Plus-minus is a statistic commonly used in hockey, basketball, and other sports to measure a player’s impact on the game. It is calculated by subtracting the number of goals a player’s team allows when the player is on the ice from the number of goals the team scores when the player is on the ice. A player with a positive plus-minus rating is considered to be an asset to the team, while a player with a negative plus-minus rating is seen as a liability. But is a high plus-minus necessarily a sign of a good player? Let’s take a look.
What Does Plus-Minus Measure?
Plus-minus is a useful statistic for evaluating a player’s overall performance on the ice. It takes into account not only goals scored, but also the number of goals allowed when the player is on the ice. This is important because it gives a more accurate measure of a player’s contribution to the team’s success.
For example, a player may score a lot of goals but also allow a lot of goals when they’re on the ice. This would result in a low plus-minus rating, indicating that the player is not helping the team win. On the other hand, a player may not score a lot of goals, but they may prevent a lot of goals when they’re on the ice. This would result in a high plus-minus rating, indicating that the player is an asset to the team’s success.
Limitations of Plus-Minus
While plus-minus is a useful statistic, it has some major limitations. One of the biggest issues with plus-minus is that it does not take into account the quality of the opposition.
For example, a player may have a high plus-minus rating because they played against a weaker team. This does not necessarily mean that the player is a good player, as they may have simply benefited from a favorable matchup.
In addition, plus-minus does not take into account the individual contributions of each player on the team. While a player may have a high plus-minus rating, this does not necessarily mean that they were the sole reason for the team’s success. The contributions of the other players on the team should also be taken into account.
Finally, plus-minus does not take into account “intangibles,” such as leadership or mental toughness. These are important qualities that can contribute to a team’s success, but they cannot be measured by plus-minus.
Conclusion
Plus-minus is a useful statistic for evaluating a player’s overall performance on the ice, but it has some major limitations. It does not take into account the quality of the opposition or the individual contributions of each player on the team. In addition, it does not take into account “intangibles” such as leadership or mental toughness. As such, a high plus-minus rating does not necessarily mean that a player is a good player.