In Michael Lewis’s “Moneyball,” he canonized Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane for his revolutionary approach to team building. Though the book has come to be known for its presentations of theories regarding statistics like onbase percentage, “Moneyball” is really about something else entirely.

Exceptionally skilled at capitalizing on market inefficiencies, Beane has been able to consistently put together winning baseball teams despite operating with one of the most restrictive budgets in professional sports. In short, he tossed aside what were widely believed to be the most essential ingredients for constructing a winner. Instead, he followed through with theories first presented by statistician Bill James and capitalized on some wonderful opportunities in the marketplace in the process.

Statistics in hockey are significantly less useful, at least right now. The Minnesota Wild recently hired Chris Snow — formerly the Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Globe — as their director of hockey operations. In one of his first projects, he’s sought to uncover new statistical methods by which hockey players can be measured. While goals and assists are certainly useful for evaluating productivity, they do not take into account the quality of the player’s teammates or opponents, or the amount of quality ice time (for example, on the power play) required to accumulate those numbers.

But this is not to say that there aren’t teams practicing “Moneypuck,” for even in the absence of hard statistical data, there are plenty of opportunities to capitalize on market inefficiencies, particularly during the NHL Entry Draft.

Out in New Jersey, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello has been even more successful than Beane, operating under many of the same basic principles. His team has won three Stanley Cups since 1995 and is as close to a dynasty as one can expect to find in the now salary cap-driven NHL.

Unlike most of the NHL’s better teams, the Devils have managed to construct a winner through shrewd scouting and a willingness to eschew traditional team-building strategies. Today, the Devils’ core consists of Martin Brodeur, Brian Rafalski, Patrik Elias, Scott Gomez, John Madden, and Brian Gionta. All five players are shining examples of the team’s unique approach.

Back in 1990, the Devils selected goaltender Martin Brodeur with the 20th overall pick in the draft. He was the second goalie selected in that draft (Trevor Kidd was the first), but goalies were generally not taken that early. In the 1980s, only five goaltenders were drafted in the first round; three of them (Grant Fuhr, Tom Barrasso, and Olaf Kolzig) went on to have exceptional careers, while two others (Jimmy Waite and Jason Muzzatti) didn’t work out at all. But in the mid-tolate 1990s, drafting goalies in the first round became de rigueur, in no small part because of the success the Devils enjoyed with Brodeur.

Elias was a second round pick (no. 51 overall in 1994); of the 50 players selected before him, only four (Ed Jovanovski, Ryan Smyth, Jeff O’Neill, and José Théodore) have gone on to become impact NHLers. Gomez — the final player selected in the first round in 1998 — also has only four peers amongst those drafted before him: Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Stuart, Alex Tanguay, and Simon Gagne.

But even more impressive were the Devils’ additions of Gionta, Madden, and Rafalski. Gionta was considered too small to make an impact at the NHL despite his impressive freshman season performance for Boston College. At the time, the Philadelphia Flyers’ “Legion of Doom” (Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mikael Renberg) was the paradigm for success, and the selection of Gionta flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Last season, the Devils’ diminutive winger tallied 48 goals, and he scored four goals in the team’s first four games this season.

In Madden and Rafalski, Lamoriello went the free agent route. Madden was signed following his senior season with the University of Michigan and has gone on to become one of the NHL’s premier checking line centers. And it took a strong four-year career at the University of Wisconsin — plus four more excellent campaigns in Europe — before Rafalski got his chance. Since arriving in New Jersey, he has been an incredibly consistent power play quarterback, averaging well over 40 points a season during his first six years with the Devils.

Just as with Gionta, Lamoriello struck again in 2003, snagging Zach Parise with the 17th overall selection. Judged by virtually every NHL team to be a great character player with toptier offensive skill, Parise’s diminutive stature (much like Gionta’s and Rafalski’s) caused him to be overlooked on draft day. And while the Rangers wasted their pick on Hugh Jessiman in what was one of the finest draft classes in NHL history, the Devils smartly chose Parise. A versatile forward who can play both center and wing, Parise tallied 32 points in his first NHL season, and now finds himself on the team’s top line alongside Gomez and Gionta.

Though the Devils’ farm system unquestionably lacks in quantity, the quality is indisputable, and another draft day coup is paying huge dividends this season.The Devils’ selection of Travis Zajac with the 20th overall pick in the 2004 draft drew a collective “who?” from the gathered press, but he has since emerged as a future star. Last season, Zajac tallied 44 points in 45 games for the University of North Dakota; now he’s playing on the Devils’ second line alongside Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner.

By consistently identifying top talent despite picking late in nearly every draft over the past decade, the Devils have effectively thwarted the disadvantage intended for perennial winners. With players like Zajac and Parise complementing a still-virile core, Lamoriello and company have assured that the Devils will still be competitive when they move into their new arena in Newark next season.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.