’s a simple concept that has existed since the dawn of hockey’s first organized game on March 3rd, 1875.

James G. A. Creighton, a McGill law student and later reporter for The Montreal Gazette, is believed to be the one who helped organize the game. Held in Montreal’s Victoria Skating Rink, the match featured nine men per side and saw “notwithstanding the brilliant play of Captain Torrance’s team Captain Creighton’s men carried the day, winning two games to the single of the Torrance nine.”

While the flags, now known as posts, were set eight feet apart Creighton’s club’s ability to put what was then a flat block of wood between the flags is what led to them winning. That wouldn’t have happened if his eight com