Hook Me, Trip Me, Tell Me Lies

by Dirk Hoag on Oct 15, 2007 5:19 PM EDT

One of the more interesting features in the upgraded Play by Play files that the NHL is providing this season is the "Drawn By" indicator for penalties. We now can tell which players are forcing the opposition into commiting fouls. In the past, it's always been suspected that star players draw favorable calls, and when it comes to agitators like Sean Avery, fans try to justify their contribution by arguing that pests like him goad opponents into taking penalties, resulting in value for the team by creating power play opportunities.

By Hook, Slash or Trip, opponents will try anything to stop Anze Kopitar (image from Sharkspage)

So when we look at the 2007-8 season so far, which players are drawing the most penalties? We've got 77 games in the book through Sunday night, and here are the league leaders (coincidental penalties excluded)...

Player		Penalties Drawn
Anze Kopitar, L.A.		9
Ryan Malone, PIT		7
Alexander Ovechkin, WSH		6
Mike Cammalleri, L.A.		6
Joe Thornton, SJS		5
Sidney Crosby, PIT		5
Martin Hanzal, PHX		5
Jason Spezza, OTT		5
Mike Fisher, OTT		5
Derek Armstrong, L.A.		5
Nathan Horton, FLA		5
Ryan Getzlaf, ANA		5
Mike Green, WSH		4
Marcus Naslund, VAN		4
Ryan Kesler, VAN		4
Vaclav Prospal, TAM		4
Brad Richards, TAM		4
Dany Heatley, OTT		4
Scott Gomez, NYR		4
Dainius Zubrus, NJD		4
Ales Hemsky, EDM		4
Geoff Sanderson, EDM		4
Tomas Holmstrom, DET		4
Pavel Datsyuk, DET		4
Tuomo Ruutu, CHI		4
Jarome Iginla, CGY		4
Chad Larose, CAR		4
Erik Cole, CAR		4
Rod Brind'Amour, CAR		4
Ray Whitney, CAR		4
Todd Bertuzzi, ANA		4
Jason Pominville, BUF		4

I'd say that so far, the vast majority of these leaders fall into the "skill player" category, creating dangerous chances that can only be defended against by hauling them down and drawing a call. Also of note here is the utter lack of defensemen outside of Washington's Mike Green. Over the course of the season this will be a statistic worth watching - just as Alan Ryder pointed out the cost of players who take penalties, those forwards who draw such calls against an opponent provide incremental value to their team, likely enough to earn a point or two in the standings. I'll provide updates on this periodically throughout the year...

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What will be more interesting is if it's a year to year skill rather than random fluctation. Unfortunately that'll have to wait another few years.

by Milo on Oct 15, 2007 6:04 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting article....thanks for that. I was surprised to see Pittsburgh's Ryan Malone so high up the list. That wasn't expected, but Crosby was.

Paul - http://NHLPens.com

by NHLPens on Oct 15, 2007 7:47 PM EDT reply actions

I think it will also be interesting to track "star" vs "skill" where possible. These are skill players, but they are also star players. As you said, many (myself included) would argue there are more than a few stars that get more than their share of calls. Can you do any analysis to find out if the players actually had the puck when the penalty was called? I think that might be one indication.

I think it will also be fascinating to see who the divers are that have unusually high tripping, holding, and interference penalties. They are out there.

by Paul Nicholson on Oct 15, 2007 11:25 PM EDT reply actions