The value of a hockey player is often measured in very blunt ways. How many goals has a player scored, how many assists have they recorded? Have they proven their worth on the power-play, or do they hold their own defensively?
These are obviously very important parts in the make-up of player value, but some other areas don’t get as much love.
In this piece, we’re focused on player discipline. While PIMs may help your fantasy team (can we also just wonder out loud why that is a thing?), taking penalties is objectively negative in the real word.
With that in mind, we’d like to showcase the seven NHLers that have managed to make it through 30 or more games without taking a single penalty thus far in 2021.
Jack Hughes – New Jersey Devils: 34 Games Played.
The 2019 1st overall pick has had a slower start to his career than many Devils fans would have hoped. One thing they can certainly rest their cap on is his ability to stay out of the box. Hughes has no penalty minutes thus far, and in 61 games played during his rookie campaign, he only recorded 10 penalty minutes.
William Karlsson – Vegas Golden Knights: 33 Games Played.
Those that have watched Karlsson play throughout his career likely aren’t all that surprise. Karlsson has played nearly a full slate of games since the 2015-16 season, and has never recorded more than 16 penalty minutes in a season.
Curtis Lazar – Buffalo Sabres: 31 Games Played.
This one is a little more surprising, as Lazar is definitely the grittiest name on the list. He’s thrown 64 hits, so it’s definitely not that he’s backing down from the rough stuff.
Lazar has received four fighting majors thus far in his career, but in 2021 he hasn’t picked up so much as an accidental tripping call. This is part of the reason Buffalo has the LOWEST penalty minutes per game in the NHL.
Trevor Lewis – Winnipeg Jets: 36 Games Played.
Second in hits with 40, Trevor Lewis also has the most games played with 36. Lewis has enjoyed a long career, playing high game totals with the Kings since the 2010-11 season. In that time, he’s only surpassed the 20 PIM mark four times, and he’s never gotten more than 30 PIM in a year.
Victor Rask – Minnesota Wild: 31 Games Played.
Rask is another player that simply doesn’t get penalized. In 436 career games, Rask only has 82 total penalty minutes. He hasn’t added to that total at all so far in 2021.
While every other player on this list plays on a team that ranks in the bottom 11 in terms of PIMs/Game, Minnesota ranks 6th highest with an average of 9.33 PIM per contest. Can’t blame Rask for that!
Filip Zadina – Detroit Red Wings: 30 Games Played.
Filip Zadina is up to 67 games in his young career, and so far he has taken a grand total of ONE minor penalty. He may go all year without an infraction.
Alex Iafallo – Los Angeles Kings: 32 Games Played.
Rounding out the list of NHLers to not record a single PIM in 30+ games played is Alex Iafallo. On the flip side, he’s contributed to the Kings’ power-play with three goals and four assists. If you’re a coach, you love those splits!
