Ten players who have missed out on their big chance…
There are plenty of NHL players who never really get the opportunity to show what they can do. Maybe it's a skilled AHL player who is on the fourth line once he's called up. Maybe it's a defenseman stuck in the Nashville Predators organization. Or maybe it's a goalie who got to be backup to Martin Brodeur for so many years. History is littered with these guys. So a player has to take advantage when the time comes. Some guys may only have one shot. Others have multiple opportunities.
These players below — all 25 years or younger – have missed their opportunity at this stage. Some of them may get another chance — at least one of them is still getting his shot. But the guys on this list haven't performed up to anyone's expectations. Worse yet, you wasted roster spots on these guys because you believed in their opportunities.
Here are 10 players that missed their chance to be fantasy relevant.
10. Andrew Shaw
This isn't just a player that missed his shot. It's a player that is in the process of missing it. It's interesting to watch it play out. Somehow Shaw keeps getting a regular shift with Jonathan Toews. According to Frozen Pool's last three games line combinations tool, the most frequent line combination for the Hawks is Shaw, Toews and Ryan Garbutt. Shaw has never been a great fantasy option. He had one season of 20 goals and 39 points. His next best season was 15 goals and 26 points. He's on pace this year for nine goals and 21 points. Except for leagues that count hits, he's a total waste of a roster space.
This year was a "prove it" season for Schultz. And all he's proving is that he can't handle being a power play quarterback. Schultz has just one assist on the season. Not just on the power play, but overall. Sure he's missed some time because of a back injury. But he was on pace for five points before last night's game. Schultz is a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Is there any team out there that would trust him to be their team's main power play guy? Probably not.
There was a big hope that Silfverberg would be able to build off his excellent playoffs last year and finally be able to put together a fantasy season we were all hoping for. But it wasn't meant to be. So for this year Silfverberg has just two goals and five points in 27 games. Combine that with a minus-eight, and you get some very disappointed poolies. Silf is getting a minute and a half more ice time per game than last year and appears to have all the tools to put it together. He just hasn't. He's 25 years old, and outside of the 16 playoff games last year, has done nothing much in his career.
The 24-year-old Elliott has missed a few games here and because of injury, but has missed just as much time because of the dreaded healthy scratch. When he does play, he doesn't seem to accomplish much. Last night he had two points, which doubled his output on the year. He's only played 10 games on the year and the with the way his career has played out, I doubt he gets to 40.
Despite being a first round draft pick and a Stanley Cup champion, Rundblad's greatest claim to fame has been who he has been traded for. He was dealt from St. Louis to Ottawa for a pick used to select Vladimir Tarasenko. He was then dealt from Ottawa to Arizona for Kyle Turris. He's since been dealt to Chicago for a pick that became Christian Dvorak (who has 24 goals in 24 games so far this year in the OHL). But Rundblad is the definition of a healthy scratch, playing in just five games so far this season. The Hawks don't even trust Trevor Daley, who has seen his time dwindle to 10:31 average so far this month. And Rundblad still can't get in the lineup over Daley.
5. Cody Hodgson
The final nail in the coffin of Hodgson's fantasy career came this past summer when he signed a one-year deal for just over $1 million with the Nashville Predators. There are plenty of teams that needed a centre, but they didn't want Hodgson. He's not doing much to show himself off for other teams next year either. In 26 games, Hodgson has six points, a plus-two and a 46.3 faceoff winning percentage. He is averaging just over 11 minutes a game with virtually has no power play time. He's pretty much useless as a fantasy asset.
4. Beau Bennett
He's not worth the pickup in most leagues. He's only owned in one per cent of Yahoo pools. Once a forum darling, the 24-year-old Bennett is a certified Band-Aid boy — and has been since he was in college. He also can't produce. Despite getting some time as a top-six player over the year, Bennett has just 13 career goals in 116 NHL games. His career high is four goals in 49 games. He's simply not worth the headache.
Eighteen months ago, Tokarski had it all. He had just played superbly against the Rangers in the playoffs, even though he lost three of five games. Many poolies thought this could be the start of big things for Tokarski. But it wasn't to be. He was dreadful in the backup role to starter Carey Price the following season and lost the backup job this year. Now he can't even get the backup role with Carey Price injured. Such a quick rise and an even faster fall.
Goalies are a funny thing in hockey. Plenty of goalies seem to be sure-things but never do grab that brass ring. Campbell falls into this category. Drafted 11th overall in 2010 by Dallas, there was plenty of optimism for Campbell. But he seems to get worse each season. In the AHL this year he has a 4.10 GAA and a .871 save percentage. That was before last night's game, when he let in five goals on 18 shots in a loss. That's why it's so risky to select goalies right after they are drafted. You just never know what is going to happen.
1. Ryan Murphy
It's hard to put a 22-year-old defenseman on this list. But Murphy was expected to be the Hurricanes power play quarterback by this point. He's been passed on the depth chart by Noah Hanifin, and will probably be passed next year by Haydn Fleury. And not to mention James Wisniewski. To make matters worse, Murphy was sent down to the AHL on Friday. Sure he's young. But there's been nothing in his NHL game to suggest he'll ever be a good fantasy asset.