Skewed +/- ?

[Justmeingardner]

Why do the players with the best defensive rating on my teams always have the worst plus/minus, and has anybody else seen this? I play strictly historical if that matters.

[Torgonius]

Originally Posted by Justmeingardner

Why do the players with the best defensive rating on my teams always have the worst plus/minus, and has anybody else seen this? I play strictly historical if that matters.

It has to do with the nature of +/- as a deeply flawed statistic.

A player gets a + if they are on the ice for an EV or SH goal. They get a - if they are on when an EV or SH goal is scored against them.

If you have guys playing purely defensively, they likely aren't scoring many goals to offset the goals they do give up.

It's also tied to your goaltender. If you have Mr. Softee back there not able to stop a beachball, everyone's +/- suffers.

You would probably better served to check you possession stats like Corsi and Fenwick. If your guys are doing a good job limiting the other teams' chances, things will tend to work out for you in the long term in the W/L column.