Free agent signings in August are few and far between, but one was announced on Friday. The Vancouver Canucks have signed center Pius Suter to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.6 million. Over his three NHL seasons, Suter has provided modest point totals while showing remarkable consistency in the goal department (14, 15, 14).

This signing shouldn't have a major impact on fantasy leagues, since Suter is likely projected as a third-line center for the Canucks. The Canucks are fairly well-stocked at wing, so a 40-point season isn't out of the question for Suter. Teddy Blueger was expected to fill a third-line role for the Canucks when he was signed on July 1, but he likely moves down to a fourth-line role where he is more ideally suited. Sheldon Dries and/or Jack Studnicka could be healthy scratches or AHL bound if everyone is healthy.

For more, check out the Fantasy Take from Mike.

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Last week I discussed the Multi-Category option on Frozen Tools, which lists many stat categories. Most notably, the Multi-Category grid has a combined hits and blocked shots category as well as a combined shots and hits and blocked shots category. These combined categories can help you find the best available options for peripheral (non-scoring) categories in your multicategory league.

A reader suggested that I include penalty minutes in my analysis, since many leagues still count that category, so I've decided to break it down today. I'll be honest, though: I've soured somewhat on the penalty minutes category since I was first introduced to it about 20 years ago. At first, it seemed like a category that rewarded toughness. The more penalty minutes, the better, right? Yet with the introduction of hits and blocked shots as more well-known categories that account for the black-and-blue side of the game, penalty minutes is not as popular a category as it once was. Having said that, it is still a category that is used in many leagues.

Here are the league leaders in penalty minutes in 2022-23. These are all the players that finished with at least 100 penalty minutes last season.

The penalty minute totals elevate the multicategory values of players like Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk. They are no surprise here, given the last name and reputation. Brandon Montour, however, had recorded at least 50 penalty minutes just once in his six seasons in the NHL prior to 2022-23. The fact that he played a career-high 24 minutes per game was a factor, but it wouldn't have been the only reason. Although some players will naturally receive more penalty minutes than others due to style of play, there might be a certain randomness to penalty minutes.

A breakdown of penalty minute types might help. The league leader in minor penalties in 2022-23 was Rasmus Dahlin (41), who is hardly a one-category wonder in fantasy. Although Dahlin is not known for his penalty minute totals, he was also in the top 10 in this category in 2021-22 with 32 minor penalties. Another notable minor penalty leader is Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has finished in the top 5 in minor penalties for two consecutive seasons. Dubois had a league-leading 43 minor penalties in 2021-22 and 36 in 2022-23. Although they don't stand out like the Tkachuks, Dahlin and Dubois are players you could target for penalty minutes without sacrificing too much scoring.

Now onto the type of penalty that might draw the most attention: fighting majors. Minor penalties occur more often than fights, which might mean that the players who take more minor penalties are a more reliable option for penalty minutes. That is supported by the fact that the number of fights per game has decreased dramatically from roughly 0.6 fights per game in 2008-09 to less than 0.2 fights per game in 2018-19. In other words, you'll be waiting longer for a fighting major to happen, especially with the decline in fighting. The recent news of the QMJHL banning fighting is another step towards fights being suspendable in the NHL one day. In my opinion, fights won't completely disappear from the NHL, since they occur from time to time in other sports during the heat of the action like baseball.

That all being said, the players who fight the most often offer the bigger penalty minute payoff. Nicolas Deslauriers led the league with 14 fights, while Pat Maroon and Austin Watson were tied for second with 12 fights. As per above, all three of these players were in the top 5 in overall penalty minutes, along with the Tkachuks. Obviously, none of these three offers near the amount of scoring that Matthew and Brady do, but they are appropriate if you have room for a penalty minute category killer (Watson needs to find a team first).

Among the 12 players with at least 100 penalty minutes, nine had at least 100 hits. The three players that didn't were among the better scorers of the group (Matthew Tkachuk, Montour, Michael Bunting). Matthew is a better scorer than younger brother Brady, but the gap between them in multicategory leagues is fairly close because Brady hits a lot more. There may not be a player that can offer solid coverage in as many categories as Brady can. 

Tanner Jeannot likely won't ever reach Tkachuk levels in terms of scoring, but he might be a Tkachuk lite in terms of what he can offer in multicategory leagues. Jeannot was in the top 10 in both penalty minutes and in hits (and the combined hits/blocked shots category, even though forwards don't block many shots). Even if he is limited to 40 points, Jeannot is incredibly valuable in bangers leagues.

Deslauriers finished second in penalty minutes and third in hits, which makes him a potential target in deeper leagues that count both categories. However, the 32-year-old winger has never scored more than 15 points in a season. He'll continue to be an anchor scoring-wise, so his real value to your team will depend on 1) How many bangers categories you have relative to other categories where he doesn't contribute, and 2) How deep your league is. Believe it or not, I actually tried to obtain Deslauriers off waivers in one bangers league this offseason, but another team with higher waiver priority was able to claim him. If you're worried about him being healthy scratched, he's missed a combined three games over the past two seasons.

One more banger worth mentioning is Arber Xhekaj. Someone asked me before the season whether he would have value in bangers leagues, and I said I thought he would eventually. The rookie Habs d-man made an impact sooner than I expected with 101 PIM and 159 hits in just 51 games before he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Had he played a full 82-game season, Xhekaj would have finished with 162 PIM and 255 hits. Of course, his style of play lends itself to injury, but he's a must-roster for leagues that count both penalty minutes and hits while requiring at least four defensemen.

Finally, how about fewest penalty minutes in the most games? Simon Holmstrom played 50 games in 2022-23 and did not take a single penalty. The next NHL penalty he takes will be his first NHL penalty. Jesper Fast also accrued just two minor penalties and no other penalties in 82 games. Not exactly someone you should target in your bangers league, given that there are also better scoring options out there. Joe Pavelski had just 14 PIM in 82 games, so his value decreases in leagues that count penalty minutes.

Lady Byng Trophy winners usually lack penalty minutes. 2023 winner Anze Kopitar received 14 PIM in 81 games, while 2022 winner Kyle Connor took just 4 PIM in 79 games. Connor ballooned to 20 PIM in 2022-23, which is a significant increase but would still hardly qualify as a strong penalty minutes option.

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Dobber’s 18th annual Fantasy Guide PDF and Draft List spreadsheet is available! Sleepers, rookies, stock drops, goalies, schedule breakdown, team-by-team projections and analysis, and more! Buy it as a standalone product, or get it as a discount as part of a package. I should also mention that Mike has compiled a list of pure penalty minute options in the guide.

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