DFS: Penalty Minute Specialists as Daily Fantasy Options

Ask any coach in the NHL what his biggest pet peeve is, and he'll likely mention players taking dumb penalties.

That isn't the case with daily fantasy hockey, as several major sites award full or partial points for every penalty minute a player racks up.

There are two groups of players to be analyzed. First, we'll look strictly at players who accumulate penalty minutes, but don't offer much - or any - offensive production. When forced to punt a position due to salary cap restrictions, these are the minimal-cost options most likely to post a non-zero fantasy point total.

The second group is made up of players who produce consistent offense, while adding to their value with penalty minutes.

Penalty Minute Specialists as Punt Options

Here are the penalty minute leaders from the 2014-15 season:

With the exception of Winnipeg Jets D Dustin Byfuglien, each of these players are regularly priced at or near the minimum cost on most sites. Even with low point production and unreliable playing time, these players can provide value on a cost-per-point basis.

Defensemen Mark Borowiecki (Ottawa Senators) and Roberto Bortuzzo (St. Louis Blues) ranked inside the top-20 penalty minute leaders last season. As defensemen they'll both receive more ice time than a similarly priced bottom-six forward. More ice time will provide them with more opportunities for points and penalty minutes.

The usage and production of these players can be wildly unpredictable and inconsistent, leading to many games with zero fantasy points over the course of the season. The best times to target these players are:

• When they're temporarily moved into a top-six role, or put on a power play unit. Or if they'll be playing with a young or struggling offensively minded player while in the bottom six.
  
• When two (or more) face each other. The increased likelihood of a fight increases the potential for more fantasy points.
  
• Games projected to be lopsided. These types of players won't be given ice time in close/meaningful games, but they are given more time when the stars rest late in blowouts.

How to Add Value with Penalty Minutes

What's better than getting a couple points out of a low-cost option? Extracting a few extra points out of a mid-tier player.

The following are the penalty minutes leaders for players who notched at least 40 points in 2014-15:

Backes and Landeskog finished with 62 and 37 more penalty minutes, respectively, than Colorado Avalanche winger Jarome Iginla, who finished with a similar point total.

Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voracek, who finished tied for fourth in points, finished with five more penalty minutes than anyone else in the top 50 in the points race.

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, who won the Art Ross Trophy, finished T79 in penalty minutes with 64.

Both Byfuglien and Letang receive an extra boost by being defensemen.

While the difference in average fantasy point production contributed by penalty minutes is unlikely to alter the pricing of comparable offensive players, the chance of a particularly undisciplined game, or a fight, can be the difference in GPPs. A few penalty minutes will also soften the blow of a game with no offensive production, and allow an owner to remain in the money.