PLUS/MINUS is the NHL's worst stat, mostly because it's based on a result which varies wildly from game to game. Despite knowing this for years, it remains a standard statistic used in broadcasts league-wide that seem designed to insult the intelligence of the viewer.
MINUS: The Colorado Avalanche. This is a team that started in 2009 by selecting Matt Duchene, then added Landeskog, MacKinnon and Eric Johnson. With 2 x #1 overalls, and a second and a third overall, they looked to be set to be one of the best teams in hockey.
Unfortunately, other than those three draft picks (they traded for Johnson in what turned out to be an awful move) they seem to have punted every other draft in recent memory.
Their GM, Joe Sakic, and his predecessor Greg Sherman (as far as I can tell, they just traded jobs) are both among the worst GMs anyone can think of. They stink and should both be fired.
How can a team of such former greatness be relegated to joke status and be OK with it?
They are in last place in the NHL after last night's 10-1 bashing at the hands of le Canadiens that saw them surrender six goals in the first period.
The Avs need to fire Sakic and anyone in the organization he's ever even talked to and start fresh.
PLUS: The Coyotes finally won a game in regulation. This might seem awesome, but once again, they won by total fluke. Mike Smith - who has been one of, if not the actual best goalie in hockey this year - made 44 saves, while his counterpart, Rinne played terribly.
The Preds, however, controlled over 60% of the shots attempts and were the dominate team.
It has now been about a month since the Coyotes simultaneously won a game and deserved to.
PLUS: To Dave Tippett for finally scratching Michael Stone, who's been brutal. He was replaced by the far superior Anthony DeAngleo. And to Perlini who scored his first NHL goal last night.
Also, Goligoski got his first of the season; he's been bad too. As has Connor Murphy who got injured and hopefully will be out for the season. (I hope he's fine, but he sucks).
MINUS: Max Domi, who may or may not have a broken orbital bone from fighting in Thursday's game. Obviously it's idiotic for the team's best forward to be fighting.
What's worse though, is literally every single thing I've read calls it an "upper-body injury." We know what the injury is. The team, I can see why they'd be vague, but I will never understand why everyone else goes along with this BS.
PLUS: Auston Matthews.
I love watching this kid play hockey. He's the best player the Leafs have ever had in my lifetime, including Mats Sundin, Phil Kessel, Doug Gilmour, Tomas Kaberle and Wendel Clark.
(Editor's Note: He's no Todd Gill).
Now, maybe he hasn't hit those heights yet, but I have no problem projecting him to.
He is a 19 year old Centre playing with two other rookies, and he has a 52% CF. which is also positive relative to his team. This even though the Leafs are near the bottom of the league's standings.
His team averages a full 5 shots/60 minutes than they allow when he's on the ice.
Crosby leads the NHL with 13 5v5 goals. Matthews is third with 11. His Linemates only have six 5v5 goals combined, so Matthews hasn't been able to rack up many assists, otherwise he'd probably be near the top of the league in 5v5 points as well.
His PDO is 98.7, meaning he's been relatively unlucky and should actually score more than he has (not to mention he's 19 and a rookie, so he'll get better too).
20 points in 26 games is a great pace for a rookie, but if he played with Marner and Van Riemsdyk, he's probably be closer to McDavid's 38 than most non-Leaf fans want to consider.
MINUS: Mike Babcock for not playing Matthews with Marner and JVR.
Someone tell this cat it's Christmas time.
PLUS:The Accountant which is the best movie I've seen this year. It was awesome and I loved it. It's no Lethal Weapon, but I mean, what is?
MINUS: The Predators for not getting a goalie. Come on. I know people don't want to admit that Pekke Rinne is in decline - and he had a bit of a good run earlier this year - but he stinks.
One of the theories about analyzing goalie play is to look at high-danger save percentage. The theory is that most goalies in the NHL stop pretty much all low and medium danger shots and the ones they let in are just bad luck goals. You see the goalies true talent on his high-danger saves.
If this is true, then right now Pikke Rinne is the worst. 29 goalies have played at least 700 minutes so far this year. I'll give you one guess who is ranked #29 in high-danger save percentage.
PLUS: The Colorado Avalanche. Just kidding. Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahha
PLUS: The movie How to Be Singlewhich is hilarious.
Also kidding. What a piece of crap. If you are offered to watch this movie, a good alternative would be to punch yourself in the groin. Or watch a game featuring the Colorado Avalanche.
(Take that, Avalanche!)
Seriously, I am embarrassed to say I even sat through this complete and crapfest. The only positive thing I can say about this movie is that if you sit through it for a long enough time, it eventually ends.
MINUS: This morning's TSN headline which read "Matthews Shines as Leafs Top Bruins." Now, as I've possibly made clear, I love Matthews. But this headline is BS as Matthews played like crap last night. He was a 29% CF and his line was caved in all night. He scored a goal, but he's crazy talented, so he can still do that while playing a bad game.
The Bruins played a good game, so the headline actually should have been "Andersen Steals Win."
Not that I expect the NHL's supposed leading hockey authority to, you know, live in reality.
PLUS: Me, for giving it to all the jerks and being the best.
MINUS: Marketers. Anyone who works in advertising. All advertisements. Especially ones from that garbage company that makes #### coffee and tries to be all nationalistic about it.
PLUS: When their debit machine was down and I didn't have any cash, they gave me a free coffee. It tasted terrible, mind you, but it's the thought that counts.
MINUS: The Las Vegas Generics. When you pick the worst, most focused grouped, generic, inoffensive, boring name in sports team history, and you also pick a similarly awful logo, and this name and logo are rejected by whoever rejects trademarks, I don't know dudes, maybe take it as a sign and try again?
Why not go with the Las Vegas Cowabunga Boys? I promise no one's ever trademarked that.
PLUS: I forgot to mention that Matthews is fifth in the NHL is shots. Let's give the final word in the joke of a debate about Matthews vs Laine to TSN's Scott Cullen (one of the best in the biz):
Goals are really important, but if Laine is going to have more value than Matthews over the long haul, he will have to shoot better than anyone in NHL history, because otherwise, the Leafs control play a lot more and create more chances when Matthews is on the ice and the scarcity of elite centres makes Matthews even more valuable.
MINUS: Soccer. It's basically like if you took away everything cool about hockey and transferred it to a field. It's the Sting solo career of sports.
MINUS: It sucks that Philip Larsson had to be stretchered off the ice after Taylor Hall. But I can't be the only one who thought about how cool it would have been if that was Adam, and not Phillip. Just, like, in a hilarious way. (Not to make light of injuries or anything, you understand)..
PLUS: Apparently I really dig show-tunes.
PLUS: Old Peter Chiarelli, for constantly reminding me that I too could be an NHL GM.
That's probably enough.
Thanks kidz, tip your waitresses and listen to as much DMX as you can handle.
xxoo
-Tanner
(all stats 5v5 unless noted and from Corsica.Hockey)
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