What is a plus and a plus if a plus and a minus is a minus?

Plus/minus) is an ice hockey statistic that measures a player's goal differential. With the exclusion of power play and penalty shot goals, when an even-strength or shorthanded goal is scored, the plus–minus statistic is increased by one ("plus") for those players on the ice for the team scoring the goal; the plus–minus statistic is decreased by one ("minus") for those players on the ice for the team allowing the goal. 1 Whether or not the net is empty does not matter for purposes of plus–minus.

While the statistic officially measures a difference, it is sometimes (inaccurately) referred to as the plus? Minus ratio or plus? Minus rating.

While a player's plus? Minus statistic is calculated for each game played, it tends to provide a more meaningful measure over a full season. The statistic is directly affected by overall team performance, influenced by both the offensive and defensive performance of the team as a whole.

The plus? Minus is mainly used to examine the performance of defenders and forwards who play a defensive role, while offensive forwards are more often measured by their scoring statistics (goals and assists). Defencemen tend to lead the plus?

Minus statistic more often than forwards, since they log more even-strength ice time – though high-scoring forward Wayne Gretzky was the season leader in the National Hockey League (NHL) in four different years. The NHL's Montreal Canadiens were the first team to track the plus? Minus of its players, starting sometime in the 1950s.

Other teams followed in the early 1960s, and the NHL started officially compiling the statistic for the 1967–68 season. While Emile Francis is often credited with devising the system, he only popularized and adapted the system in use by the Canadiens. Starting with the 1982–83 season, the NHL has awarded the NHL Plus-Minus Award each year to the player with the highest plus?

Minus statistic during the regular season. The Western Hockey League (WHL) awards the WHL Plus-Minus Award each year to one of its players. Only four players have been multiple single-season leaders for the plus?

Minus statistic: defenceman Bobby Orr led the league six times, Wayne Gretzky led the league four times, while John LeClair and Chris Pronger were two-time leaders. One player on the career top five list, Ray Bourque, was never a single-season leader, while all-time career leader Larry Robinson only set the single-season mark once. Two players on the season top five list, defencemen Bobby Orr and Dallas Smith, achieved their high mark playing as a defence tandem on the same 1970–71 Boston Bruins team.