Penalty kill time on horizon Matthews will see more regular time on the penalty kill this season, reports The Athletic. Impact Matthews has only seen a total of about 24 minutes on the PK in nearly 500 NHL games. And he's never really killed penalties, period, but that's about to change. Matthews is one of the NHL's best 5v5 players and always among the league leaders in takeaways. So, the threat of a steal -- and of AM34 taking off shorthanded with a lot of open ice -- will certainly put extra pressure on opposing PPs. Matthews won't be one of the Leafs top options on the PK -- those minutes belong to Mitchell Marner, David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok, with Sam Lafferty getting some, too. The only negative? Playing on the PK means that 5v5 time always drops a bit. That's less than ideal if you're one of the NHL's best 5v5 players, especially for fantasy managers needing that even-strength production. But it won't be enough to affect his draft spot or overall fantasy worth.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2023 • ROTOWIRE