Sutter's Genius Can Be Found in the Plus/Minus.

The Flames are good.  We know they are good, but what separates them from the other elite teams in the NHL?  Florida, and Tampa are dangerous in the East.  Colorado is an offensive juggernaut.  Even our Kings, a team decimated by injuries, demonstrated some serious grit and resilience with a band of young guys coming up from the Reign to put Florida down.  Despite the negative opinions that surround the plus/minus stat, it, when taken in the correct context can enlighten us as to why the Flames are so good.

So why is the plus/minus flawed?  Like any stat, it can't tell the whole story.  A great player could have a terrible minus if for instance he is on a team that doesn't play a defensive style, isn't very good, has poor goal tending, or all of the above.  Meanwhile a poor player could have a great plus minus if all of those things are reversed.  It isn't a great tool to evaluate an individual, but it speaks volumes for a team.

Take a gander at the plus minus for the NHL right now.  Calgary flames sit at one, three, and five.  They also add two more in the top sixteen.  Number three happens to be Johnny Hockey (Gaudreau), who is also sitting at fourth in points, and second in assists.  One person on a fan site, with a bit of oversimplified jabbing, said that the plus minus is high because they score a lot.  When it was pointed out that this doesn't equate wins, and a solid plus minus, as evidenced by the Oilers and the Leafs who have no one even close to the leaderboard in plus/minus.  Not coincidently, neither team isn't winning nearly enough games considering their scoring prowess.  Then later, he said it was high because they play good defense.  How right he was, but it is a bit more interesting than that, as we look at why this is the case.

At the heart of this issue is a man that nearly all Kings fans love and admire, even if we all agreed it was time for him to move on, Darryl Sutter.  If we remember how things went ten years ago, the Kings never lit anything up offensively.  Sutter had them play a stifling brand of hockey that was consistent.  He counted on the speed of the seventies line, the creativeness of Kopi to generate goals for his line-mates as he always has, and the steady consistency and clutch play from players like  Clifford, Lewis, and Richards in the bottom six.  They were big, physical, and smart.  Their style of play was well suited for the playoffs, as two Stanley cups, and five years of playoff magic.  Sutter didn't forget any of this and he brought his philosophy to Calgary.

The most interesting part of this, is something that another commenter pointed out.  The Kings never had anyone near the top of the plus minus record.  They didn't have Johnny Hockey.  I would start any team with a young Kopitar, but Gaudreau is a different kind of player.  He is faster, quicker, and has a better scoring touch than Kopitar.  Sutter saw this.  To his credit, he isn't trapped by past success ala Mike D'antoni who can only coach one type of team.  Sutter has found a way to marry his stifling defense, without handcuffing one of the NHL's greatest players, or the seemingly plethora of offensive talent this team seems to have. This is his genius, and why they are my pick to win the cup.  

For the record, I don't want the Flames to win.  I also believe that McLellan should be the coach of the year for what he has done with the Kings.  Next year, I look for the Kings to become a Cup favorite, but sadly, even though they definitely have a chance, even with the young crop of kids stepping up, they are still a bit of a long shot.  Sutter has shown his genius, and flexibility, which is evidenced by the outstanding plus/minus ratings of so many of his players.