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Rasmus Andersson on pace for the worst plus-minus in Calgary Flames franchise history

Originally posted on The Win Column | By Joshua Serafini | Last updated Apr 3, 2025 12:08 PM ET

With a loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night, the Calgary Flames’ 2024–25 playoff hopes are hanging on by a thread. There are a multitude of reasons for the team’s failed season, but one of the main ones has to be the struggles of one of their most important defenders, Rasmus Andersson.

It’s no secret that Andersson has had a tough year, but his struggles are starting to hit historic levels right now. With contract extension discussions slated to kick off in a couple months, the Flames need to take a long, hard look at the player Andersson has been recently before they consider any sort of extension.

Historically bad plus-minus

Look, we all know plus-minus is an incredibly flawed statistic. With that said, I still think it can paint an interesting picture when you look at the outliers. For example, if a player has an incredibly low or incredibly high plus-minus, there’s obviously some truth to the numbers. This season, Andersson is on the negative end of the spectrum in that regard.

He’s currently sitting on a minus-32 on the season through 74 games. With eight games left in the year, he’s currently tracking to post the worst plus-minus in the history of the Flames franchise. That includes both the Atlanta and Calgary versions of the team dating all the way back to 1972. Here is the bottom 10 right now.

Season	Player	Plus-Minus
2024–25	Rasmus Andersson	-32
2023-24	Jonathan Huberdeau	-29
2023-24	Yegor Sharangovich	-29
1972–73	Jacques Richard	-25
1983-84	Kent Nilsson	-24
2001-02	Robyn Regehr	-24
1982-83	Guy Chouinard	-23
1996-97	Joel Bouchard	-23
2013-14	Chris Butler	-23
1972–73	Keith McCreary	-22

Interestingly enough, this is the second straight season in which the Flames could set a franchise worst mark for plus-minus. Just last year, both Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich set the franchise record for worst plus-minus at -29. Breaking a record that was first set all the way back in the franchise’s very first season in 1972–73 when Jacques Richard had a -25 in the Flames inaugural season two years in a row is quite the feat.

Andersson is also the only defender in the bottom-six, with Robyn Regehr’s -24 in the 2000–01 season being the next closest by a blueliner. In fact, only six defenders in franchise history have had a plus-minus at -20 or lower. Andersson is currently tracking to be in the -30s, showing just how bad his season has been.

Even strength results are just as bad

One of the main reasons that the plus-minus is flawed is that it takes into consideration empty net goals for and against, as well as shorthanded goals for and against. If we were to eliminate those instances and look at only even-strength goal differentials and plus-minus, Andersson’s numbers are still tough to look at.

Season	Player	Plus-Minus
2023–24	Yegor Sharangovich	-31
2024–25	Rasmus Andersson	-28
2013–14	Lee Stempniak	-26
2013–14	Chris Butler	-26
2017–18	Mikael Backlund	-22
2017–18	Michael Frolik	-21
2023–24	Jonathan Huberdeau	-21
2011–12	Jay Bouwmeester	-20
2011–12	Tim Jackman	-19
2014–15	Deryk Engelland	-18

His -28 EV GD is not a franchise worst just yet, but it’s close, with plenty of time to break the record. Since the stat was first tracked starting in 2009–10, only Sharangovich’s -31 EV GD from last season is worse than Andersson’s current 2024–25 total. His 81 EV goals against are already a franchise worst before the season even finishes.

League-wide, his -28 EV GD is currently the third-worst in the NHL behind only Mario Ferraro and Mason Lohrei, both of whom play for the worst teams in their respective conferences. Whether it’s compared to his own teammates or across the NHL, Andersson’s numbers look incredibly rough.

A disastrous season

Make no mistake, it’s clear that it’s been a disaster of a season for Andersson. In a year in which he was expected to be a key cog on a weak blueline, he’s instead been one of the team’s worst players. Not only that, but he’s currently tracking to have one of the worst seasons in franchise history. The offseason can’t come soon enough for Andersson.

This article first appeared on The Win Column and was syndicated with permission.

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