+/- DRAFT

[go badger go]

Is the plus/minus stat of any value in evaluating a player?

[unofan]

yes, though take it with a grain of salt at the college level because it isn't always tracked at every game.

[purple_and_gold10]

I think the +/- stat is one of the best stats there is in hockey...I wish it was tracked at more games because i always like to evaluate players this way. It shows that they are working on both ends of the ice and not just one...Hockey is a 2-way sport (wow...that sounds like Mighty Ducks 3 right there :eek: :o )

[HABCOACH]

Really an arbitrary stat, in my opinion. A defenceman makes a bad turnover and gets beat, or a defenceman pushes a forward toward the boards, and the forward shoots from the boards and scores a soft goal. Or a team has a great shift, and does not score. Or a team scores a soft goal. Lots of grey area.

[dave1381]

Also special teams performance doesn't show up in it.

To me, the - stat of the +/- is always more interesting than the +.
I'd like to just see -.

[unofan]

Over the course of a season, though, those should even out. Hence it is a valuable stat, but only when tracked properly and completely.

[fan for life]

I like +/- it recognizes that it takes 5 players to score or breakdown. Even though one player can result in the -, it is the same for the +. Looking at forwards with lots of goals and assists but a poor +/- is telling. If coaching I would put my best +/- out for kills but not necessarily powerplays. At the end of the game if I wanted to play for status quo on the scoreboard, I would not put out players with the poor +/-.
Of course stats cannot replace the good judgment of a coach in a given situation.

[Collegehockeynut]

Where I think it is a really telling stat is when you have a team that has a majority of players who are minus yet have a few players who are plus.