While Pro Hockey Talk doesn’t specialize in fantasy hockey (our Rotoworld cousins do, though), we still think that there are areas where we can help you, the budding imaginary general managers. For that reason, we’re going to discuss different philosophies, strategies and cheat sheets as fantasy drafts begin to increase around North America.
Today’s post: Penalty Minute sources.
If there is one quirky stat category in fantasy hockey that stands out as a bit controversial, it’s penalty minutes (or PIM). Some like the category because it rewards a certain amount of grit and can make defensive-minded defenseman a bit more useful in fantasy hockey. Others reasonably counter that taking a penalty often puts your team in a bad position, so why reward a mistake?
Regardless of how you feel about PIM, if you’re in a league that counts the stat, you’ll want to consider adding a player (or two) who consistently goes to to the sin bin. For that reason, I’ve collected the top 15 PIM leaders from the last three seasons (via NHL.com) for your quick reference.
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Consistency is a nice thing when it comes to fantasy hockey, so here’s a list of players who made the top 15 in two or more seasons. The players who made all three lists are in bold. This list could reasonably function as a “top 11" for next year.
Dan Carcillo - 1, 1, 4
Jared Boll - 2, 5, 15
Sean Avery - 15, NR, 11
Riley Cote - 4, 7, NR
Zack Stortini - 5, 4, 13
Chris Neil - 6, NR, 7
David Clarkson - 8, 10, NR
Eric Godard - 11, 8, NR
Colton Orr - 12, 3, 2
Scott Hartnell - 13, NR, 12
Shane O’Brien - 14, 2, NR
PITTSBURGH - APRIL 16: Chris Neil #25 of the Ottawa Senators mixes it up withAlex Goligoski #3 of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on April 16, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
Justin K. Aller
Now, it’s important to also consider guys who can play a little bit. Scott Hartnell jumps out in this category, as he’s often scored in the 20 goal range in his career. Chris Neil, Sean Avery and Steve Ott are other players who can combine scoring with penalty minutes with nice consistency while Steve Downie could join that group after an impressive 2009-10 season. Todd Bertuzzi was once a guy who came to mind, but both his points and PIMs have declined a bit in the last couple seasons.
Here are a few other things to factor in when drafting a guy for PIM-reasons:
- Roster changes - Will Dan Carcillo still reign as a PIM leader with the addition of fighter Jody Shelley in Philadelphia? Sean Avery faces a similar conundrum with Derek Boogaard. Although both players tend to take a lot of minor penalties, fights a good way to get some filler penalties.
- The “heavyweight” division - Fighters need to find other fighters to get crazy PIM, so the Atlantic Division could be a great place to get consistent major penalties. Keep that in mind.
- Make sure your guy is under contract - You might only have a minute or so when drafting a player, but it wouldn’t hurt to pop over to CapGeek to make sure they will play in the NHL next season.
So, with this information, I think you can invest wisely in a strange but imminently winnable stat category. While goals, assists, points, goalie stats and plus/minus can be difficult to predict, faceoff wins and penalty minutes are often very consistent. Stay tuned for other fantasy articles and cheat sheets as the regular season approaches.