With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, I thought it was time to choose the most disappointing player from each team in the West. Last season I had Matt Duchene, Robert Thomas, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nate Schmidt, Clayton Keller, Nazem Kadri and Dylan Strome listed. Duchene, Thomas and Kadri are all having career years this season.

Here is our list for this year. Hopefully, we will see some of these players putting up career-highs next season.

Max Comtois – Anaheim

The 23-year-old Comtois led the Ducks in scoring last season with 33 points in 55 games, which brought his career totals to 23 goals and 28 assists in 95 games (0.54 pts/game) going into this year. He had a terrible pre-season this year and might have been playing hurt as he went pointless in his first 11 regular-season games while being a minus seven.

He sits at four goals and nine assists in 50 games (0.26/g) and his role for next season with the Ducks is certainly unsure. He has one more year under contract at $2.55 million in salary next season before he becomes an RFA. The Ducks will certainly hope he gets back to his level from last season.

Honorable mentions are Jakob Silfverberg (53-5-16-21), John Gibson (55 GP, 3.21, 90.4) and Sam Steel (66-6-13-19).

Dmitri Jaskin – Arizona

The Coyotes went out in the summer of 2021 and signed the 29-year-old Jaskin from the KHL where he put up some pretty impressive numbers over the past few seasons. He wasn't a cheap addition at $3.2 million for one year and he had some expectations from the fans and team.

He struggled in his 12 games with only one assist, but he had 23 SOG and led the team with 47 hits before he was injured in a cheap knee on knee with Mark Borowiecki (which turned into the season).

He was unlikely to turn the fortunes of the team around, but he was an intriguing player that could have brought back a return at the trade deadline if he was healthy.

Honorable mentions to Barrett Hayton (57-9-9-18), Phil Kessel (79-7-42-49) and Jakob Chychrun (47-7-14-21). Hayton is only 21-years-old and should improve, while Kessel was a disappointment in the goal department, as his career 11 percent shooting percentage was down to 4.2 this year. Chychrun had a horrible start but rebounded quite well before going down with an injury that ended his season. He had five goals and eight assists in his last 17 games and was a plus 11.

Sean Monahan – Calgary

Credit goes to Erik Gudbranson (76-6-11-17) and Nikita Zadorov (71-4-16-20) for exceeding most people’s expectations this season as there aren't many Flames players that can be included here other than last season's choice in Monahan once again.

Injured or not, his play has still been a disappointment as he's only 27-years old and his production fall-off has been staggering after his 82 points in 2018-19. In 65 games he managed eight goals and 15 assists and there is no guarantee that he comes back at even 75% of the skater he was with the type of injury he has.

Honorable mention to Jusso Valimaki (9-0-2-2) who I thought would be a little further along than he has shown and might have taken a step back this season. To be fair the Flame’s depth is a lot deeper this season than in the prior two years.

Dominik Kubalik – Chicago

After his first two seasons of 0.68 pts/game and with 30 goals in his rookie season, his 14 goals and 15 assists in 75 games is a fantasy letdown. He is a restricted free agent next season and the Blackhawks will have an interesting decision to make.

Honorable mentions to Jonathan Toews (68-12-24-36) and Tyler Johnson (23-3-3-6). Toews is just happy to be playing again after missing all of the 2020-21 season with an illness. Toews is just not the player he was from 2019-20 and at 33-years of age, perhaps this year is the norm moving forward.

Johnson might have been a salary dump from the Lightning, but I expected more than six points in a 23-game pace. He had neck pain early in the season and then neck surgery in mid-November. Since returning from the surgery, he sustained a concussion as well and has played 15 games with two goals and an assist on only 14 SOG.

Samuel Girard – Colorado

In his first four seasons, Girard's points/game were 0.32, 0.33, 0.49 and then 0.67. He went up every season, but this season he has five goals and 22 assists in 64 games which is 0.42 pts/game. More disturbing are his past 25 games where he has only three assists on only 18 SOG. He did miss 13 games with a lower-body injury in March and April and has been back in the lineup for the past eight games.

I'd be hard-pressed to say anyone else on this roster has been a disappointment, outside of a few injuries.

Alexander Radulov – Dallas

The 35-year-old Radulov is in the last season of a $6.25 million AAV contract. After only playing 11 games last season, Radulov has played 69 this season with only four goals and 18 assists on 90 SOG. His shot rate is down to 1.3/g after averaging 2.2/g in his career. His ice time is down to 14:07 from around 17 minutes per game in the prior three seasons.

Joel Kiviranta (54-1-5-6) has had a disappointing season as well after showing some flashes last year with six goals and five assists in 26 games.

Tyson Barrie – Edmonton

Barrie had 48 points in 56 games last season which was 0.86 pts/g which included 23 PPP. This season he has seen his ice time go from 21:24 to 18:52 per game and his PP% go from 72.3 down to 63.1. He has 19 PPPs in 70 games and has six goals and 32 assists overall.

Honorable mentions to Warren Foegele (79-12-14-26) and Zach Kassian (55-5-12-17). I was expecting more from Foegele from a production standpoint and was expecting him to challenge his career-high of 30 points and 0.44/g from when he was in Carolina. This season he has 12 goals and 14 assists in 79 games, which is 0.32/g.

With two years remaining at $3.2 million AAV after this season, Kassian's five goals and 12 assists in 55 games are not going to cut it. At least he was healthier than last season when he only played 27 games.

