Hello and welcome back to Geek of the Week! This season has been an interesting one for the three main banger cats (Hits, Blocks, and PIM). Hits are generally down, and there's been some shifts in who have been true banger studs. I'm going to be examining some trends in these categories and seeing how player values have changed recently and where they might be in the future.

Radko Gudas – Current Season Stats: 44 GP, 126 Hits, 103 Blocks, 79 PIM

Gudas had a big drop off from his hit numbers of previous seasons. For many owners expecting over 4 hits per game from Radko, he's averaged less than 3 per game on the season. One silver lining was his increased block numbers, to 2.34 per game, as he shifted into a bigger role on a team that gets shelled with shot attempts against.

One statistic that can point to a shift in his game is his hit and block numbers on the penalty kill, where he's averaging a career-high in shorthanded ice time. He has only 2 hits shorthanded in 44 games played, but his block numbers have greatly increased. He used to throw his body around on the penalty kill, but has changed his tune. It may actually be helping as his shorthanded on-ice goals against per 60 are lower than in previous seasons.

This season has seen him turn into more of a balanced banger asset providing plenty of blocks and PIM while not necessarily dominating in hits anymore. I'm here to tell you that Gudas may be returning to his old ways. In his last 10 games, he's averaging 3.7 hits per game and has had 3 or more hits in every single game. This is to go along with a whopping 3.3 blocks per game. With these hit levels, consistent penalty minutes, and his increased block levels, he may be even more valuable now than in seasons past. If he can sustain this uptick in hits, he may be one of the most valuable banger defensemen again to finish the season. Now is the time to buy Gudas emphasizing his season average of under 3 hits per game. The butcher is back!

Kris Letang – Current Season Stats: 46 GP, 3 Goals, 26 Assists, 2 PPP, 78 Hits, 75 Blocks

Losing his spot on PP1 to Erik Karlsson has really hurt Letang's value in most leagues. He has only picked up 2 power play points, though he has still picked up plenty of even strength points to keep him somewhat valuable. One area he has taken another dip in is in hits. After averaging 2.5 hits per game last season, he has only averaged 1.7 per game this season.

Like Gudas, Letang has also be stepping it up in hits lately. In the last month, Letang has averaged 2.8 hits per game. These are more variable, as he sometimes gets 0 and sometimes gets 7 (February 22 vs. Arizona), but if you're rostering Letang, it isn't only because of the hits so the variability is fine.

Letang can still put up points and gets a fair amount of PIM and blocks. If he can sustain around 2.5 hits per game to finish the season, he will be much more valuable than he has been so far. We'll see if this trend continues.

Jani Hakanpaa – Current Season Stats: 49 GP, 114 Hits, 102 Blocks, 31 PIM

Hakanpaa has never been a league leader in hits, but provides consistent production (around 2.5 per game) and has the odd game with 7+ hits.  This season, Hakanpaa has increased his blocks to over 2 per game. In the last 2 weeks though, he leads the league in blocks with a whopping 4.4 per game. Over the last month he's averaged 3 per game. He provides all-around category coverage and could be taking a bigger step toward being a big block producer.

For deeper banger leagues that need category coverage, Hakanpaa can be relied on for consistent hits and blocks.

Hope you enjoyed! See you next week.

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