The Biggest Busts of the 2016-17 NHL Season So Far

Every year, there are big expectations heaped upon certain players. Some signed pricey extensions; others were coveted free agents who cashed in. They don't always live up to those lofty hopes, and there are certainly a few examples of that this season in the NHL. 

There are some veterans suddenly in steep decline, youngsters who haven't made the strides expected of them and offseason acquisitions who haven't had the positive impact most expected past the quarter mark of the 2016-17 season. 

That lands them on this list of the biggest busts of the 2016-17 NHL season so far. 

Read on to see who makes the top 10 (or should that be bottom 10?), along with some honorable mentions. And feel free to let your opinion be known in the comments section.

Honorable Mentions

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Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators: The overall point total is respectable, but Filip Forsberg notched 33 goals last season and has just two through the first 25 games this year. 

John Klingberg, Dallas Stars: John Klingberg has been a healthy scratch twice this year after putting up 10 goals and 58 points last season. He has two goals and 12 points in 25 games and is an alarming minus-nine. 

Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets: Boone Jenner thrived after the departure of Ryan Johansen last season to finish with 30 goals and 49 points but has four goals and eight points in 24 games this year. 

Ryan Spooner, Boston Bruins: This was supposed to be a big year for Ryan Spooner after an impressive 36-assist, 49-point breakout last season. Even in a top-six role, the 24-year-old has failed to produce with three goals and nine points in 26 games.

Reilly Smith, Florida Panthers: Reilly Smith inked a five-year extension worth $25 million in the offseason after a 25-goal, 50-point season. He's on pace for a dozen goals and 30 points so far this year. 

TJ Brodie, Calgary Flames: The 26-year-old has had back-to-back 40-point seasons and has emerged as one of the league's most underrated blueliners. His stock has plummeted this year, though, as he's been separated from Mark Giordano and has just one goal and seven points in 29 games so far. 

10. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

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With the defection of superstar center Pavel Datsyuk from the NHL's Detroit Red Wings to the KHL's SKA Saint Petersburg in the summer, sophomore Dylan Larkin was in line for a big promotion. The 20-year-old had a spectacular rookie season playing on the wing in 2015-16, with 23 goals, 45 points and a plus-11 rating that ranked sixth among all freshmen. His goal total was third among rookies. 

With a bigger role as the team's top offensive center, a lot was expected of Larkin in 2016-17. Instead of thriving under the added pressure, however, Larkin is struggling to find his niche as a pivot. Although he is on pace for a goal total right around the 23 he netted a year ago, his overall point pace has dipped. Larkin's 10 points (just a pair of assists) in 27 games so far has him on pace for 30 points on the season. 

His minus-five rating is among the worst on his team. 

Larkin is far from the future-face-of-the-franchise status he quickly grabbed last season, but the good news is he has plenty of hockey ahead of him and can look to the progress a player like Alex Galchenyuk has made with the Montreal Canadiens, from being sheltered on the wing to taking on the top center role. 

9. Justin Williams, Washington Capitals

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In his first season with the Washington Capitals last campaign, winger Justin Williams enjoyed his best term in years with 22 goals and 52 points, including a career high plus-15 rating. The 35-year-old looked like a perfect fit with the Presidents' Trophy-winning Caps. 

Things haven't been so rosy in Year 2. Williams started on the third line in Washington and, prior to a outburst on Wednesday night that saw him score a pair of goals against the Boston Bruins, hadn't taken advantage of his opportunities to play with superstars Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. 

Before Wednesday, Williams had notched just a pair of goals and five points through 24 games on the season. That pace translates into a seven-goal, 17-point campaign for the veteran, which would instantly rate as his worst full year in the NHL.

Unfortunately for Williams, he isn't doing his stock as a pending unrestricted free agent any favors. Doubling his season goal total in one night may be a sign he can snap out of his early-season drought, but he's still on pace for just 10 tallies and 23 points.

8. Andrew Ladd, New York Islanders

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Andrew Ladd is a two-time Stanley Cup winner who was sought after for his leadership as much as his scoring ability. But you don't ink a player to a seven-year deal worth nearly $40 million for leadership alone, and Ladd has provided little of either for the New York Islanders so far. 

Although the 30-year-old has warmed up recently with a game-winning goal and three points in his last four outings, Ladd has three goals and six points in 25 games so far. He's on pace for 10 goals and around 20 points over the season. 

Ladd said when he signed he intended to take the Isles to the next level after their second-round playoff appearance last spring, but even a plum assignment flanking John Tavares hasn't led to any productivity from the veteran. In fact, Ladd hasn't played much with Tavares after the first couple of weeks of the season. 

7. Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche

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With a new head coach and a new direction, things were looking up for goaltender Semyon Varlamov. He was coming off a pair of disappointing seasons that have seen his numbers decline steadily since finishing as the runner-up in the Vezina Trophy race in 2013-14 as the Colorado Avalanche surprised everybody and made the playoffs. 

Varlamov was perfect in the preseason, allowing just a pair of goals in three exhibition games under head coach Jared Bednar's new defensive system following the departure of former bench boss and Hall of Fame netminder Patrick Roy. 

