Hockey isn’t all about scoring goals and racking up assists.
Teams often need enforcers who play a physical brand of hockey and arent afraid to drop the gloves.
Here’s a list of who leads the league in penalty minutes this season.
Who Leads the NHL in Penalty Minutes This Year?
| Player | Team | Penalty Minutes |
| Arber Xhekaj | Montreal Canadiens | 92 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Philadelphia Flyers | 89 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | Florida Panthers | 74 |
| Brandon Montour | Florida Panthers | 73 |
| Max Comtois | Anaheim Ducks | 70 |
| Brady Tkachuk | Ottawa Senators | 68 |
| Mathieu Olivier | Columbus Blue Jackets | 68 |
| Luke Schenn | Vancouver Canucks | 67 |
| Travis Konecny | Philadelphia Flyers | 65 |
| Pat Maroon | Tampa Bay Lightning | 65 |
| Rasmus Dahlin | Buffalo Sabres | 64 |
| Mason Marchment | Dallas Stars | 64 |
| Tanner Jeannot | Nashville Predators | 64 |
| Chris Wideman | Montreal Canadiens | 61 |
| Ryan Lomberg | Florida Panthers | 59 |
| Jacob Middleton | Minnesota Wild | 59 |
| A.J. Greer | Boston Bruins | 59 |
| Michael Bunting | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 |
| Max Domi | Chicago Blackhawks | 58 |
| Mason Shaw | Minnesota Wild | 58 |
| Brenden Dillon | Winnipeg Jets | 57 |
| Trevor Zegras | Anaheim Ducks | 56 |
| Scott Mayfield | New York Islanders | 56 |
| Austin Watson | Ottawa Senators | 56 |
| Andrei Svechnikov | Carolina Hurricanes | 55 |
Another entertaining week of NHL action is in the books, and several players saw their PIMs increase over the past seven days. Most notably, Nicolas Deslauriers chipped away at Arber Xhekaj’s league-leading 92 penalty minutes. Deslauriers stood toe-to-toe with Ryan Reaves in a true heavyweight tilt. Reaves had the upper hand throughout the spirited bout, but it put Deslauriers within one major penalty of surpassing Xhekaj for the top spot on the list.
Trevor Zegras was in the news this weekend for all the wrong reasons. The Anaheim Ducks forward accumulated 12 penalty minutes in Saturday’s overtime victory over the Arizona Coyotes, most of which was earned on a 10-minute misconduct. Zegras and Coyotes forward Troy Stecher were involved in a skirmish, exchanging pleasantries while being separated by the officials.
Although it’s not clear what Zegras said to provoke Stecher, it’s evident it was terrible enough to warrant the penalty. These teams next meet on April 8, and it might be worth tuning in to see if any animosity carries over.
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