Caracterización de jugadores profesionales de hockey sobre hielo: rendimiento vs valor contrato

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between players' performance and their contract value, evaluating how statistics influence their economic valuation. Performance and compensation data were collected from seven players of the Florida Panthers during the 2023/2024 NHL season, using reliable sources such as the NHL, Spotrac, and Sportcontract. The data was processed in Excel and analyzed to correlate statistics with salaries. The results highlight several discrepancies between performance and compensation. For example, the two goalkeepers (No. 1 and No. 2) had similar save percentage performances (92.5% and 91.5%), but Goalie No. 1, with a salary of $2.5 million, earns significantly more than Goalie No. 2, who has a salary of $1.43 million. Regarding the defenders, Defender No. 2, with a better performance (+10) and more games played (80), has a lower salary than Defender No. 1, who played fewer games (66) but has a salary of $3.33 million. In the case of the forwards, despite Forward No. 1 scoring more goals, his salary of $1.08 million is lower than those of Forwards No. 2 and No. 3, who earn more despite scoring fewer goals. The conclusion shows that while on-ice performance is an important factor, teams also value other aspects such as experience and overall impact when determining players' contracts and salaries.