Fantasy Hockey Woeful Plus/Minus Ratings: Nikita Kucherov, Rasmus Dahlin, Zeev Buium and More

Hey folks! Today we are going to talk about something nobody wants to see. What is it? A great player, who statistically lets in more goals against when even strength than he is on the ice for. Yes, sadly we are talking about plus/minus rating (+/-).

A lot of leagues in fantasy count plus/minus, while others turn their nose up at it. No matter what side of the fence you sit on, even strength matters, and we all know it.

Plus/minus is something that well-educated fantasy team owners look at and consider. It could be the difference between player A and player B when looking for a streamer or trade target. 

Let's review some of these surprising names on our list of five skaters today.

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Sam Bennett - Florida Panthers

Newly signed Bennet of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions is not someone I thought would be on this list. Bennet is at a -9 +/- rating in just seven games played. How is this possible?

It could be the absence of both captain Aleksander Barkov and franchise superstar Matthew Tkachuk. Take them both out of the lineup, and the impact has a huge ripple, even for back-to-back champs.

A huge defensive bulwark, and physical scoring phenom would hurt being removed from any roster, even the Cats. Bennett is still playing top line minutes, and is on the second unit powerplay, but this doesn't seem to be helping his even strength play as he has the worst +/- rating of any top-rostered player in the league.

Bennet has one goal, zero assists, and one powerplay point in seven games played as a forward. He also has 16 shots on goal, 18 hits, and three blocked shots.

Nikita Kucherov - Tampa Bay Lightning

One of the most prolific point producers this generation - how on earth did he end up on this list? And not just on this list, but has an alarming -8 +/- in half as many games.

With just one win in six games, the usual Stanley Cup contending and high scoring (other Florida) team has struggled to get out of the gate. Even elite goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is struggling and has let in 14 goals in just four starts, so it's no wonder that even the top line is feeling the effects.

While listed as day-to-day and missing the last two games, still having only put up three points in four games is behind his regular scoring pace, as well as certainly behind his +/- pace. Last year, he was a +22, and has had 100+ point efforts the last three consecutive seasons. I suspect Kuch will bounce back when he returns, but this is quite the anomaly of a start for him.

Kucherov has two goals, one assist, and two powerplay points in four games played as a forward. He also has eight shots on goal, one hit, and one blocked shot.

MacKenzie Weegar - Calgary Flames

Bangers league legend, and defensive mainstay. The hard-hitting Weegar is not a surprise to be on this list, but his biggest downfall is the sweater he wears on the ice.

The Flames are spiraling, and Weegar is going down with the ship. Forwards Nazem Kadri and Matt Coronato are also feeling the effects of what is likely to be a season long unsustainably poor +/- rating. Weegar currently sits at -8, and is trending to only get worse from here.

The Flames have some amazing rookie talent on the way, but as they are two seasons away from a new arena in Scotia Place in the 2027-28 season, they seem to be stubbornly trying to hold together a team that can contend, instead of embracing a full rebuild.

What this has done is leave them in limbo where they are neither contending, or gaining momentum with up-and-coming stars because their picks aren't high enough. As today's kids would say, they are “mid" and sadly Weegar's value suffers because of this when he could be a top-rated bangers league defenseman.

Weegar has zero goals, two assists, and one powerplay point in six games played as a defenseman. He also has five shots on goal, 17 hits, and eight blocked shots.

Zeev Buium - Minnesota Wild

It pains me to say this, but Buium could be the next Cale Makar if he could defend himself out of a wet paper bag. His skating, shooting and passing is elite. He is still paired with captain Jared Spurgeon, who shares his woeful +/- rating. Spurgeon sits at -7, while Buium is one worse at -8.

What's crazy is Buium remains solidified on the top powerplay unit among Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Marco Rossi (when healthy), and Kirill Kaprizov.

What's more is Buium has five points, and all five of them come at the man advantage. Can we buy this defender some even strength points? It's the only thing missing from his game.

If this continues, instead of the next Makar, he will end up being the next Erik Karlsson, who is a forward that happens to play on the blueline resulting in a not ideal ability to defend.

Buium has one goal, four assists, and five powerplay points in seven games as a defenseman. He also has 12 shots on goal, two hits, and four blocked shots.

Rasmus Dahlin - Buffalo Sabres

Arguably one of the top-three defenseman in the league, whose Achilles heel is also the sweater he wears on the ice. As of late, frustration as shown in media scrums by both Dahlin and Tage Thompson who, above all else, just want to compete.

The Sabres had a rough start to the year, going four games straight to start the year without a win, then saw hope with two straight wins, only to lose again in game seven. Dahlin sits at -6 so far for the campaign. 

As an elite shooter, and powerplay specialist, Dahlin if surrounded by more talent would be a perennial point per game defenseman who would be a keeper in every league format in fantasy. Instead, his value drops, and he has the unfortunate ability to lose more points than he gets in games where he is unable to produce since his only notable peripheral is shots on goal.

If the Sabres can't turn things around this season, they will only be an anchor to the couple elite players they have on their roster, and they will all share the liability that is their +/- rating.

Dahlin has zero goals, five assists, and three powerplay points as in six games played as a defenseman. He also has 17 shots on goal, eight hits, and five blocked shots.