Less special-teams dependent or they just can’t draw calls?
Less special teams dependent. A team like Toronto gets less PPs
and takes less penalties. Matthews draws way more calls than he takes, unlike somebody like Ovechkin, yet doesn't get the same time to pad his stats. Essentially what you're doing by only looking at raw totals is rewarding somebody like Ovechkin for taking penalties.
It’s ludicrous to say that one team is less dependent on special teams because every team would love to have the chance to go on the PP as much as they would.
Teams like going on the PP. Teams don't like being on the PK. Both PP and PK opportunities correlate together in the NHL. A team that gets more PP time doesn't necessarily get any positive team impact from that when they are getting more PK time as well. That's why it's more important to produce at a good
rate. You can't just rely on getting a bunch more PPs than everybody. Your need to produce at a better rate than the other team does when they get their PP opportunities.
PP is such an important aspect of the game especially when playoff time arrives and the whistles are held.
What I just mentioned is only amplified in the playoffs, when the opportunities may be more rare and/or even more even over a series. There aren't unlimited chances. There isn't unlimited time. Your opponent is likely getting an equal chance. A player who gets higher raw PP totals solely as a result of PP time is not a better option there to benefit your team than somebody who produces better relative to the minutes they get.