Each NHL Team's Biggest Regular-Season Goat

Every NHL team had a player during the regular season who either underperformed, caused some sort of headache or just brought the team down in some way.

Many of these "goats" will head into the summer as the unpopular player that fans will blame their team's struggles on, whether it's fair or not.

Let's look each team's regular-season goat.

Note: For some teams, I have included the playoffs when deciding their goat.

Anaheim Ducks: Jonas Hiller

The Anaheim Ducks thought goaltender Jonas Hiller's return from injury this year would lead them into the playoffs, but he went just 29-30-12 in a very disappointing season.

Boston Bruins: Joe Corvo

Boston Bruins defenseman Joe Corvo was supposed to improve the power play and be an upgrade over Tomas Kaberle on the blue line, but the veteran was awful and proved to be a turnover machine and a liability in his own end.

Buffalo Sabres: Ville Leino

The Buffalo Sabres spent a lot of money to sign Ville Leino in free agency, but in 71 games this season, he scored eight goals and finished with 25 total points.

Calgary Flames: Matt Stajan

There is no excuse for Matt Stajan to reach just 18 points in 61 games played with the talent he has. The Flames needed him to contribute consistently on offense this season, and he failed to do that.

Carolina Hurricanes: Eric Staal

70 points and a minus-20 rating for a superstar two-way forward such as Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal is unacceptable.

Chicago Blackhawks: Corey Crawford

The Chicago Blackhawks' biggest weakness this season was goaltending, and Corey Crawford's inconsistency in net was a major reason for that.

Colorado Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov

Semyon Varlamov didn't have a brutal season, but when you consider that the Colorado Avalanche gave up a first-round pick to acquire him before the season, his 26-24-3 record isn't good enough.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Scott Howson

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson is the goat for the team's terrible season in which they finished with the worst record in hockey.

His poor decision to acquire Jeff Carter from the Flyers got even worse when he traded Carter to the Kings at the deadline. He also made a mess of the Rick Nash trade situation.

He needs to be fired before the Blue Jackets become any worse.

Dallas Stars: Radek Dvorak

Forward Radek Dvorak reached just 21 points with four goals in 73 games played for the Dallas Stars this season in a disappointing year for him. The Stars needed more consistent offensive production from him this season.

Detroit Red Wings: Johan Franzen

I'm going to use the playoffs to decide the Detroit Red Wings' goat. For someone making a ton of money with many years left on his deal, Johan Franzen's one point (one goal) in the first-round series against the Nashville Predators was immensely disappointing.

Edmonton Oilers: Shawn Horcoff

Shawn Horcoff has top-six forward talent but he amassed just 31 points in 81 games this season for the Edmonton Oilers.

Florida Panthers: Scott Clemmensen

Sure, Scott Clemmensen is only the backup goaltender for the Florida Panthers, but his 1-2-1 record in the playoffs and the multiple soft goals he allowed really hurt his team against the New Jersey Devils.

Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Penner

Dustin Penner has played well in the playoffs thus far, but if he played to the level he's capable of during the regular season, the Los Angeles Kings wouldn't have had to dominate down the stretch just to make the postseason.

Montreal Canadiens: Scott Gomez

Not much needs to be said about Montreal Canadiens forward Scott Gomez, other than that he scored just two goals this season and is making over $7 million per year.

Minnesota Wild: Dany Heatley

The Minnesota Wild expected a monster season out of Dany Heatley and didn't get it. His performance this season was one of several reasons why the Wild failed to make the playoffs.

Nashville Predators: Sergei Kostitsyn

Sergei Kostitsyn didn't have a terrible season, but he only scored 43 points in 75 games played. In the playoffs thus far, he has one point in seven games.

New Jersey Devils: Marek Zidlicky

New Jersey Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky was just average in the regular season after arriving from the Wild before the trade deadline, but he has been brutal in the playoffs by taking bad penalties and turning the puck over too much.

New York Islanders: Garth Snow

New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow has not been able to correct the team's No. 1 problem over the last few seasons, which has been a lack of high-end talent on the blue line.

Snow has used nearly all of the Islanders' first-round picks over the last several years on forwards, but the team's depth on defense is pretty weak.

Since he can't get big-name free-agent defenseman to come to the Island, Snow had to develop them through the draft.

New York Rangers: Brandon Dubinsky

Brandon Dubinsky had a phenomenal season last year and earned a big contract, but he played terribly in the regular season this year. Thus far in the playoffs, he has just one point in seven games played.

Ottawa Senators: Jared Cowen

There aren't many goats on the young Ottawa Senators roster, but one player who could have performed better this season was 21-year-old defenseman Jared Cowen, who reached just 17 points in 82 games.

Philadelphia Flyers: Ilya Bryzgalov

High-priced goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov had a terrible season with the Philadelphia Flyers and hasn't handled the pressure of playing in a major hockey market very well.

If the Flyers offense hadn't been dominating this season, Bryzgalov would be getting destroyed by the media right now.

Phoenix Coyotes: Derek Morris

There aren't many goats on the Phoenix Coyotes, but veteran defenseman Derek Morris had just 11 points this season in 59 games and was a minus-12.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Paul Martin

Paul Martin is a high-priced defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he only amassed 27 points in 73 games this season and was turnover-prone throughout the playoffs.

San Jose Sharks: Patrick Marleau

I'm going to forget about the regular season with my pick for the Sharks. Forward Patrick Marleau is their goat because of his zero points in the playoffs.

Marleau was invisible against the St. Louis Blues in the first round and needs to be traded in the summer for the Sharks to move forward.

St. Louis Blues: Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart has too much talent to only reach 30 points in the a season. If he has another disappointing season next year, then the Blues should think about trading him.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Dwayne Roloson

Dwayne Roloson's poor record of 13-16-3 was one reason the Tampa Bay Lightning struggled in net and did not make the playoffs this season, one year after reaching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Brian Burke

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has been in charge for several years now and is still a long way from making the team a true playoff contender.

His free-agent signings have been poor and the Phil Kessel trade with the Boston Bruins looks worse with each passing year.

Vancouver Canucks: Mike Gillis

Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis hurt his team at the trade deadline by acquiring young power forward Zack Kassian from the Buffalo Sabres, in exchange for young offensive star Cody Hodgson. 

The Canucks badly needed Hodgson during their first-round series defeat to the Los Angeles Kings, and Kassian couldn't even make the lineup in the final game of the series.

Washington Capitals: Tomas Vokoun

The Washington Capitals thought veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun would give them a huge upgrade in net this season when they signed him as a free agent, but inconsistent play and injuries led to a disappointing season.

Luckily for the Capitals, rookie goaltender Braden Holtby has been awesome in the playoffs.

Winnipeg Jets: Zach Bogosian

Zach Bogosian is a former No. 3 overall draft pick but hasn't developed well in the NHL. If he doesn't greatly improve next year, it will be time for the Jets and the young D-man to move on.