Arizona Coyotes

PLUS/MINUS: A Return to the Plussing and the Minussing
May 21, 2017, 12:41 PM ET [49 Comments]
James Tanner
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"PLUS/MINUS is the NHL's best stat, and the only one I use"
- Craig Button*

PLUS: Expansion.

I can't see a downside to expanding. The NHL gets bigger, which makes it harder to make the Playoffs, which adds more value to the regular season. An expansion team should be crappy, which will inflate scoring and make hockey more fun to watch.

In addition, the extra money will raise the salary cap, hopefully help avoid another lockout, and an odd amount of teams means we'll likely get Quebec sooner than later.

Finally, the expansion draft will force a bunch of extra player movement and hopefully we'll see an uptick in trades and transactions.

MINUS: The protection lists.

On one hand, with each team having to expose its fourth best defenseman or risk losing second line forwards, we are going to see some interesting transactions.

But the downside is that they're trying to make Vegas competitive right of the bat, which I don't think is good. For one, the NHL needs a punching bag team. For another, why would Vegas even want to be good? They have a built in, risk free license to tank.

MINUS: If Vegas doesn't intentionally suck for at least three years then they hired the wrong GM (which I can already tell you they won't and they did).

The proper way to get good in the NHL is to reap a bunch of high-end picks and then stack your team while a bunch of those excellent high-end dudes are on entry-level deals. Vegas can do this without alienating their fans - which don't exist yet - and then be good for a decade.

Instead, I bet you'll see them try to get into the playoffs and draft in the middle for a bunch of years until the novelty of Vegas wears off and teams start to hate traveling there (management, not the players, who will love it) and they move to Saskatchewan in five years once Trump has tanked the US dollar and Canadian money is basically gold.



PLUS: I was the only person on earth, apparently, who wasn't a fan of Blood Meridian but I gave Cormac McCarthy another chance and it turns out Suttree is one of the best books I've read.

PLUS: The play of Pikke Rinne. I've said all along I would consider the Predators the best team in the NHL if they got a real goalie. Rinne has been in decline since 2011 and this year was around the 16 to 20th best starter in the NHL.

But he has really played well in these playoffs. Interesting that two former star goalies whose careers were in free-fall have led their teams to the Conference Finals.

PLUS: The Ottawa Senators. I don’t really love their boring style of play, but I do love a nice underdog story and they’ve had a great run. If they can beat the Penguins that’d be great, so what If I’m a Leafs fan and I’m supposed to hate them?

PLUS: When I'm hungover and it's raining out so I don't have to feel guilty about not taking my kids to the park!!

PLUS: Also to Dion Phaneuf, beleaguered and unfairly treated ex-Leafs captain. He was my favorite player for a long time and I hope he wins the Cup.

PLUS: I own and wear a Phaneuf jersey.

MINUS: Months later, I'm still pissed about the day in February that was +17 and ruined my hockey rink. For my American readers, that's Celsius, the proper way to measure temperature. Outside, that is, not even Canadians cook things in Celsius, that would be wack.

MINUS: I was pretty sure I was still cool, but according to my 17 year old son, I am not cool. In response, I always refer to him as 'playa' in front of his friends and caution him against being a playa hata. This isn't improving my stature, but it does crack me up.

PLUS: Liz Phair. Just the best.



MINUS: OK, I see now that constant references to the 90s, incessantly quoting DMX and talking about old books no one's read in 40 years does not make me cool to teenagers.

MINUS: Calling Mike Sullivan a “Genius” for switching his goalies. He played the better goalie, and thus made the obvious move – it’s not rocket science! Jesus! Hockey analysis never fails to shoot for the stars.

MINUS: The NBA is reportedly putting advertising on jerseys next season. That is the last straw for me, if it happens I won’t watch any basketball. There is advertising everywhere, tickets are crazy expensive and if there is nothing sacred, nothing they won’t sell, then they can expletive deleted, as far as I’m concerned.

MINUS: A Randy Carlyle vs Phil Kessel SCF is pretty much the most Maple Leafs thing ever.

PLUS: Just because the Ducks somehow advanced past an Oilers team that won five games, doesn’t make Carlyle a good coach or Vermette an NHL player.

MINUS: Ryan Johansen going down – I hate to see a guy get injured when playing at the peak of his career and during such an awesome run.

MINUS: The NHL and their broadcasters obsession with faceoffs, and their complete ignorance to reality and math.

PLUS: Holiday Mondays.