from Tommy Chalk of the Washington Post,

... the age of the heavyweight, fighting forward may not be dead just yet. They can reform, instead becoming penalty-drawing specialists, and some may have already chosen to do so. The benefit of drawing a penalty is simple: Your team often gets a power play. If we look at the top players in terms of penalties drawn this season, you can quite clearly see a trend. A large chunk of those guys are fourth-liners who know how to get under opponents’ skin.

One of those top names on the above list, Bobby Farnham, used to be the very definition of a fighter. The New Jersey Devil recorded 44 fights over the last three seasons in the AHL. This year, Farnham earned himself a full-time spot in the NHL, and he’s completely shied away from the playing style he once embraced. He has just four fights this year. Farnham has managed to draw 15 penalties this season. And considering he’s only on the ice for a little more than 9 minutes a game, he’s averaging 2.34 drawn penalties for every 60 minutes he plays.

“You realize, especially when you get to this level, that you are probably more effective as a player drawing penalties than a player trying to fight all of the time,” Farnham said. “That’s how you are valuable to your team.

Tom Wilson is another example. Wilson (14 fights last year versus 7 this year) has drawn 25 penalties in 72 games for Washington, which converts on 23.2 percent of its power play opportunities, the best rate in the NHL. If we use that same percentage on Wilson’s drawn penalties, the Capitals are scoring six or seven goals this season directly from Wilson’s drawn penalties, assuming Wilson’s drawn penalties come at even strength.

read on which includes a list of the top 10 players who draw penalties...