NHL: Best Career Plus-Minus (+/-) in Hockey

Larry Robinson May Be Untouchable With a Career 730 Plus-Minus

This is an interesting list for a number of reasons.

But first, what is plus/minus?  It sounds like a modern sabermetric, like WAR in baseball or PER in basketball, but actually, +/- has been calculated since the late ’60s.

How is it tallied?

It’s supposed to be an indicator of how good a defensive player someone is.  And in that sense, the top 20 below do show that.  Most of these guys are defensemen (13 of 20, including the top three).

This is one of those lists where Wayne Gretzky appears – and none of his offensive peers do.  Gretzky and Bobby Clarke, according to +/-, are the best defensive centers to play the game (…post 1967-68).

But look at Larry Robinson (aka “Big Bird”) sporting that 730.  He’s way ahead of everyone and obviously one of the greatest defensemen to take to the ice.

Most of these skaters are in the Hall of Fame. McCrimmon, Lidstrom (still active), Dallas Smith and Chris Chelios (will be) are not.

Photo: hellsvaluablecollectibles.blogspot.com