Why is Ovechkin's +/- so bad compared to Ward and Chimera?

[SashaSemin28]

This part I don't understand. ?

As someone who doesn't follow the NHL as closely as I used to, Oates' coaching seems strange. You have the perhaps best scorer in the league, arguably he's even the best winger in the league, and you make him change position as well as playing style...

Oates also decided he knew defence and goaltending better than former defencemen and goaltenders.

 

[MiKE5889]

How come Ward and Chimera can score as much as Ovie and Backstrom on even strength, while also getting far better +/-?

I think there are many factors that play into this. Quality of competition is quite obviously one factor, though as the quality of competition varies from team to team, I find this to be a most limited reason for his poor +/- statistics.

Then of course there is the obvious conjunction between the teams PP production and +/- statistics. Considering that +/- isn't affected by goals scored on the PP, a great portion of Ovi's production never translates into a plus in these statistics. However nor does it translate into a minus for him either.

I find your post interesting in the sense that it actually highlights what many have touched on before. Namely that the difference between Ovi's production 5 on 5 compared to that of say Ward just are lightyears apart.

One factor I have personally considered is the d-men on the ice in the moment of a goal scored against. At several occations this season it felt like the team failed in making changes on the blueline, often leaving one of our d-men out exposed, playing extra minutes. I do wonder if there is a connection between Ovi's poor +/- minus and blueline changes? There's no doubt that Ovie is lacking in his defensive game, but considering the leap between him and his linemates, there still must be something else causing that extra leap to occure.