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The NHL Plus-Minus Award is a trophy awarded annually by the National Hockey League to the "player, having played a minimum of 60 games who leads the league in plus/minus statistics. It has been awarded 23 times to 20 different players. It is sponsored by a commercial business, and it has been known under five different names. Bobby Orr has led the league the most times in plus-minus, with 6, and Wayne Gretzky has won the award the most times, three, and also led the league once prior to the inception of the award. David Krejci of the Boston Bruins is the most recent winner, having finished the 2008–09 season with a +37.

History[]

The plus/minus statistic was first established during the 1967–68 NHL season. This statistic reflects a player's ability to contribute offensively and defensively. The award was first given in the 1982 season. From 1982 to 1987, it was known as the Emery Edge Award. During 1988, there was no formal name for the trophy. From 1989 to 1995, it was known as the Alka-Seltzer Plus Award. From 1996 to 1997, it was known as the Bud Ice Plus-Minus Award. Finally, from 1998 to the present, it has been known as the Bud Light Plus-Minus Award.

Since the award's inception, it has been won by players on the Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings 4 times, and 3 times by players on the Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers, and St. Louis Blues. Since the league began tracking plus/minus as a statistic (counting co-leaders as fractional winners), Boston Bruins have led the league 8 times, Edmonton Oilers 5 times, and Philadelphia Flyers 4.5 times. Wayne Gretzky has won the award the most times out of any players, thrice. Gretzky also led the league in plus-minus once before the trophy was established. Bobby Orr has led the league the most times out of any players, with six.

Winners[]

Positions key
C Centre LW Left Wing D Defence RW Right Wing F Forward

     Player is still active

Season Player Team Position Rating Win #
1982 Charlie Huddy Edmonton Oilers D +63 1
1983 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C +76 1
1984 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C +98 2
1985 Mark Howe Philadelphia Flyers D +85 1
1986 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C +70 3
1987 Brad McCrimmon Calgary Flames D +48 1
1988 Joe Mullen Calgary Flames F +51 1
1989 Paul Cavallini St. Louis Blues D +38 1
1990 Marty McSorley Los Angeles Kings D +48 1
1990–91 Theo Fleury Calgary Flames RW +48 1
1991 Paul Ysebaert Detroit Red Wings LW +44 1
1992 Mario Lemieux Pittsburgh Penguins C +55 1
1993 Scott Stevens New Jersey Devils D +53 1
1994 Ron Francis Pittsburgh Penguins C +30 1
1995 Vladimir Konstantinov Detroit Red Wings D +60 1
1996 John LeClair Philadelphia Flyers C +44 1
1997 Chris Pronger St. Louis Blues D +47 1
1998 John LeClair Philadelphia Flyers LW +36 2
1999 Chris Pronger St. Louis Blues D +52 2
2000 Patrik Elias New Jersey Devils LW +45 1
2000–01 Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche C +45 1
2001 Chris Chelios Detroit Red Wings D +40 1
2002 Peter Forsberg Colorado Avalanche C +52 1
2002–03 Milan Hejduk Colorado Avalanche RW +52 1
2003 Martin St. Louis Tampa Bay Lightning RW +35 1
2003–04 Marek Malik Vancouver Canucks D +35 1
2004 2004–05 NHL lockout
No winner
2005 Wade Redden Ottawa Senators D +35 1
2005–06 Michal Rozsival New York Rangers D +35 1
2006 Thomas Vanek Buffalo Sabres LW +47 1
2007 Pavel Datsyuk Detroit Red Wings C +41 1
2008 David Krejci Boston Bruins C +37 1

Plus-minus leaders (1967–1982)[]

Before 1983, there was no award for leading the league in plus-minus. The NHL started counting the statistics in 1967, and this lists all the leaders from the inception of the statistic to the inception of the award.


Positions key
C Centre LW Left Wing D Defence RW Right Wing F Forward
Season Player Team Position Rating Win #
1967 Dallas Smith Boston Bruins D +33 1
1968 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +65 1
1969 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +54 2
1970 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +124 3
1971 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +86 4
1972 Jacques Laperriere Montreal Canadiens D +78 1
1973 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +84 5
1974 Bobby Orr Boston Bruins D +80 6
1975 Bobby Clarke Philadelphia Flyers C +83 1
1976 Larry Robinson Montreal Canadiens D +120 1
1977 Guy Lafleur Montreal Canadiens RW +73 1
1978 Bryan Trottier New York Islanders C +76 1
1979 Jim Schoenfeld Buffalo Sabres D +60 1
1979–80 Jimmy Watson Philadelphia Flyers D +60 1
1980 Brian Engblom Montreal Canadiens D +63 1
1981 Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers C +81 1

Notes[]

^ During the 2005–06 season, there was a tie between Michal Roszival of the New York Rangers and Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators.
^ During the 2003–04 season, there was a tie between Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lighting and Marek Malik of the Vancouver Canucks.
^ During the 2002–03, season, there was a tie between Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk of the Colorado Avalanche.
^ During the 2000–01 season, there was tie between Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche and Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils.
^ During the 1979–80 season, there was a tie between Jim Schoenfeld of the Buffalo Sabres and Jimmy Watson of the Philadelphia Flyers.
^ During the 1990–91 season, there was a tie between Marty McSorley of the Los Angeles Kings and Theo Fleury of the Calgary Flames.
^ During the 1998–99 season, Alexander Karpovtsev led the league with a +39 rating. However, he played in 58 games and was ineligible since there is a 60 game minimum. Therefore, LeClair was given the award.

References[]

General


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at NHL Plus-Minus Award. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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