First off, congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings, who won the Stanley Cup in five games after defeating the New York Rangers in a double overtime thriller. Alec Martinez had the game-winner on his stick and he did not disappoint. However, with that the NHL season is over. Fantasy hockey box pools are all done.
It is never too early to take a look back and paint somewhat of a picture of what happened during the 2013-2014 campaign. Over the summer, we will look at a little bit of everything. First, we will focus on the last fantasy hockey season from a unique viewpoint.
Fantasy Hockey Rewind — Penalty Minutes
Yes penalty minutes is a category some do frown upon heavily but we take a look at our top three PIM studs of the 2013-14 campaign.
Third Place — Antoine Roussel — Dallas Stars
Out of the three players on our list, Antoine Roussel has the most fantasy hockey upside by a country mile. Not only did he have 14 goals and 29 points, but he could have had more. That’s right! His 209 penalty minutes were good for third in the league. He is physical and Roussel is one super pest. The scary part is he will only get better at his job but that may eat a little of his penalty minutes away. Roussel will be an asset for Dallas for years to come.
Second Place — Chris Neil — Ottawa Senators
Though Chris Neil cannot quite generate offense like he used to at times, Neil can still pop the heck out of an opponent. He does get a hit a bit more than the forward is accustomed to. Neil had his fair share of fighting majors as he tallied 211 penalty minutes on the season in just 76 games. For math majors, that is 2.78 PIMS per contest which led the NHL among those who played 60 or more games. It is difficult to ascertain how long Neil can sustain that pace at his age. He will be 35 at the start of next season. At some point, the PIMS train has to start to slow down.
First Place — Tom Sestito — Vancouver Canucks
What will the next coach do with Tom Sestito? That is the $64,000 question. Sestito is most known for literally playing two seconds in a game and getting 27 penalty minutes along with the gate. That was the Calgary brawl which saw John Tortorella get suspended for 15 days. However, the fourth liner is going to have a place on this Vancouver squad because he does have a little bit of offensive upside when the left winger is actually on the ice. Sestito can drop the gloves and he can definitely hit hard. There is still value in physical guys that provide a little “energy”. There always will be.
