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 |
| Nicolas Deslauriers | Philadelphia Flyers | 57 |
| Arber Xhekaj | Montreal Canadiens | 51 |
| Max Comtois | Anaheim Ducks | 44 |
| Brady Tkachuk | Ottawa Senators | 41 |
| Mason Marchment | Dallas Stars | 40 |
| Josh Manson | Colorado Avalanche | 40 |
| Pat Maroon | Tampa Bay Lightning | 40 |
| Brenden Dillon | Winnipeg Jets | 40 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | Florida Panthers | 39 |
| Radko Gudas | Florida Panthers | 39 |
| Tyler Myers | Vancouver Canucks | 39 |
| Luke Schenn | Vancouver Canucks | 37 |
| Marcus Foligno | Minnesota Wild | 37 |
| Mathieu Olivier | Columbus Blue Jackets | 37 |
| Rasmus Dahlin | Buffalo Sabres | 36 |
| Michael Bunting | Toronto Maple Leafs | 36 |
| Jacob Middleton | Minnesota Wild | 36 |
| Miles Wood | New Jersey Devils | 35 |
| Garnet Hathaway | Washington Capitals | 35 |
| Luke Glendening | Dallas Stars | 35 |
| Scott Mayfield | New York Islanders | 34 |
| Casey Cizikas | New York Islanders | 34 |
| Liam O’Brien | Arizona Coyotes | 34 |
| Max Domi | Chicago Blackhawks | 33 |
| Simon Benoit | Anaheim Ducks | 33 |
Not surprisingly, a pair of emerging tough guys lead the NHL in penalty minutes early this season. Nicolas Deslauriers has set the benchmark with 57 PIMs through his first 25 games, with 35 minutes coming via fighting major. Arber Xhekaj has less than half as many tilts but has nearly matched Deslauriers’s minutes, sitting six short of the league leader.