That success hasn't translated to the regular season. Varlamov is 5-12-0 this year with a 3.08 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. You can fault some poor play in front of the Russian netminder for some of the inflated GAA. But the Montreal Canadiens allow just about as many shots against per game on average but are among the league's best thanks to goalie Carey Price. 

Varlamov has lost four straight and six of his last eight starts, and things are looking worse and worse for the 28-year-old. 

6. Anthony Duclair, Arizona Coyotes

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Anthony Duclair was part of a dynamic rookie duo last year with Arizona Coyotes teammate Max Domi. The 21-year-old was one of just five freshmen with at least 20 goals and finished seventh in rookie scoring with 20 goals and 44 points and appeared to be one of a handful of great young core pieces in the system. 

Fast-forward to now, and it's like night and day. Duclair has struggled mightily in his second season with the Coyotes, scoring only one goal and posting four points in 24 contests. The pressure is mounting on the young winger, who was a healthy scratch for the team for the first time on Monday and is now being mentioned in trade rumours, according to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos. 

Duclair has been a massive disappointment so far, and maybe a fresh start is what he needs...although he just got one last season and is a bust already. 

5. Bobby Ryan, Ottawa Senators

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Nobody expects Bobby Ryan to score 30 or more goals in a season anymore, but at the rate he's going this year, the former sniper may have trouble cracking double digits. 

The Ottawa Senators winger has three goals and eight points on the season, putting him on pace for 28 points. That's a far cry from the 26-year-old sniper the Sens traded for a few years back. He has recorded 50-plus points the past two seasons and scored 22 times last year but is on track for 10 goals in 2016-17. 

There were high hopes ahead of this season that Ryan would return to the 30-goal conversation—especially from Ryan himself—but he's been unable to produce when healthy and has been dealing with a hand injury as well. 

The Sens must be regretting that seven-year extension more than ever this season. 

4. Mikkel Boedker, San Jose Sharks

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Mikkel Boedker was signed by the San Jose Sharks in the summer to add even more depth and speed to a stellar group of forwards. The deal pays the 26-year-old $4 million a season for four years, but the Sharks are probably already regretting the dried ink. 

Boedker has contributed two goals and four points so far, floundering on the third line and averaging under 15 minutes a game—even though he's getting about two minutes of it on special teams units. 

Things got bad enough that head coach Peter DeBoer benched the fleet-footed winger for the entire third period of a game in late November, sharing his hope that Boedker would be angry about it and work harder as a result. He did earn assists in his next two games, but the Dane went pointless in the following two contests and has not been able to play with any consistency. 

This is a guy who scored 50-plus points in each of his last two full seasons in the NHL, so the talent is certainly there. He's been a huge disappointment in California.

3. Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes

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Defenseman Justin Faulk skyrocketed to elite status for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2014-15 with a 15-goal, 49-point season. Injury limited his games the following year, but he still netted a career-high 16 goals and finished with 37 points in 64 contests—a pace that would have seen him reach 20 goals and 47 points over a full season.

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old's 2016-17 season has to be considered a massive bust by comparison. He has just three goals and eight points in 23 games and is a team-worst minus-12. If he's not making a positive impact in his own end, he needs to bolster the offense in a much bigger fashion. At this rate, he might not reach 30 points. 

Faulk has two assists in his last 15 games, but there is hope of a rebound. He is averaging nearly three shots per game and is on pace for more than 220. Faulk is also playing more than 23 minutes and leads the Hurricanes in power-play time.

2. Loui Eriksson, Vancouver Canucks

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Loui Eriksson was one of the hottest names on the free-agent market last summer after a big season with the Boston Bruins. Eriksson was top 30 in points and was one of just 28 NHLers to score 30 goals in 2015-16. 

That landed him a massive six-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks worth $36 million. The team had good reason to want Eriksson, who has a history with the Sedin twins at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup with Team Sweden. The line has worked internationally, so it had to work for the dimming Canucks, right?

Wrong. Eriksson has six goals and 11 points in 26 games and may not even reach the 20-goal mark this year. Expected to help ignite a power play that ranked fourth-worst in the league last season, Eriksson has had little impact there. The 31-year-old has three power-play points on the year, and the team is still struggling on the man advantage. 

It looks like the Canucks are facing five long years of contract commitment with terrible value.

1. Brian Elliott, Calgary Flames

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The Calgary Flames' goaltending was so bad last season that the team didn't keep any of the four men who made starts for the team in 2015-16. 

Enter Brian Elliott, the team's prized addition in a draft-day deal with the St. Louis Blues. The veteran finished last season with an impressive 23-8-6 record with four shutouts and an NHL-best .930 save percentage. He helped the Blues reach the Western Conference Final. His numbers were strong, even in a timeshare role, with Elliott owning the second-best save percentage among netminders who started at least 50 games since the start of the 2011-12 campaign. 

Things have not gone well for the Flames' new toy. It's not like Elliott is simply struggling; he's not even the team's starting goaltender. That job belongs to career backup Chad Johnson thanks to Elliott's horrendous start. 

The 31-year-old has a 3-9-1 record with a dismal 3.31 goals-against average and .885 save percentage that ranks dead last in the NHL among netminders with at least 10 games so far. It looks like the only way he will be able to reclaim the top job is if Johnson is injured or struggles for a long stretch. Even then, Elliott will have to improve his own performance after losing his last six straight spot starts.