Alex Iafallo – Los Angeles

Iafallo (78-17-20-37) has shattered his career-high with 213 SOG, after his prior high of 148. Unfortunately, his shooting percentage has dipped to 8.0 from 11.0 and 12.0 in the past two seasons. His point pace has reverted to 0.47/g from 0.55 and 0.61 the two years prior. His ice time is still above 18 minutes per game this year, but down from 19:53 last year. The disappointment is only in his production, as he is a very good defensive player, but it's hard to justify his PP time (53.0 percent) with only six PPPs.

The only other player that might be included here is Gabriel Vilardi (23-3-0-3) who is still only 22-years-old but might have taken a step back this season. It's too early to be disappointed in Quinton Byfield (38-5-5-10), Tobias Bjornfot (69-0-8-8) or Alec Turcotte (8-0-0-0).

Lias Andersson (19-0-1-1) is 23-years-old now and the former 7th overall pick from 2017 has now played 106 NHL games with only six goals and 10 assists. He's on the bubble now to make it.

Minnesota – No one

Eeli Tolvanen – Nashville

Tolvanen (74-10-12-22) has matched his 22 points from 2020-21 this season, but unfortunately, he has played 74 games compared to 40 last year. His shots per game are higher this season as he has 2.0/g compared to 1.6 and for multi-category pools, his hits are at 173 this season. His PP time has been reduced from 57.0 percent down to 38.5 this year and as a result, he has only one PPG and six PPP compared to his six PPG and 12 PPP in 40 games last year.

Honorable mention to Luke Kunin (79-13-9-22) as much like Tolvanen his production has gone from 0.5 pts/g in 38 games to 0.28 in 79 games, while his hits have elevated to 218 this season, up from his career-high of 84.

Kevin Labanc – San Jose

Over the past four seasons before this one, Labanc (21-3-3-6) had averaged between 0.47 pts/g and 0.65, so expectations were between that for this season. Labanc started the season with two goals and an assist in his first two games but then went 19-1-2-3 before going down for the year with a dislocated shoulder in December. The Sharks missed him this year and will hope to have the 26-year-old back healthy next season.

Honorable mention to Adin Hill (25 GP, 2.66, 90.6) who I thought had a chance to become the 1A in San Jose, but he battled Covid, some injuries and inconsistencies and never really took the reins. 

Joonas Donskoi – Seattle

Donskoi (71-2-19-21) had averaged a shooting percentage of 15 percent in the three seasons prior to this one. This year he has a 2.4 percentage, but his shot rate has reduced to 1.2/g from about 1.6. I think the Kraken thought they might have a 15-20 goal scorer in Donskoi.

Philippe Grubauer (54 GP, 3.14, 89.0) has been a little better as the season has progressed, but overall his play has been sub-par for a guy that has five more seasons at $5.9 million AAV. There must be some worry in Seattle.

Ryan O'Reilly – St. Louis

Including O'Reilly (76-17-35-52) here is nitpicking a little, but 0.68 pts/g is his lowest since 2014-15 when he was with Colorado and had 0.67. At 31-years old, he has averaged 19:06 per game this season after averaging about 20:30 for the prior six seasons. The Blues might be managing his minutes to save him for the playoffs, or their forward depth might be deeper. Either way, his production is suffering a little but if anyone can bring it in the playoffs he can.

Brock Boeser – Vancouver

Boeser (68-21-23-44) has struggled this season with only 0.65 pts/game after averaging 0.79 in his career. It's hard to believe his career-high is 29 goals and 56 points, as he has a history of being injured every season and will play the most games in his career this season if he reaches 70. He can disappear for stretches and those stretches are getting a little longer. He becomes a restricted free agent after this season, so it will be interesting what happens for next season.

Honorable mentions to Jason Dickinson (59-5-6-11) and Tucker Poolman (40-1-2-3). Both players were signed by former GM Jim Benning with Dickinson signed for two more years at $2.65 million AAV and Poolman for three more years at $2.5 million AAV. Dickinson has never scored more than nine goals and after watching him every game this season, it is not a surprise. Poolman's stat line for the past two seasons is 79-1-3-4, but at his salary cap hit, 17:00 minutes a night for average defense is a waste of money for the Canucks.

William Karlsson – Vegas

Karlsson (64-11-22-33) has never been below 0.68 pts/g since arriving in Vegas in 2017-18, but this season he has dipped to 0.52. He is still a very effective player for the Golden Knights, but fantasy-wise he is on the decline.

Honorable mentions to Mark Stone (34-8-20-28) and Robin Lehner (44 GP, 2.83, 90.7). Stone has been pointless in the six games since returning from his back injury in April. Stone hasn't played more than 65 games in the past three seasons.

Lehner has battled injuries for most of the season but his 44 games are the most he has played since the 46 he played in 2018-19 with the NY Islanders. His play has been a little below average and has contributed to some of the issues Vegas have had this season.

Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg

It's tough to pin the Jet’s disappointing season on Hellebuyck (65 GP, 3.00, 91.0), but he was not the same goalie that the team has come to rely on for the prior four seasons. He had his first negative goals saved above average (-3.14) since 2017-18 when he had a minus 9.24. He still managed 28 wins and four shutouts, so his campaign was still pretty good. We've just come to expect 35-40 wins and a 91.5 to 92.0 save percentage.

The other two Jets that might have been included are Mark Scheifele (67-29-41-70) and Blake Wheeler (62-14-42-56) but both still produced points to a level that was acceptable for most pools. It was their play outside of putting up points that weren't quite there when needed this year.

Looking at the Jets roster it's baffling how poorly the team did this season, as individually they appear to have been fine on paper.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.