Predicting the 10 Most Penalized Players for the 2015-16 NHL Season
As fighting becomes less and less commonplace in the NHL, the league's agitators are assuming more prominent positions among the pure fighters on the list of players who have accumulated the most penalty minutes.
After the total number of fights took a sharp dip two years ago, the trend continued last season, according to HockeyFights.com. The number of regular-season games with fights dropped from 29.8 percent to 26.9 percent, and the total number of fights dropped from 469 to 391—the lowest level since the website started keeping fighting statistics in 2000-01.
The NHL's top penalty-minute man last season incurred more punishment than his counterpart from the year before, but not due to his fight totals. Steve Downie's 238 minutes beat out Tom Sestito's 213 minutes in 2013-14, but Downie fought just eight times last year, compared to 19 majors for Sestito the previous year.
The NHL's trend toward more speed and skill will most likely continue into 2015-16, pushing the "pure" fighter another step closer to extinction at hockey's top level.
Here's a look at the 10 players who are most likely to top the penalty-minute lists next season.
10. Eric Gryba: Edmonton Oilers
1 of 10
Career Stats: 165 games played, 187 penalty minutes, 318th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 75 games played, 97 penalty minutes, three majors, 18th overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: With wunderkind Connor McDavid about to launch his NHL career this fall, the Edmonton Oilers need to ensure that he, along with the team's other young talents, is protected as he develops.
Edmonton posted the league's worst goals against last season, so upgrades on the blue line have been a necessary part of this summer's retooling.
Enter Eric Gryba—a big-bodied third-pairing defenseman who happens to be tough as nails—acquired from the Ottawa Senators on draft day.
Gryba will help to stabilize the Oilers blue line and can drop the gloves when needed to give Edmonton's skilled forwards the time and space they need to develop their games—and score some goals.
With increased ice time in his new surroundings, expect to see Gryba's penalty totals crack the 100-minute mark next season for the first time in his career.
Projection: 110 penalty minutes.
9. Brandon Prust: Vancouver Canucks
2 of 10
Career Stats: 451 games played, 977 penalty minutes, 21st among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 82 games played, 134 penalty minutes, 16 majors, sixth overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: Brandon Prust has put up at least 100 minutes in penalties every year since his second NHL season in 2008-09. He's a classic example of the modern-day hybrid tough guy: not the biggest bloke on the block but able to hold his own in a fight while also bringing a high level of defensive responsibility.
Prust finished third in the league last season with 17 fighting majors.
After three seasons in Montreal, Prust was traded to Vancouver on draft day as the Canucks looked to bring in a little extra toughness to help spell off their resident pugilist, Derek Dorsett.
The tag team strategy should lower both players' individual penalty totals, but neither will shy away from what he's expected to do.
Projection: 120 penalty minutes.
8. Derek Dorsett: Vancouver Canucks
3 of 10
Career Stats: 410 games played, 1,030 penalty minutes, 17th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 79 games played, 175 penalty minutes, 17 majors, third overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: The NHL leader with 235 penalty minutes as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2012-13, Derek Dorsett came close to matching those numbers in his first year as a Vancouver Canuck.
Though he's just 6'0" and 192 pounds, Dorsett finished third in the NHL in penalty minutes last season and second overall with 17 fighting majors.
Dorsett also contributed a career-high 25 points in Vancouver, which makes him more valuable on the ice than he is when he's sitting in the penalty box.
By splitting up his enforcement duties with new arrival Brandon Prust, expect to see Dorsett's penalty totals drop somewhat while his offense increases.
Projection: 125 penalty minutes.
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7. David Clarkson: Columbus Blue Jackets
4 of 10
Career Stats: 547 games played, 969 penalty minutes, 23rd among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 61 games played, 106 penalty minutes, six majors, 13th overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: Can David Clarkson get his NHL career back on track now that he's out of the pressure cooker that is Toronto and starting the new season, presumably healthy, with the Columbus Blue Jackets?
He's in a great situation to give it his best shot.
The Jackets are a team on the rise with enough offensive talent that Clarkson should be able to play the role that suits him best: crashing, hitting and fighting.
If Clarkson can stay healthy in 2015-16, expect to see him conjure up a closer approximation to the player he was with the New Jersey Devils than the one who disappointed in his two years in Toronto. His goal total won't grow much past the double-digit mark, but his penalty minutes will be among the most in the league.
Projection: 130 penalty minutes.
6. Zac Rinaldo: Boston Bruins
5 of 10
Career Stats: 223 games played, 572 penalty minutes, 86th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 58 games played, 102 penalty minutes, 6 majors, 15th overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said he "wanted a little more energy" when he acquired 25-year-old Zac Rinaldo from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a third-round draft pick at the start of July, per Joe Haggerty of CSN Northeast. "He’s a player that’s still young and he plays with a tremendous amount of courage," Sweeney added.
