BEHIND THE NUMBERS - Penalty Minutes and Fighting

D'Arcy McGrath

September 28, 2001

Statistics can be a very valuable tool in assessing the performance of an athlete or sports team. Often however, the statistics that are available are too flat, offering little analysis beyond the actual numbers. For example it's easy to determine who led a team in points, but sometimes it's more interesting to find out who led the team in points based on other factors like games played, and ice time. In doing so, a reader can determine who did the most with limited ice time, and conversely, who did the least with ample ice time.

As training camp approaches, Calgarypuck will take one final look back at the season that was by looking into a variety of stats and a more detailed analysis of the Calgary Flame's players. This week's feature deals with the intimidation part of hockey, looking specifically at the penalty minutes in total, as well as fighting majors.  

In the past Calgarypuck.com has used these "time between" numbers to look at the performance of the team through the season. With camp just around the corner, a camp which will feature many new faces, applying the same formulas will give us a look at how these new players fit with the current squad in many statistical categories.

Hockey has changed a lot in the past couple of decades, gone are the days of the Broad Street Bullies hockey of the 70's and the grandiose bench brawls of the 80's. A combination of more stringent rules, an influx of European talent, and a push to sell the game in the United States has made hockey a little less about intimidation and a lot more about skill.

The need to play tough hockey is just as apparent as ever however; team's that play an "in your face" style need to be able to back it up. The Calgary Flames have altered the team's makeup for the 2001-02 season, relying much more on team defence, coupled with size and speed. The aim is to check the opposition into the ground both in terms of defensive tactics and physical forechecking. To be successful with a game plan like this, a team needs the personnel in place to carry it out, hence the off season changes.

Penalty Minutes

The collection of lofty penalty minute totals says little about a players ability to intimidate the opposition; a hooking or holding penalty yields the same time in the sin bin as a roughing or boarding call. Often however, a look into penalty minutes is a good place to start in assessing a team's physical balance. Below is a table showing the Flames penalty minute leaders based on last season, with this year's squad.

The first thing that stands out on this list is the fact that two acquired players sit in the team's restructured top five in penalty minutes. Jason Wiemer would have finished first with 177 minutes, but Bob Boughner takes over the crown in his absence. A statistic from last season that had many a fan scratching their collective heads was the fact that the Flames hadn't a single defenceman at the 100 or greater penalty minute mark suggesting a total lack of aggression. Bob Boughner's presence should help both in his presence and in his leadership for the rest of the group.

The top ten penalty takers as a group is actually quite light on the penalty side when compared to other teams. The Edmonton Oilers for example had seven different players with 90 or more penalty minutes last season. The Flames can't afford to be short handed for large portions of games, but they'll need to step up their physical play to be effective.

The table below digs a little deeper to provide a break down of fighting majors within the penalty minutes above.

Once again two new faces figuere prominently in the top five, with Boughner and Berube both adding a physical element. Jason Wiemer had nine fighting majors last season, and would have finished second to Boughner had he not moved on to Florida.

As with the other studies into statistics done at Calgarypuck.com, the numbers get much more interesting when a time quotient is applied.

Time Between Penalties/Fights

A combination of injuries, player demotions, or ice time per game can greatly change the penalty and fight leader tables when a time quotient is added. As a result new names appear that might play a larger role in the remodeled Calgary Flames this season.

Penalty Minutes

Fighting Majors

Since the acquisition of Craig Berube, many have looked at his number of fighting majors and penalty minutes and suggested that the man has lost his desire to mix it up. When a time quotient is added the opposite is actually true. Berube finished behind only Jeff Cowan for fighting majors based on time. It's interesting to note that the two top five lists contain exactly the same five players.

If the analysis is opened up to include players with any number of games played two Saint John farm hands still battling for jobs this fall figuere prominently. Steve Begin has a fight every 23:02 of ice time, and runs up a penalty minute with every 1:07 of ice time, by far the Flames most aggressive player. Rico Fata didn't have any fighting majors in his time in Calgary last winter, but he did pick up a penalty minute every 7:36 of ice time. Both stand a good chance of making the team.

Summing It Up

For the Flames to be successful this season they will need to play a very physical, tight checking style. They can't take any nights off. Playing the game in this fashion can be very successful, but at times the opposition will retaliate creating situations where players will have to drop the gloves and get involved. Craig Button took some steps to add players to the roster that are more apt to answer the bell, but has he gone far enough? Do the Flames have the type of team that can stand up to the opposition in chippy hockey games? Time will tell.