Predicting the 10 NHL Players with the Most Penalty Minutes in 2016-17

The NHL preseason is underway, and fans around the league are seeing their fair share of old-fashioned fights, as players literally battle to get noticed to try to secure big league roster spots.

For the most part, their efforts will be futile. Once the regular season gets rolling, fisticuffs will become more and more of a rare occurrence.

HockeyFights.com stats confirm that fighting in the NHL dropped again in 2015-16. Speed and skill are now seen as the more effective tools for winning hockey games. A better understanding of the long-term effects of blows to the head has also helped fans and players understand that hockey fights are more than just harmless sideshows within a game.

Fighting isn't out hockey quite yet. Players who are willing to spar can still rack up penalty minutes much more quickly than the agitators who are primarily whistled for minors.

This coming season, no one is going to come anywhere near Dave "the Hammer" Schultz's all-time record of 472 penalty minutes in a single season, set in 1974-75, according to QuantHockey. For the second straight year, it's unlikely anyone will even break the 200-minute threshold.

Here's the mix of fighters and superpests who are the most likely to become the NHL's most penalized players in 2016-17.

10. Cody McLeod, Colorado Avalanche

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Career Penalty Stats: 631 games played, 1,307 penalty minutes, sixth among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 82 games played, 138 penalty minutes, 12 majors, fifth overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: A throwback to the days of the NHL's old-school pugilists, Cody McLeod was a trusted soldier for former coach Patrick Roy with the Colorado Avalanche. McLeod wore an "A" as he played all 82 games in each of the last two seasons. He also led the NHL in fights both years.

McLeod is 32. He has two years remaining on a contract signed with the Avalanche before the 2015-16 season. It's not yet clear how an enforcer such as McLeod will fit into the system being instituted by new Avs coach Jared Bednar, but it's highly possible his role could change.

Expect McLeod's penalty totals to drop this year. He'll still play physically when he does get onto the ice, but healthy scratches and less ice time could well become the norm in the Bednar regime.

Projection: 100 penalty minutes.

9. Mark Borowiecki, Ottawa Senators

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Career Penalty Stats: 147 games played, 282 penalty minutes, 224th among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 63 games played, 107 penalty minutes, nine majors, 13th overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: Like McLeod, Mark Borowiecki's position on his team is less clear going into this season, thanks to the arrival of a new coach. Now 27, Borowiecki's career with the Ottawa Senators didn't gain traction until the last two seasons, during the Dave Cameron years. 

As things stand, Borowiecki's slotted into the No. 5 spot on the Ottawa blue line, according to Rotoworld. New coach Guy Boucher and associate Marc Crawford will try to get the Sens back on the winning track, but neither man shies away from a physical style of play for his teams. 

Borowiecki's role shouldn't change too much from how he was used last season, so his penalty totals should also be similar.

Projection: 110 penalty minutes.

8. Antoine Roussel, Dallas Stars

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Career Penalty Stats: 280 games played, 565 penalty minutes, 73rd among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 80 games played, 123 penalty minutes, nine majors, sixth overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: Antoine Roussel's most powerful weapon may well be his mouth. He's a fast talker who seems to know just what to say to get under his opponents' skin—and that leads to plenty of combative moments on the ice.

Though Roussel's known more as an agitator than a fighter, his nine majors last season tied him for sixth place in the league in that category. His 123 hits are a much more pedestrian number. He'll drop 'em when he needs to, but his penalty total is buoyed by a large number of minor penalties—39 last year.

Roussel has managed to trim his penalty minutes over the past three seasons—from 209 in 2013-14 to 148 in 2014-15 to just 123 last season. That number may drop a bit more, but he'll remain a target of opponents and officials. Don't expect Roussel to fall from the top 10 most penalized players this year.

Projection: 115 penalty minutes.

7. Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings

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Career Penalty Stats: 480 games played, 417 penalty minutes, 138th among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 82 games played, 120 penalty minutes, four majors, seventh overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: We don't see this trend very often in today's NHL, but Justin Abdelkader had a breakthrough in penalty minutes last season, posting more in one year than he did in the previous two seasons combined. The 29-year-old logged four fights and one misconduct, but most of his minutes came from his 45 minor penalties—just two fewer than league leader Dustin Byfuglien.

Abdelkader's scrappy style was supposed to be a foundational piece of Team USA's game plan at this year's World Cup of Hockey. Though it didn't achieve the desired results, Abdelkader did play a major role for the Americans before their round-robin elimination. 

Expect Abdelkader to keep up his chippy play with the Detroit Red Wings in 2016-17. Now in his second year behind the bench, coach Jeff Blashill will most likely assign Abdelkader to a similar role as the one he played last season. Similar penalty totals should follow.

Projection: 120 penalty minutes.

6. Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets

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Career Penalty Stats: 678 games played, 796 penalty minutes, 31st among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 81 games played, 119 penalty minutes, one major, eighth overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: Listed at 6'5" and a walloping 260 pounds, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien delivers a unique form of punishment within the NHL game. He's not afraid to drop the gloves, but most of his penalties are of the two-minute variety. Byfuglien led the NHL with 47 minors in 2015-16.

Big Buff's a workhorse in Winnipeg, which has led to him cracking the 100-penalty-minute plateau in each of the last two seasons. Expect more of the same in 2016-17.

Projection: 125 penalty minutes.

5. Milan Lucic, Edmonton Oilers

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Career Penalty Stats: 647 games played, 851 penalty minutes, 24th among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 81 games played, 79 penalty minutes, three majors, 38th overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: More power forward than pugilist, Milan Lucic has refined his game since his rough-and-tumble early years but still plays with an edge.

Lucic hasn't logged more than 100 minutes in penalties since 2011-12, right around the same time his offensive output was peaking. He'll get plenty of chances to pick up points in his new gig as Connor McDavid's muscle on the Edmonton Oilers but will also need to play the role of McDavid's defender.

Expect to see Lucic's penalty minutes spike as he strives to show the Oilers and their fans why he is worthy of the $42 million contract he signed on July 1.

Projection: 130 penalty minutes.

4. Matt Martin, Toronto Maple Leafs

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Career Penalty Stats: 438 games played, 680 penalty minutes, 49th among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 80 games played, 119 penalty minutes, 11 majors, ninth overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: Best known as the NHL's biggest hitter, Matt Martin is also an active fighter who has logged at least 10 bouts in four of his six NHL seasons, according to Hockey Fights.

Martin's profile will increase dramatically in 2016-17 now he has signed on at a General Fanager-reported cap hit of $2.5 million per year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 27-year-old Ontario native will earn a lot more ink and a lot more airtime playing in Canada's largest hockey market. And while Auston Matthews is no shrinking violet, Martin will be one of the players charged with ensuring that opponents don't take liberties with the Leafs' prized rookie.

Expect to see Martin's hits and his penalty minutes spike in 2016-17.

Projection: 135 penalty minutes.

3. Zack Kassian, Edmonton Oilers

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Career Penalty Stats: 234 games played, 421 penalty minutes, 136th among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 36 games played, 114 penalty minutes, two majors, 11th overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: After a tumultuous start to his 2015-16 season and a flameout in Montreal, Zack Kassian made the most of his second chance when he latched on with the Edmonton Oilers.

Playing mostly bottom-six minutes, he only managed eight points but racked up 114 penalty minutes in just 36 games—by far the highest minutes-per-game ratio of any of the NHL's most penalized players.

Milan Lucic adds a physical presence to the Oilers top line, but Kassian's more of a wild card, capable of delivering punishment wherever it's needed. Expect the 25-year-old to hit a new career high in penalty minutes.

Projection: 140 penalty minutes.

2. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals

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Career Penalty Stats: 231 games played, 486 penalty minutes, 103rd among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 82 games played, 163 penalty minutes, nine majors, third overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: Big Tom Wilson has enough skill to be a useful forward in the NHL, but his calling card is his physical game. Wilson's not afraid to drop the gloves. He has often been required to do just that after delivering big hits—sometimes of the questionable variety—on unsuspecting opponents.

In 2015-16, his third NHL season, Wilson reached career highs in goals (seven), points (23) and average ice time (12:55). He also finished third in the league in penalty minutes, tied for sixth with nine major penalties and outright 10th with a career-high 253 hits.

Wilson's role with the Washington Capitals will likely grow a little more again this year, but it won't be at the expense of the snarl in his game. Expect his penalty totals to remain consistent with recent seasons.

Projection: 160 penalty minutes.

1. Derek Dorsett, Vancouver Canucks

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Career Penalty Stats: 481 games played, 1,207 penalty minutes, eighth among active players.

2015-16 Penalty Stats: 71 games played, 177 penalty minutes, 11 majors, first overall.

Outlook for 2016-17: After Derek Dorsett took 17 major penalties in his first season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2014-15, management brought in a reinforcement to help ease Dorsett's load: Brandon Prust.

The situation didn't quite work out as planned. Prust played just 35 games in a Vancouver uniform, though he did log seven majors in that short time. As a result, Dorsett continued to carry the burden of the Canucks' team toughness. By season's end, he had tied for second in the league with 11 major penalties and led all players with 177 penalty minutes.

Dorsett also led the league in penalty minutes once before, logging 235 minutes with the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2011-12. Expect to see him scrap his way through another season on a Vancouver team that's striving to be harder to play against in the physical Pacific Division.

Projection: 180 penalty minutes.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.