Quote:
Originally Posted by Fan in Exile
Why? You don't think it tells a story when a player has the worst plus/minus on the team? He has a negative goal differential that is 13 goals worse than any other forward on the team. You don't think that an "advanced stats" analysis would tell a similar story? Plus/minus is an easily accessible stat that says something about a player. You want to produce something that suggests that Iginla was a solid two-way player that contradicts his -22? Go ahead and produce it.
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Well, if you watched hockey or played hockey, you'd know why plus or minus is not telling. A lot of goals happen during line changes. So if a lazy player decides not to backcheck and then goes for a line change, the person stepping on the ice will get a minus if the team is scored on.
A lot of goals happen after the penalty expired, but the killers are still hemmed in their own zone, each penalty killer gets a minus. A guy who gets a lot of defensive starts gets minus compared to someone who gets a lot of offensive starts. The offensive guy who plays against weak 4th liners because their not trusted to play defense against good opponents usually has a plus stat.
The forward who was standing in the crease doing his job screening the goalie gets a minus if his bone headed defensemen turns the puck over at the line while and causes a break away against. The defensemen who does his job keeping shots to the outside gets a minus when his goalie gives up a softy. The forward who was skating up ice was suppose to receive a pass but it got intercepted.
I could go on and on. Stats can be useful, but plus or minus is more reflective of a team. It's like comparing shooting percentages of players.