It's a decision every fantasy general manager faces throughout a season: When do you run out of patience and sit a player who is on a cold streak?

It's easy when you're dealing with an elite player. No matter what type of cold streak they might suffer through, you're going to keep them in the lineup. It's also easy when you're dealing with a 16^th-round, third-liner. It's a lot tougher when it's someone that either plays a position you're thin at or is someone who normally excels. 

Last week we looked at the hottest players in the league (my wife giggled at that). Today, we're going to look at the coldest players. 

Keep in mind that the coldest players are different than the most disappointing. Evgeni Malkin, for example, has been disappointing but has 10 points in his last 10 games. Erik Karlsson has also been a disappointment but has three points in his last four games, so he earns the benefit of the doubt for now. 

As a side note, Matt Duchene would have made this list as he has zero points in his last eight games, but he's now out 3-5 weeks with a lower-body injury. We're going to cut him a little slack, but keep his cold streak in mind for when he's healthy. 

10. Josh Morrissey

I talked about his teammate Neal Pionk last week, one of the hottest defensemen in the league but still stuck on the second power-play unit. Morrissey leads his team in average ice time per game, quarterbacks the top power-play group and starts in the offensive zone on 53.1 per cent of his shifts, but has a total of nine points in 24 games. One of my favourite new features here on the Dobber site is when you go to a player's game log, there's a camera button next to each game where you can watch videos of goals the player either scored or assisted. It's pretty demoralizing to see Morrissey's eight straight games with no video. However, in those eight games, he has 15 shots, 17 hits and 14 blocked shots, so he is providing usefulness in some leagues. 

9. Josh Anderson

Anderson missed three games before getting back into the lineup on Saturday night, but the time off may have been good for him. After a hot start when he had 11 points in 13 games, Anderson now has two points in his last seven games. He's also a minus-three during that time, but he's at least contributing in other categories as he also has 15 shots and 28 hits in that stretch. He hasn't had the chance to play under new coach Dominique Ducharme, but fantasy general managers are hoping he can get back to the way he was at the start of the campaign.

8. Max Domi

It's probably fitting that both Domi and Anderson are amid cold streaks, but despite all the positive stories about Anderson's season and negative ones about Domi, Anderson has only six more points than Domi. The Blue Jacket is in the midst of a massive cold spell, with zero points in his last eight games and one in his last 11. The only difference between Domi and Anderson is that Domi isn't contributing in other categories. In these last 11 games, Domi is a minus-eight to go along with 16 shots, three hits, five faceoff wins and zero power-play points. Anderson, you keep playing since he contributes elsewhere; Domi you have to drop. 

7. Denis Gurianov

After starting with three goals and seven points in his first four games, there was plenty of hope that Gurianov would have a massive breakout year. Unfortunately, he's come crashing down hard.  His assist Sunday night against Nashville has his first point in nine games, and he has just three points in his last 12 games. There are plenty of reasons for optimism. He's shooting the puck plenty (31 shots in his last 12 games), doling out hits (12 in the same timeframe) and getting lots of power-play time. Another bright side is that as the Stars have had so many games postponed, they have more games remaining than any other team (and eight less than the Canucks). That makes almost any Stars player a sneaky buy low. 

6. Braden Holtby

I figured it might take a while until Thatcher Demko became the team's number one netminder, but it's happening quicker than I had thought. Holtby has started only one game of the Canucks' last six games. While it is partly to do with Demko's hot streak (4-3-1, 1.90 GAA, 0.936 SV% in his last eight games), most of the blame can lie at the crease of Holtby, who has one quality start in his last six games. Since Feb. 1, Holtby has played six games and has let in at least three goals in five of them. During that time, he is 1-4-1 with a 3.89 GAA and a 0.882 SV %. 

5. Evgenii Dadonov

Dadonov seems to be the epitome of a streaky player. He had only three points in his first 12 games in Ottawa and then had five in his next five. Now he has one goal and zero assists in his last nine games (not including Sunday night's tilt against Calgary). One of the biggest reasons for this funk is his deployment. He's down on the third line (mostly playing with Nick Paul and Colin Whiteduring this streak). Although he's on the top power-play unit, he's not a good own as long as he's away from Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson. 

4. Darnell Nurse

It's worth noting that with only four goals in their last four games, many of the Oilers are in the midst of a cold streak. Hopefully, you sold high on Nurse while you could, at least in points-only leagues. In leagues with more peripheral categories, it's easier to overlook his zero points in his last six games. In that span, he has 15 PIM, 17 shots, eight hits and 12 blocked shots, which is awesome production. He has played at least 25 minutes a night in 13 of the Oilers' last 14 games. As long as Tyson Barrie is in town, Nurse won't be counted on for prime offensive minutes nor the top power play. 

3. Mackenzie Blackwood

After starting the season as one of the league's best netminders, Blackwood has slowly turned into one of the worst. Since Feb. 20, Blackwood has a 1-6 record with a 3.77 GAA and a 0.865 SV% to go along with just one quality start and has allowed at least three goals in each of those seven games. From Feb. 20 to Saturday night, 36 netminders have played at least four games. In that timeframe, Blackwood is 35^thin save percentage and 33^rdin goals against average while leading the league in losses. Making things worse is that he's been playing non-playoff teams. Two of those losses have been against Buffalo and another two losses to the Rangers. The only good thing is that he doesn't have any competition for starts, so you don't need to worry about another netminder stealing starts. 

2. Patrik Laine

It seems almost unfair to have two Blue Jackets on this list, but both deserve mention. Despite all the accolades of how great Laine was playing after his trade to Columbus, he is now pointless in six games to go along with a minus-four, 13 shots and four hits in that time frame. His ice time dipped for a couple of games but he's still on the team's top power-play unit. I'd like to see him come out with a seven-shot game to try and break the streak, but he only has three shots in his last two games.

1. Quinn Hughes

How impressive was Hughes over the first 20 games or so? Despite having just one point in his last six games, he was tied for most points by a defenseman this season going into Sunday's action (although to be fair, Vancouver has played more games than every other team). In his last six games, Hughes is a minus-four with six shots, one hit and eight blocked shots. This is one of those cold streaks you just have to wait out as you can't bench him. He's just too good and plays too much of the team's power play to risk having him on the bench when he finally snaps this streak.