Every NHL Team's Most Disappointing Player at the Halfway Point of the Season

With every team either at or around the halfway point of their season, every team has had a chance to evaluate how their season has gone as a whole and how their players have performed.

While some players, like Joffrey Lupul, have had breakout-type seasons, others, like the Anaheim Ducks' Bobby Ryan, have been a disappointment to their clubs.

Here is every team's most disappointing player at the midseason mark.

Anaheim Ducks

Bobby Ryan

Even with Bobby Ryan starting to pick up the pace of late, managing two goals and two assists in his last four contests, he is only on pace to reach 50 points this season.

That isn't exactly the kind of production you expect from one of your highest paid and top line players, and it's a huge reason the Ducks have fallen from fourth in the conference last year to 14th this season.

Honorable Mention: Ryan Getzlaf

Because Getzlaf has a bit more of a multidimensional game, he narrowly avoided being the Ducks' most disappointing player so far. However, with his abysmal -17 player rating and lowly seven goals, he isn't very far behind Ryan.

Boston Bruins

No one

After staring at Boston Bruins statistics for a while, I have deemed that no one on the Boston roster has been a disappointment.

The only disappointment for this team was starting the season 3-7-0 after winning the Stanley Cup.

Buffalo Sabres

Ryan Miller

Tough choice when it comes to the Buffalo Sabres, really.

With the exception of Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, the entire team has been playing subpar hockey.

One player who stands out? Ryan Miller.

A 10-12-2 record with a 3.01 goals against average and .902 save percentage just doesn't cut it for someone making $6.25 million.

Honorable Mention: Ville Leino

Do I really need to explain this one?

Ten points in 31 games while making $4.5 million. He is just behind Miller for this one.

Calgary Flames

Rene Bourque

Rene Bourque was supposed to be a promising young player for the Calgary Flames.

So far this season, he's only managed to put up 16 points in 38 games (only three of which are assists).

He's also managed to get himself suspended for five games because of a cheap shot elbow he threw at Capitals' star center Nicklas Backstrom.

Not exactly what Calgary expected as a return on their $3.3 million investment.

Carolina Hurricanes

Eric Staal

With just 33 points this year in 45 games, the Hurricanes' leader has been one of the many disappointments for this Carolina squad.

After finishing ninth last season, the Hurricanes are eyeing a last place finish this year, and their captain will shoulder much of the blame.

A 60 or 70 point season just won't cut it from a player like Eric Staal. His dismal -21 player rating isn't exactly living up to expectations either.

Chicago Blackhawks

Corey Crawford

The Chicago Blackhawks season has successful up to this point, their recent struggles notwithstanding.

The one area Chicago may be a bit concerned with, though, would be their goaltending.

Coming into the 2011-2012 season, the Blackhawks had high hopes for goaltender Corey Crawford.

His mediocre 2.83 goals against average and .906 save percentage, however, have been a concern for Chicago and their fans. In fact, his backup, Ray Emery, has better numbers in both categories and even relieved Crawford for a stretch of eight consecutive games from December 3rd to December 20th.

Though he has won the starting role back, he isn't yet out of the woods.

Colorado Avalanche

Paul Stastny

Coming into the season, Paul Stastny was once again expected to be one of the Avalanche's top two scorers. This season he sits fourth on the team in points, with a disappointing 23 points through 42 games.

It's going to be hard for the Avalanche to be successful at rebuilding their team if Paul Stastny continues this pace, which has him on course to achieve only 46 points by season's end. Not exactly what the Avalanche were expecting from a player that is now one of their team leaders.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Jeff Carter

This one is another tough decision.

So many underperforming players to choose from.

The biggest letdown for Columbus must be Jeff Carter.

Bringing him into the fold in the offseason had the Blue Jackets and their fans optimistic about a playoff run in 2011-2012.

That hasn't been the case.

Carter has only managed 17 points through 30 games in what has been an injury shortened start.

His disappointing play, along with the lackluster play of newly signed defenseman James Wisniewski, has been key in Columbus becoming the worst team in the NHL.

Dallas Stars

Brenden Morrow

The surprising 2011-2012 Dallas Stars don't really have many underachieving players.

Brenden Morrow may be the lone exception.

In 36 games, Morrow has only been able to tally 21 points. His 65 shots on goal aren't anything to write home about either.

A veteran player like Morrow should be more than capable of putting up more than 1.8 shots per game.

