I also always liked it in hockey because it generally aligned with the best players, so it had to have SOMETHING.

I distinctly remember the first year Igor Larionov was on the Sharks ('93-'94) where the team set an NHL record for a turnaround between seasons (they had just set the NHL record for losses the year prior with 71, so really they could only go up from there...) and the roster was good, not great -- classic 8th seed material -- but there was ONE player who had a +/- that popped out and it was Igor Larionov. and it's not hard to figure out why, he was probably the best, most complete player on that roster (which is probably why he ended up a long-time Scotty Bowman Red Wing, keeping that team elite by anchoring their 3rd line for years). so yeah, with hockey you have to adjust *a little* for team performance but in my time watching the sport it always had a way of neatly coinciding in a positive (or negative) fashion with the most complete (/incomplete) players in the game.

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HOPE!
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