NHL, SMT announce expanded partnership for puck, player tracking

The NHL is expanding its partnership with SportsMEDIA Technology (SMT) as its source for puck- and player-tracking technology, the league announced Thursday.

"Fan engagement and technological innovation are at the forefront of everything we do. Using technology to depict exactly how fast, how skilled our game and our players are, enhances the connectivity our fans have with hockey," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with SMT, a leader in the sports technology industry and established partner of the NHL. Through our partnership, we look forward to continuing to innovate our scoring and puck- and player-tracking systems, as well as how we bring to life limitless data points, which will take fans more inside the game than ever before."

In January, the NHL announced it would introduce puck and player tracking for the 2019-20 season, but then cut ties with Jogmo World Corp - the league's original tracking partner - in September.

Moving forward, the goal is for SMT to deploy puck- and player-tracking systems in every NHL arena by the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. According to the release, the data will be used for the following:

• Updating the NHL's official scoring system, which will include puck- and player-tracking data.
• Developing and installing tracking systems in all NHL arenas.
• Distributing data in the form of innovative graphics and visualizations to NHL media partners and other stakeholders.

The NHL has experimented with tracking data in the past, including at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and in multiple All-Star Games.