Plus/Minus Statistic

Plus/Minus is an easy statistic to misread. It can be rendered useless if not handled with care.

Not enough investigating has been done on this though this is a good start. I find and I'm not mathematically clever enough to do it. However, even I feel the plus/minus stat is insufficient. That a player is assinged a +12 is somehow proof that he's better defensively or is more responsible than someone with a -5 is incomple.

It  can only provide a glimpse into a bigger picture at best.

It's insufficient because too much depends on too many factors out our one player's control. There are ten players on the ice at any given time thus 10 more actors on your stage that can either help you or not. Not to mention the strategy or directives of the coach, the abilities of team mates and of course, the efficiency, or lack thereof in some cases, of the opposition. Heck, the referee can impact the plus/mius if they're having a good or bad game.

Is it a player's fault if he's surrounded by players who lack the focus he may possess? If a team has woeful winning percentage a player's plus/minus will move in consequence of this fact; usually downwards.

Same with clubs. If a team is in last place but has a superiour plus/minus than a team in front of them does it point to the fact their record is not as bad as it seems?

Maybe. It can be a "leading indicator" of sorts but the bottom line is misinterpreting +/- is about as useful as Ashlee Simpson in the London Philharmonic.