Do Violent Penalties in the NHL Affect Win Percentage?
Abstract
The National Hockey League is considerably more violent than other professional sports leagues. Some of its most memorable champions where known for their violent play, but the link between violence and success has never been proven. Utilizing season statistics from each team in the NHL starting with the 2000-2001 season, I estimate the effect of violence on team win percentages. The dataset I chose to include in my research was a panel dataset and was provided by NHL.com. This bank of information provided my research with team level statistics from each regular season played in the National Hockey League. Previous studies have found conflicting evidence regarding the effect of violence on team performance, however; by having a more encompassing dependent variable, I estimate violence as a whole in the National Hockey League and not just from a fighting perspective. Using a more nuanced measure of violence and a larger dataset, I find higher levels of team violence negatively impacts team performance.
Do Violent Penalties in the NHL Affect Win Percentage?
The National Hockey League is considerably more violent than other professional sports leagues. Some of its most memorable champions where known for their violent play, but the link between violence and success has never been proven. Utilizing season statistics from each team in the NHL starting with the 2000-2001 season, I estimate the effect of violence on team win percentages. The dataset I chose to include in my research was a panel dataset and was provided by NHL.com. This bank of information provided my research with team level statistics from each regular season played in the National Hockey League. Previous studies have found conflicting evidence regarding the effect of violence on team performance, however; by having a more encompassing dependent variable, I estimate violence as a whole in the National Hockey League and not just from a fighting perspective. Using a more nuanced measure of violence and a larger dataset, I find higher levels of team violence negatively impacts team performance.