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Plus/Minus is a hockey statistic that measures the goal differential of a player at even strength hockey.
A player's plus/minus is increased by one every time his or her team scores a goal either at even-strength or when shorthanded, while the player is on the ice. Whenever the team is scored against while at even strength or on a powerplay while the player is on the ice, that player's plus/minus is decreased by one.
The plus/minus statistic is mainly applied to defencemen, mostly because forwards have many other numbers that can better measure their performance. Obviously plus/minus is very dependent upon the team as a whole, and it is often most useful for assessing a player compared to his teammates. When it is applied to forwards it is to measure their defensive responsibility, which is of course foolish, since half of plus/minus involves offence. Many observers consider plus/minus to be a very questionable statistic, and few put much weight on it.
Since 1982 the NHL Plus/Minus Award has been awarded to the National Hockey League player with the highest plus/minus at the end of the season. It is only a minor NHL award, however.
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