The Green Jacket - Guys with the worst +/- each season.

[sonic92]

I know plus/minus is a stat that no one takes seriously but one funny thing I do like looking at is some of the guys who have the worst rating for that in each season. (and since they look like golf scores, the Green Jacket is somewhat of a slang term for that).

According to hockey-reference.com, 1959-60 is the earliest season with +/- ratings so that where we're starting.

1960 - Bill Gadsby NYR -31
1961 - Johnny Bucyk BOS -31
1962 - Doug Mohns BOS -62
1963 - Doug Mohns BOS -39
1964 - (tie) Jim Neilson NYR and Albert Langlois NYR/DET -24
1965 - Ted Green BOS -44
1966 - Bob Woytowich BOS -45
1967 - Gilles Marotte BOS -41
1968 - Larry Cahan OAK -39
1969 - JP Parise MIN -45
1970 - Larry Cahan LA -43
1971 - Doug Roberts CAL -57
1972 - Jean Potvin LA/PHI -45
1973 - Arnie Brown NYI/ATL -58
1974 - Reggie Leach CAL -62
1975 - Bill Mikkelson WSH -82
1976 - Larry Johnson KC -65
1977 - Al Cameron DET -43
1978 - Dennis Owchar PIT/COL -61
1979 - (tie) Garry Unger STL and Rick Green WSH -45
1980 - Peter Sullivan WPG -45
1981 - Dave Babych WPG -62
1982 - Dwight Foster COL -54
1983 - Doug Sulliman HFD -59
1984 - Pat Boutette PIT -56
1985 - Doug Shedden PIT -51
1986 - Randy Ladouceur DET -55
1987 - Grant Ledyard LA -39
1988 - Brian MacLellan MIN -44
1989 - Tom Fergus TOR -38
1990 - Bryan Fogarty QUE -47
1991 - Michel Petit QUE/TOR -34
1992 - Paul Fenton SJ -39
1993 - (tie) Doug Zmolek SJ, Rob Zettler SJ and Neil Wilkinson SJ -50
1994 - Gord Dineen OTT -52
1995 - Chris Dahlquist OTT -30
1996 - (tie) Owen Nolan COL/SJ and Craig Janney SJ/WPG -33
1997 - Alexandre Daigle OTT -33
1998 - Paul Ysebaert TB -43
1999 - Darcy Tucker TB -34
2000 - Yannick Tremblay ATL -42
2001 - Patrice Brisebois MTL -31
2002 - Tyler Wright CBJ -40
2003 - Jay Bouwmeester FLA -29
2004 - Rico Fata PIT -46
2006 - Mark Recchi PIT/CAR -36
2007 - RJ Umberger PHI -32
2008 - Radek Bonk NSH -31
2009 - Brendan Witt NYI -34
2010 - Patrick O'Sullivan EDM -35
2011 - Chris Phillips OTT -35
2012 - Milan Jurcina NYI -34
2013 - (tie) Erik Gudbranson FLA and Brian Campbell FLA -22
2014 - Alexander Edler VAN -39
2015 - Nail Yakupov EDM -35
2016 - Mikkel Boedker ARZ/COL -33
2017 - (tie) Matt Duchene COL and Tyson Barrie COL -34
2018 - Nick Leddy NYI -42
2019 - Rasmus Ristolainen BUF -41
2020 - Andreas Athanasiou DET/EDM -46
2021 - Rasmus Dahlin BUF -36
2022 - Keith Yandle PHI -47
2023 - Andrew Peeke CBJ -41

Click to read more...

 

[Michael Farkas]

When I started coaching, I sought the advice of a number of veteran coaches about some details behind the bench...the most popular piece of advice: track your team's plus/minus.

Now, I know that it needs context like everything else...but the folks that dismiss it out of hand are no better than those who utilize it blindly...

 

[Crosby2010]

I think plus/minus has its moments. What I find is that usually the ones who lead in that stat are either on a good team or are good players themselves. Even a solid defenseman.

 

[reckoning]

Most of these players were playing lots of minutes on the worst team in the league and had several teammates with bad marks. which makes Alexandre Daigle’s 96-97 season stand out more.

The Senators weren't a powerhouse that season, but they were good enough to make the playoffs. After Daigle's minus-33, the next worst score on the team was Janne Laukkanen at minus-14. And it's not like Daigle was being matched up as a checker against the opposition's top scorers.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Coaches and players take it seriously.

 

[VanIslander]

In the O6 era, the names are almost all quality players.

In the expansion, modern era, they are hit or miss in terms of good players in losing defensive scenarios.

 

[GlitchMarner]

The idea behind plus/minus is a good one: To try to gauge the impact a player makes beyond scoring.

The problem is that numerous players share the ice. Whereas a player who scores a goal or records a primary assist (not getting into secondaries) directly impacts the score of the game, a player who happens to be on the ice when a goal is scored or conceded may have little or nothing to do with the goal. Classic plus/minus further obfuscates things by mixing in plus and minus points for SH goals, Empty Net goals against etc. What does a player whose job is to score from in front of the opposition's net have to do with a goal against when his team is on the Power Play and one of the defenseman coughs the puck up and an opposing player scores on a Shorthanded breakaway?

The best use of plus/minus always involves using it in conjunction with other things. Compare the plus/minus numbers of players who play on a single line. Compare the plus/minus ratings of players who play for the same team but on different lines. Compare numbers across multiple seasons. Compare numbers against reputation and your personal observations.

If a player consistently has a poor plus/minus and is among the worst on his team in that statistic year after year and has a reputation for being a lazy or incompetent defensive player, then he's probably incurring those poor numbers. If a player plays for a terrible defensive team that also has poor goaltending and he has to log heavy minutes against the opposition's best attackers, he may be doing his job well but have a poor plus/minus due to being a victim of circumstances.

Plus/minus isn't entirely about defense, either (some act like it is). Maybe a particular forward is strong defensively and backchecks hard but has a weak offensive game at Even Strength and that's the reason he tends to be a negative player.