This unofficially tracked statistic does mean something, the question is what exactly? I think for most hockey fans the first instinct is that this is not a good statistic to lead your team in. Getting hit is inherently a bad thing in hockey. However, hits against (HitA) leaders on any given team tend to be some of the very best players on said team.
One of the first things to acknowledge about real time statistics like hits, takeaways and giveaways is that they are very susceptible to arena bias. In other words, some humans differ on what they believe is a hit and what is not. This can be attributed to arena noise for the home crowd, personal bias for a player or simply human error. Ultimately, comparing individual player real time stats against other players on other teams is introducing a high degree of error.
With that being said I think these real time stats can be most useful when compared in a relative sense to their own teammates. They should experience the approximate same arena bias relative to each other. There's a possibility that a hit stat tracker at Pepsi Center LOVES Landeskog but for the sake of argument lets just assume they are as objective as they can be.
For the 2014 regular season here were the leaders in hits against for the Avalanche. I've also included TOI and some Corsi data.
Player | Pos. | TOI | HitA | CF | HitF | HitD | MS | BS |
Gabriel Landeskog | L | 1511.90 | 134 | 384 | 176 | 42 | 72 | 90 |
Nathan MacKinnon | C | 1422.00 | 128 | 389 | 57 | -71 | 79 | 68 |
Maxime Talbot | C | 1142.10 | 126 | 172 | 105 | -21 | 21 | 41 |
Cory Sarich | D | 922.50 | 121 | 111 | 107 | -14 | 23 | 40 |
Jan Hejda | D | 1740.50 | 109 | 154 | 170 | 61 | 31 | 48 |
Erik Johnson | D | 1840.10 | 105 | 311 | 136 | 31 | 53 | 101 |
Matt Duchene | C | 1312.90 | 101 | 374 | 53 | -48 | 76 | 81 |
Tyson Barrie | D | 1186.40 | 97 | 207 | 50 | -47 | 40 | 66 |
Nick Holden | D | 1008.60 | 79 | 147 | 118 | 39 | 34 | 47 |
Jamie McGinn | L | 1246.20 | 78 | 311 | 140 | 62 | 86 | 58 |
PA Parenteau | R | 932.10 | 75 | 182 | 35 | -40 | 37 | 35 |
John Mitchell | C | 1220.00 | 73 | 206 | 112 | 39 | 43 | 56 |
Cody McLeod | L | 733.00 | 70 | 110 | 148 | 78 | 13 | 21 |
Andre Benoit | D | 1595.80 | 69 | 235 | 58 | -11 | 38 | 84 |
Nate Guenin | D | 1174.70 | 67 | 103 | 119 | 52 | 18 | 33 |
Ryan O'Reilly | C | 1585.10 | 65 | 320 | 22 | -43 | 50 | 69 |
Patrick Bordeleau | L | 564.60 | 60 | 64 | 178 | 118 | 13 | 14 |
Paul Stastny | C | 1305.40 | 54 | 241 | 54 | 0 | 49 | 41 |
Marc-Andre Cliche | C | 802.10 | 32 | 104 | 25 | -7 | 18 | 17 |
Brad Malone | C | 216.50 | 31 | 32 | 79 | 48 | 9 | 7 |
Ryan Wilson | D | 410.60 | 27 | 49 | 53 | 26 | 5 | 21 |
What is it we know about a hockey hit? Taking a hit can be bad, good or indifferent. I can think of multiple scenarios from personal experience and from years of watching the game. But one thing that cannot be disputed about a hockey hit is that you must touch the puck in order to be eligible for a hockey it. If you never or rarely touch the puck then you will rarely if never get hit. So the simplified conclusion from each and every hit taken is that at that point in time the player was in possession of the puck or making a play on the puck.
In my experience there are simple variables in getting "touches" on the puck. There are uncontested possessions and then there are contested possessions. It is my personal belief and biased observations that most hits at the NHL level occur when under high pressure for a "50/50" puck. It's a loose puck that someone has to retrieve or contest. It's rare at the NHL level to see a skater carry the puck from their own end and get tagged with an open ice hit while carrying through the neutral zone. Most hits seems to be at boards, they tend to be against defensemen and they tend to be in the midst of a puck battle.
