DaltonProut

Six cheap players to consider in multi-category salary cap leagues.

So you are in the hunt for some inexpensive guys who can offer up some categories other than your standard goals, assists, and power-play points are you? Don't want to use up a lot of cap space to roster these guys? Well I am going to share with you three forwards and three defencemen you should be either snagging off your waiver wire or trying to acquire in a trade to help you fill your PIM, hits and blocks categories. Let's go dumpster diving and find some "fly under the radar" type of players who can help your team today!

Forwards

Cody McLeod – COL -$1.15M AVV, 4 years

player	GP	G	A	P 📢 advertisement:	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
MCLEOD, CODY 📢 advertisement:	40	3	3	6	0.15	4	87	35	106	0	0	1	23	00:07	2.1	27.2	09:26	15.4

The Avalanche's resident bad boy recently re-signed for three more years with the Avalanche, so not only do you get quality peripheral numbers from him, you get it for a long term at a decent rate of only $1.15M per year. McLeod is currently second in the NHL in PIMs, the thirteenth best forward in the league for hits. He chips in with the odd point from time to time but his true strengths in fantasy hockey are the PIMs and hitting.

Cedric Paquette – TB – $0.625M, 2 years

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
PAQUETTE, CEDRIC	32	5	3	8	0.25	0	30	45	62	0	0	1	28	00:04	1.2	36.4	12:45	21.0

One of the nicer surprises for Tampa Bay this season has been the play of scrappy rookie, Cedric Paquette. Touted as a "jack of all trades" for the Bolts, he has seemed to fill a nice role as a guy who goes hard to the net and is responsible defensively. He fills a lot of categories nicely for a bargain price. He's been up and down a couple times this year but has seemed to find his role with the team on their fourth line and appears to be there to stay.

Ryan Carter – MIN – $0.725M, 1 year

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
CARTER, RYAN	34	3	8	11	0.32	1	41	25	50	0	0	1	22	00:01	0.3	32.2	09:39	15.9

Probably one of the better bangs for the buck, Carter has already shown more offensive ability this year compared to most of his previous years, and has also shown some nice grit too. Scooped up in the off-season and signed to a one year deal, Carter has not disappointed anyone in Minnesota. His 41 PIMs lead all Wild forwards and hit hits and blocks to date rank him near the top in those categories with the Wild as well.

Defence

Dalton Prout – CLB – $1.075M, 2 years

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
PROUT, DALTON	33	0	5	5	0.15	-11	53	28	87	0	0	0	48	00:01	0.4	35.8	17:50	29.2

Better known for his one-punch knockout of Milan Lucic, Prout come in on my list as a solid, across the board, fantasy asset to own. He does lead Columbus defensemen in PIMs and is right there for hits and blocks as well. For the price, he is a solid fantasy asset to roster.

Brayden McNabb – LAK – $0.625M, 2 years

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
MCNABB, BRAYDEN	37	0	10	10	0.27	-1	35	36	101	0	3	0	32	01:07	18.8	16.3	15:54	26.0

McNabb, or McNasty as he was known as during his CHL days with Kootenay, is finally seeing a regular NHL shift in LA and is proving he is ready for the full time gig. Even though he's averaging just under 16 minutes per game (other than Jamie McBain, the lowest among the Kings D), he is still third overall on the Kings for hits and is also one of the teams better PIM guys. The guy even has three PPP, even though that's not my focus for this column. It's still worth noting.

Erik Gryba – OTT – $1.25M – 2 years

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
GRYBA, ERIC	39	0	6	6	0.15	7	66	29	72	0	0	0	25	00:03	0.8	44.6	15:26	25.1