NHL to implement player, puck tracking for 2019-2020 season

The NHL is poised to make a major leap in analytics by implementing puck and player tracking for the 2019-2020 season, league commissioner Gary Bettman announced Friday during the All-Star weekend in San Jose, Calif.

The league is partnering with German company Jogmo World Corp. to insert microchips in players' shoulder pads as well as the game puck. These new tracking devices are designed to provide a near-exact calculation of player performance and ability.

"The puck and player tracking system can track pucks at a rate of 2,000 times per second in real-time with inch-level accuracy," Bettman said. "We'll instantaneously detect passes, shots, and positioning precisely. It will be equally accurate in tracking players - their movement, speed, time on ice - you name it."

The league will not permit the leveraging of this new data when it comes to salary arbitration, contract negotiations, and other player-related decisions and transactions, Sportsnet's John Shannon reports.

Fans won't have to wait until next season to see this technology in action, as the devices will be used during this weekend's All-Star Game.

The technology has been tested on multiple occasions, including the 2016 World Cup and the 2018 All-Star Game. The tracking system was also implemented during two regular-season games in Las Vegas in early January.

"Amazingly, within the confines of our 200-by-85-foot rink, Brent Burns and Jonathan Marchessault each skated more than three miles," Bettman said. "William Karlsson skated over 20 miles an hour.

"And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The applications are endless."

With these advancements, the NHL joins the NFL as the only North American professional sports leagues to implement wearable tracking technology.