Defensemen tend to lead this category across all teams. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that it's the only position on the ice where you intentionally give the puck up in order to hit a guy and try to retrieve it again (dump and chase). I've yet to see a defender pass the puck to a forward so they could line them up for a big hit. There are a lot of ways to approach a loose puck as a defenseman. Some D let the forward get there at the same time and try to lay a hit. Some will screen the forward off the puck and hit the breaks early to slow the forechecker down and not take a punishing hit. Some will jet to the puck first and try to make a play. Yet others will stick fight or lift sticks and try to kick out pucks to support for breakouts. Is any of these approaches better than others? I'm sure NHL coaches feel more strongly about certain styles than others. One thing I do know from playing myself and watching some of the huge hits that can happen going straight at the boards...it's gets the heart pumping. Being first on the puck at the boards takes a certain amount of intestinal fortitude. These kinds of players put their balls on the table. Johnny Boycuck for the Boston Bruins leads his team and the entire NHL in hits taken with 206 for the year. If you watch his game he's not the fastest skater but he's always trying to be first on the puck. In a 50/50 race some guys let up to they can lay the hit instead of getting hit. Not Boychuk, that kid is an absolute demon on a loose puck.
So looking at the Avs it's not a surprise that Landeskog is so high up the list. He gives as good as he gets but he's not letting the play on a loose puck be dictated by the opposing team. Stats aside, Avs fans who watch his game know that's how he plays. You also know from watching Landeskog that he likes to hold the puck, he doesn't let pressure make early decisions on his passes. He will absorb hits to make plays. Same can be said of the cloth the MacKinnon is cut from. You'd think a younger guy who's known for his elite speed and scoring chances off the rush would not be taking so many hits. But Mackinnon is another player that doesn't allegator-arm passes because of pressure. He will absorb contact and retain possession. He will not speed up a play because of the physical element of the game. When I type those words the next guy that comes to mind is Duchene. He's going to possess the puck as long as possible before he makes his play on the puck despite his speed and elusiveness.
What is a bit of surprise on this list of hits taken by Avs players is that defensemen aren't playing a more dominate position with this statistic. My only unproven theory on why that is, is that not a lot of teams played dump and chase hockey against the Avalanche. If Corsi is the true indicator of puck possession, then that would make some sense when it comes to the Avalanche defense. Easy zone entries were certainly a stark characteristic of the playoffs and surely an area the Avs need to improve. The best Corsi team in the regular season last year was the LA Kings. Five of their top 10 hits against were defensemen led by Mitchell with 179 against.
The bottom of the Avs list has players that should not surprise you. Bordeleau hits people a lot because his line doesn't have the puck a lot. He does take a fair share of hits himself as he's a surprisingly decent puck possession 4th liner. Nate Guenin with all those minutes and only 67 hits against kind of explains his game. He's either unwilling or unable to get to pucks before the opposition. If this number were larger I think the criticisms about his zone exits would be even more numerous. Cliche as a 3rd/4th line hard-nosed player doesn't get to the puck a lot, his hits against reflect that.
Probably the most interesting and surely most controversial players over the Summer are low on this list, Stastny and O'Reilly. Their proponents will attribute this to their elusiveness. This may very well be true.. to an extent. Sometimes in hockey you need to take a hit to make a play. Sakic did this all the time. Duchene is a slippery as they come, he does this. Patrick Kane who does not always go in first on the puck at the boards, is probably the most elusive player in the entire NHL still took 99 hits with Chicago. I'm not concluding that O'Reilly and Stastny are secretly poor players because their hits against is low. But it does support a lot about what I see in their games. Neither player can be considered fleet of foot (so second to puck battles), neither player likes to absorb a hit to make a play. Both players are considered strong possession players by the advanced stat community due to their shot differentials (Corsi). However, "possession" of the puck was never something I associated with either O'Reilly nor Stastny. They can and do make smart plays on the puck but they are not going to hold the puck. When Stastny was matched up with Jones and Lindstrom in the year that shall not be named it was a disaster on many fronts. The greatest of which was the hot potato puck possession of all three players. O'Reilly on 50/50 battles for a loose puck almost always ties up a stick or lets' the other player touch the puck first. His takeaways vs Giveaways are amazing but its largely fed by how he approaches these battles. Anyway, back to hits against...
Talbot and Sarich are not surprising players on this list (to me at least). Both of these Stanley Cup champions get to the puck first and to Hell with the consequences. No, they are not elite talents and yes when they do get the puck they aren't exactly feathering a saucer pass for a first assist on the breakout. But what they are doing is they are giving themselves a chance to make a play. What the Hell does all of this mean? I think it's thread in the Gordian Knot of advanced statistics. It's data that tends to support my own observation bias for the Avalanche.