Rinaldo plays on the edge—he has been suspended three times by the NHL in his four-year career. But he also finished 22nd in the league with 216 hits in just 58 games last season, as well as posting over 100 penalty minutes.
At 5'11" and 169 pounds, Rinaldo's not big, but he is bad. Expect to see him do everything possible to embody the historical reputation of the Bruins when he suits up in Beantown next season.
Projection: 140 penalty minutes.
5. Mark Borowiecki: Ottawa Senators
6 of 10
Career Stats: 84 games played, 175 penalty minutes, 336th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 63 games played, 107 penalty minutes, 13 majors, 12th overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: As longtime Ottawa Senators enforcer and active NHL penalty-minutes leader Chris Neil continued his slide into the twilight of his career, grinding defenseman Mark Borowiecki stepped in to maintain Ottawa's toughness quotient during the long stretches Neil was sidelined with injuries last season.
In just 63 games, Borowiecki accumulated 13 fighting majors, holding his own against tough customers such as Tom Wilson and Brandon Prust. He also tied for 16th in the league with 233 hits.
Now he has carved out a regular role on the Ottawa defense, expect to see Borowiecki's physical style become even more of a hallmark of the Ottawa Senators' game.
Projection: 155 penalty minutes.
4. Antoine Roussel: Dallas Stars
7 of 10
Career Stats: 200 games played, 442 penalty minutes, 136th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 80 games played, 148 penalty minutes, 12 majors, fifth overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: In today's NHL, Antoine Roussel is the embodiment of a player who has some sweet skills tucked into his bag of tricks along with his ornery nature.
Roussel is coming off seasons in which he has scored 14 and 13 goals in a secondary role for the Dallas Stars, but he's best known for his ability to get under the skin of his opponents.
Tied for sixth in the league last season with 12 fighting majors, Roussel is often called upon to answer for his pesky shenanigans on the ice. However, he helps to make room for his team's top players such as Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn, who walked away with last year's Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer.
With the Stars poised to take a step forward in 2015-16, expect to see Roussel's penalty totals do the same.
Projection: 160 penalty minutes.
3. Steve Downie: Arizona Coyotes
8 of 10
Career Stats: 408 games played, 1,004 penalty minutes, 19th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 72 games played, 238 penalty minutes, eight majors, first overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: Steve Downie finished the 2014-15 season 47 points ahead of second-place Cody McLeod in the penalty-minute race and was the only player to surpass the 200-minute plateau.
More of an agitator than a fighter, Downie's penalty totals were boosted by his league-leading nine misconducts—no other player accumulated more than four.
In addition to all his penalty minutes, Downie put up 14 goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Now a member of the Arizona Coyotes, the one-time first-round draft pick could move up the depth chart and wreak some real havoc with increased ice time on his new team.
Projection: 180 penalty minutes.
2. Tom Wilson: Washington Capitals
9 of 10
Career Stats: 149 games played, 323 penalty minutes, 207th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 67 games played, 172 penalty minutes, 19 majors, fourth overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: In his first two National Hockey League seasons, Tom Wilson has made a name for himself as a physical, take-no-prisoners forward who plays with a reckless edge to his game.
As Alex Prewitt reported in the Washington Post, Wilson incurred the wrath of both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers during the playoffs thanks to hits that were perceived to have crossed the line.
While Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz will certainly try to rein in those dangerous tendencies, Wilson's physical playing style won't disappear—and he'll be engaged by opponents more and more as he becomes better known around the league.
Look for the 6'4", 210-pound Wilson to continue racking up penalty minutes—and be forced to defend himself when he runs afoul of the opposition.
Projection: 195 penalty minutes.
1. Cody McLeod: Colorado Avalanche
10 of 10
Career Stats: 549 games played, 1,169 penalty minutes, 10th among active players.
2014-15 Stats: 82 games played, 191 penalty minutes, 19 majors, second overall.
Outlook for 2015-16: One of the last holdovers from the heavyweight era, Cody McLeod led the NHL with 19 major penalties last season and holds the record for most penalty minutes in a Colorado Avalanche jersey, per NHL.com.
A lifelong member of the Avs, the 31-year-old is starting a three-year contract extension that he signed before the beginning of last season, when he appeared in all 82 games for Colorado and averaged a solid 11:11 of ice time per game.
While many of the players he came up with no longer have NHL jobs, McLeod's roster spot looks secure—and he'll continue to play his role to the hilt in Colorado.
Expect to see McLeod's name topping the penalty-minute list this coming season.
Projection: 210 penalty minutes.
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