The Hosers

First off, lets start with a basic definition of the +/- statistic:

+ When a player is on the ice when their team scores at even strength,they receive a +1
+ When a player is on the ice when their team scores short-handed,they receive a +1
- When a player is on the ice for an even strength goal against, theyreceive a -1
- When a player is on the ice for a shorthanded goal against, they receive a -1
> When a powerplay goal is scored, neither team receives a + or a -
> Penalty shot goals are not counted into +/-

Now, what exactly is this statistic supposed to gauge?

Far too often, +/- is used as a statistic to gauge defensive ability. If you take two players on Team X; Player A with a +/- of +10 at the end of the season and Player B with a +/- of -10 on the season, you tend to assume that Player A is the better defensive player which is not necessarily the case. Essentially, +/- is meant to be used as a stat to gauge even strength effectiveness. Unfortunately, there are far too many exterior variables that effect a players +/- rating. Lets use an example:

Mikhail Grabovski vs. Pavel Datsyuk

We currently have Mikhail Grabovski with 4 points in 9 games played sitting at a +6 for the season. Meanwhile, we have a guy who is considered one of the best all-around players in the league including being one of the premier defensive forwards, Pavel Datsyuk, with 8 points in 8 games and sitting at +3. Small sample size aside, does this mean that Mikhail Grabovski is a better defensive forward than Pavel Datsyuk? Does this mean Grabovski is a more effective overall player at even strength than Datsyuk? Let's see what variables could account for the difference in +/- here.

You can point to the fact that maybe Grabovski is on a better team:

5-3-1 Leafs vs. 5-2-1 Red Wings

Advantage: Datsyuk

You can point to the fact that maybe Grabovski is on a better line:

Grabovski has spent the majority of the season with Nikolai Kulemin and Clarke MacArthur. Datsyuk has spent the majority of the season with Tomas Holmstrom and Henrik Zetterberg.
Besides the fact that Datsyuk is playing with 2 other way more than capable defensive players, that line will trump Grabovski's line in all 3 zones on most days.

Advantage: Datsyuk

Maybe Datsyuk is scoring more on the power-play, thus limiting his +/-:

2 of Datsyuk's 8 points have come via the power-play, leaving 6 even strength points.
0 of Grabovski's 4 points have come via the power-play, still leaving 4 even strength points.

Advantage: Datsyuk

Maybe Grabovski is just a flat out better offensive player, covering up for his defensive deficiencies in his +/-:

Pavel Datsyuk's 3 year average of 88 points per season says that's probably not true either.

Advantage: Datsyuk

Now, you may point to the fact that a difference of 3 points in a +/-rating just 9 games into the season means next to nothing. Which is true, but when considering a player of Datsyuk's caliber compared to a player of Grabovski's caliber with all of the exterior factors falling in Datsyuk's favor, it's a bit curious how Grabovski could have a better+/-, even if it is 9 games into the season.

Not a big enough sample size? Difference in +/- is negligible? Not convincing enough? We'll take a look at some numbers from last year comparing players on the same team:

Parros (+4) vs Chipchura (-2)
Satan (+8) vs P Bergeron (+6)
Vanek (+9) vs Grier (-4)/Gaustad (-7)
Kostopoulos (+4) vs B Sutter (-1)
P Kane (+16) vs Bolland (+5)/Madden (-2)
Wolski (+15) vs anybody else on Colorado roster (way ahead of everybody else)
Dorsett (+6) vs Pahlsson (-9)/Chimera (-7)
Fistric (+27)/Benn (-1)/Ribiero (-5) vs Lehtinen (-8)/B Richards(-12)/Robidas (-10)
Penner (+7) vs Moreau (-18)
McCabe (-4) vs Ballard (-7)
Purcell (-1) vs D Brown (-6)
Latendresse (+1) vs M Koivu (-2)
Hornqvist (+18) vs Arnott (E)
Christensen (+14)/Gaborik (+15)/Redden (+8) vs Callahan (-12)/Drury(-10)/Higgins (-9)Carcillo (+5) vs M Richards (-2)/Gagne (-1)
Lepisto (+14) vs Z Michalek (+5)
Vrbata (+6) vs Hanzal (E)
Downie (+14) vs anybody on TB roster (NOBODY in the plus except him)
Phaneuf (-2) vs Komisarek (-9)
Wellwood (+6)/Burrows (+34)/Demitra (+3) vs Kesler (-1)

Does that mean all of these players are better defensive players? Or better players at even strength in general? I don't think so...


In summary, the plus/minus statistic has very, very little relevance to defensive ability or overall effectiveness at even-strength rendering it one of the more useless "primary" statistics tracked by the NHL.