If Dallas plans on staying in contention for the postseason in a tough Western Conference, they're going to need Brenden Morrow to be as productive as he's been the last few games.

Detroit Red Wings

Darren Helm

While many Red Wings fans believe that Jonathan Ericsson has been their biggest disappointment to date, he has managed to post a +14 player rating as a defenseman, which indicates he's been doing his job.

Darren Helm, however, hasn't quite been the player Detroit thought he could be. Despite his speed and his work ethic, Helm is on pace for less than 30 points this season, posting only 12 through his first 39 games of the year.

Helm also has one of the lower player ratings on the team at +3.

Edmonton Oilers

Ales Hemsky

No surprise here.

It seems like Ales Hemsky finds himself on these kinds of lists every year.

This season he has only been able to put up 15 points in the 29 games he's suited up for.

His -7 player rating and 51 shots on goal (good for about 1.75 shots per game) are not the kind of numbers that you'd expect from someone making $5 million this season and taking up $4.1 million of the Oilers' salary cap.

Florida Panthers

Erik Gudbranson

Though Gudbranson may still be fairly young, he hasn't had a great start to the season for the Southeast Division-leading Florida Panthers.

After being drafted third overall in 2010 behind Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, the Panthers expected him to become a shutdown-type defenseman. Instead, he has a -9 player rating and has an 8:1 giveaway to takeaway ratio.

Los Angeles Kings

Dustin Brown

In a season full of offensive letdowns for the Los Angeles Kings, none are more disappointing than the fall of Dustin Brown.

The Kings' captain has scored just 11 times this year and added only 12 assists through 44 games.

As a player who typically reaches the 55-60 point plateau, Brown is on pace to hit just 43 points this year while he hauls in over $3.1 million.

Honorable Mention: Mike Richards

Seems like the Philadelphia Flyers have perfected the art of "selling high." Not only has Jeff Carter been a bust in Columbus, but Mike Richards has had his share of difficulties in Los Angeles as well.

In what has been a frustrating season for Richards, he's lost eight games to injury while only being able to tally 24 points in the 36 games he has played in.

Minnesota Wild

Devin Setoguchi

Devin Setoguchi has been an overrated player for a few years now.

After putting up over 30 goals and 60 points in the 2008-2009 season with San Jose, he's failed to pick up more than 41 points in any season since.

When Minnesota traded for Setoguchi and Dany Heatley this past offseason, the Wild were hoping he could re-capture some of that 2008-2009 magic.

His 15 points and 2.3 shots on goal per game indicate otherwise. His -7 player rating on a team centered around defense and goaltending isn't all that impressive either.

Montreal Canadiens

Scott Gomez

This is probably the biggest no-brainer of them all.

Not only is he taking up $7.3 million dollars a season of Montreal's salary cap (minus whatever they get back due to his long term injury this season), but he's managed to produce zero goals in the 13 games he was able to participate in before suffering a groin injury.

After last year's sorry excuse for a season, Montreal and their fans are getting restless over Gomez's play. At this point, he's helping Montreal more being injured, as it allows them salary cap credit, than he is when he's on the ice, and that's saying something.

Honorable Mention: Brian Gionta

Gionta's season has also been quite disappointing.

Fifteen points in the 31 games he dressed for with a -7 player rating isn't what the Habs expected when they inked the veteran forward to a five year, $25 million deal in the summer of 2009.

Nashville Predators

Patric Hornqvist

Before putting up five points in his last five games, Hornqvist only had 14 points in his first 37 games of the season.

When you play on a second line anywhere in the NHL, you're usually counted on to contribute offensively.

Patric Hornqvist hasn't been anywhere near the level Nashville needs him at defensively.

New Jersey Devils

Martin Brodeur

Martin Brodeur seemed to be the ageless wonder for New Jersey in between the pipes.

This season, though, his age has finally caught up with him.

The 39-year-old Montreal native has seen his numbers take a significant hit this season, and his backup, Johan Hedberg, has outplayed him consistently.

While no one expected Brodeur to play forever, I doubt anyone anticipated this kind of sudden drop off.

New York Islanders

Michael Grabner

Michael Grabner's play seems to have dropped off after his breakout year last season, in which he buried 34 goals.

He has followed it up this season with only 11 goals in his first 40 games, putting him on pace to score about 22 goals by season's end.

Though he is still young and will surely be an asset to the Islanders in the future, he has been a letdown for the Islanders in 2011-2012.

