- Tom Wilson enters 2026-27 as the NHL’s active leader in penalty minutes with 1,649
- He is also tied with Ryan Reaves for the active lead in fighting majors at 94
- Read below for the full top 10 and how Wilson took the spot from Corey Perry
Tom Wilson is about to start a season on top of a leaderboard nobody hands out a trophy for.
The 32-year-old winger goes into 2026-27 as the NHL’s active leader in penalty minutes with 1,649 of them in 907 games. Corey Perry is next at 1,568, and it took him 1,464 games to get there. That is 557 more nights of work for 81 fewer minutes in the box.
Here is how the top 10 active penalty minute leaders shake out:
| # | Player | GP | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Wilson | 907 | 1,649 |
| 2 | Corey Perry | 1,464 | 1,568 |
| 3 | Evander Kane | 1,001 | 1,278 |
| 4 | Evgeni Malkin | 1,269 | 1,263 |
| 5 | Brad Marchand | 1,152 | 1,153 |
| 6 | Ryan Reaves | 962 | 1,137 |
| 7 | Radko Gudas | 885 | 1,124 |
| 8 | Nick Foligno | 1,287 | 1,024 |
| 9 | Brenden Dillon | 1,056 | 1,014 |
| 10 | Nikita Zadorov | 804 | 998 |
Wilson has owned the top spot since 2023-24, when he finished six penalty minutes clear of Perry. The gap has grown every year since.
Getting there took a decade. When Wilson broke in during 2013-14 he had 151 career penalty minutes and Chris Neil led all active players with 2,216. Neil held it for four years, then Zdeno Chara carried it for five before Perry inherited the title.
There is a second list Wilson sits on top of. He and Reaves are tied at 94 regular season fighting majors, per HockeyFights, with Nicolas Deslauriers third at 89. Reaves is still an unrestricted free agent, so Wilson could have that one to himself soon enough.
Five of those 94 came last season, including a November scrap with Jordan Greenway that Wilson has now had three times. Watch the two of them go in Buffalo:
Three weeks later he drew the toughest assignment on the board. Tampa Bay’s Curtis Douglas, all 6-foot-9 of him, grabbed Wilson’s stick and dropped the gloves before Wilson had his off. It did not go the way Douglas wanted.
Check out how that one finished:
What separates Wilson from most names on that leaderboard is that he can play. He put up 30 goals and 62 points in 72 games last season, and young teammate Cole Hutson found out in a hurry that Wilson will humble you in practice too.
Washington has him locked in on a seven-year deal that runs through 2030-31. Five more seasons of Wilson hockey should put that 1,649 somewhere nobody active is catching it.
