16 Biggest Slackers in the NHL

The NHL has many hard-working players who give maximum effort for their team each night, but then there are a good amount of players who slack off and act like lazy people on the ice.

Lazy players are extremely frustrating to deal with because, often times, they have a ton of talent, but just don't work hard enough to make something better out of it.

Let's look at 16 of the biggest slackers in the NHL today.

Blake Wheeler

Blake Wheeler is 6'5" and 205 pounds, but you would never guess that from watching his game. Wheeler doesn't use his big body to his advantage enough, thus making him less effective than he could be. This was one of the reasons the Boston Bruins traded him last season.

David Krejci

David Krejci is a very good player, but he's too inconsistent and looks like he's lazy on the ice sometimes. He hasn't scored a point in his last seven games, and there's little energy in his game right now.

He's being paid like a first-line center and needs to start playing like one.

Alex Auld

With the Ottawa Senators' Craig Anderson leading the NHL in games started by a goaltender, his backup, Alex Auld, has gotten used to sitting on the bench and watching on a nightly basis.

Dan Ellis

Dan Ellis is making $1.5 million for the Anaheim Ducks this season and has played in just one game. He doesn't seem interested in being an important part of the team.

Ty Conklin

With Joey McDonald playing very well as Jimmy Howard's backup for the Detroit Red Wings, Ty Conklin is going to have some more time to ride the bench.

When Howard returns from injury, Conklin will have little to do on the Red Wings.

Jason Pominville

Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Pominville has the talent of a second-line player and isn't worth his $5.3 million salary cap hit. He doesn't show the leadership and passion that captains need to exhibit in the NHL.

Jeff Carter

Jeff Carter complained about being traded to Columbus (can't blame him to be honest) and has just looked disinterested with the Blue Jackets, as underperformance and injuries have caused him to move in and out of the starting lineup.

Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin is making over $6 million for the Washington Capitals this season, but he is not producing to his level of talent.

Semin doesn't show the intensity and passion he needs to in order for the Capitals to get back into a playoff spot.

Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov has been a disaster in Philadelphia and is certainly not giving the effort he was in Phoenix, where he played like a Vezina Trophy candidate with worse players in front of him than he has with the Flyers.

Scott Gomez

Montreal Canadiens forward Scott Gomez finally scored a goal last week after about a year of not finding the back of the net. Gomez is a talented player, but he hasn't worked hard enough to improve his game and prove the critics of his mega contract wrong.

Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin has lacked the passion and intensity we all love about his game, and it's part of what makes him a great player.

Ovechkin has a been a disappointment this season, and he needs to get his game turned around quickly or the Capitals will miss the playoffs.

Nikolai Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin doesn't put near as much effort into his game that he did earlier in his career, and his underperformance over the last few months has been a primary reason for the Edmonton Oilers' decline after a great start to the season.

Johnny Oduya

Johnny Oduya has good size and has the strength to be physically intimidating, but he never plays with a lot of intensity on the ice. He could be a lot more physical and effective than he is currently for the Winnipeg Jets.

Dustin Penner

Dustin Penner lacks energy, emotion and even got hurt from eating pancakes this season. His lack of ice time because of poor play and injury will give him plenty of time to be lazy on the bench or at home resting.

Nathan Horton

I know Nathan Horton is suffering from a concussion right now, but when he is healthy, his inconsistency is so frustrating. Horton has immense talent, but he takes too many games off for someone as gifted offensively and as strong as he is.

Dany Heatley

Dany Heatley doesn't work as hard as most superstar players, but he sure is paid like one. Heatley folds in the postseason and doesn't put in the effort to improve as well as he should.