New York Rangers

Brandon Dubinsky

The New York consider Brandon Dubinsky to be one of their better young players.

In every season he's played so far in the NHL, his numbers have improved.

This season, however, he's only scored five times and assisted on 16 other goals, giving him 21 points. Those aren't the kind of numbers the Rangers were hoping he'd put up following his 24 goal, 30 assist output in 2010-2011.

Ottawa Senators

Bobby Butler

When it comes to the Ottawa Senators, picking the most disappointing player of the season is tough, considering expectations were so low and their play has been so good.

If there is one player that may have Senators fans worried, it's Bobby Butler.

This young gun was considered to be one of Ottawa's top prospects, with major potential.

But in his 34 games this season, he's only accumulated nine points.

While there is still plenty of time for Butler to develop into a top six forward, the seeds of doubt may be planted in the minds of Senators fans.

Philadelphia Flyers

Wayne Simmonds

Philadelphia is another team like Boston or Ottawa, where picking a player who's been a disappointment is nearly impossible.

If one player does stand out though, it's Wayne Simmonds.

His 22 points put him on pace for 44 at season's end, while he is also a minus player at the moment.

To be fair to Wayne, though, he does play on the third line, limiting his ability to accumulate offensive numbers.

Note: Throwing around homophobic slurs after being the victim of a racist act yourself is also a stupid thing to do and will certainly land you in an article about disappointments.

Phoenix Coyotes

Mikkel Boedker

Anybody else remember the hype surrounding this kid as a junior?

Yeah, well, that hasn't really panned out. This season Boedker has had 15 points in 44 games.

He may still be young and in his first full season with the club, but saying he hasn't underachieved is just plain wrong.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Injuries

Sidney Crosby. Kris Letang. Jordan Staal (on multiple occasions). Almost James Neal. Need I say more?

San Jose Sharks

Martin Havlat

Any doubt about this one?

Havlat used to be a consistent 50-60 point scorer. This season he has 15 points (only two goals) through 26 games.

Oh, right, and he's out because he hurt himself on a line change. Ouch.

St. Louis Blues

Chris Stewart

Stewart is on pace for less than 40 points this season.

His years in the minors and junior hockey would lead one to believe he should be a consistent, gritty, top six forward in the NHL.

This year's play hasn't backed that up.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Vincent Lecavalier

While many will argue that Lecavalier is on pace for 30 goals this season and about 60 points, which would take him out of the "disappointing" category, I disagree.

The past few seasons have shown us that the point-per-game Vincent Lecavalier no longer exists. This wouldn't be a major problem, if Lecavalier wasn't being paid like a point-per-game producer for the next eight years, with a cap hit of over $7.7 million. He also has a no-movement clause.

That's one contract the Lightning are wishing they could have back.

Toronto Maple Leafs

James Reimer

This story goes a lot like that of Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford.

Having high hopes for Reimer, the Toronto Maple Leafs inked Reimer to a $5.4 million this offseason, hoping he could develop into a goalie that could lead Toronto to a Stanley Cup.

Since returning from a head injury suffered earlier this season, Reimer's play has been mediocre at best. He's seen his goals against average balloon to 3.01 and his save percentage drop to .900. He's also lost the starting role to Jonas Gustavsson, who has started—and won—the last four games.

Vancouver Canucks

Chris Higgins

Vancouver has really used a balanced attack to thrive this season.

That's why it is hard to associate a player like Chris Higgins with the likes of Patric Hornqvist and Scott Gomez, as he hasn't really been playing too poorly.

His 23 points through 40 games, though, aren't exactly stellar numbers.

Washington Capitals

Alex Semin

It's been no secret that the Washington Capitals aren't happy with Alex Semin's play or attitude this season. It's hard to fault them, to be honest.

Semin has only put up 10 goals and 12 assists in 37 games this year, while collecting a rather fat $6.7 million paycheque.

Semin has been better of late, though, and the Capitals certainly hope it stays that way.

Winnipeg Jets

Bryan Little

Ever since being drafted 12th overall in the 2006 entry draft, Bryan Little has been expected to put up some big time numbers.

He's only ever broken the 50 point mark once in his career, though, and this year he has just 21 points in 35 games.

The Jets and their fans must be somewhat disappointed that this high draft pick has never panned out.

Conclusion

That wraps up my midseason edition of each team's biggest disappointments of the 2011-2012 season.

If you feel I got any players wrong, feel free to let me know in the comments section.

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