Struggling NHL Players Seeking More Production in Second Half
By Ryan Ritchie
Struggling NHL Players Seeking More Production in Second Half of 2015-16
We’re nearing the halfway mark of 2015-16, and there’s been no shortage of storylines in the new season. Today, we’re going to examine individual scoring productivity to pinpoint which players are putting up numbers below their career average.
More from Editorials
- The problem with another expansion franchise in the NHL
- Should the NHL make referees give postgame interviews?
- Why Carolina Hurricanes fans should be excited for the 2023-24 season
- Should The Seattle Kraken Consider Trading Shane Wright?
- Why any NHL team would be lucky to add Phil Kessel to their roster
Not all players named are having disappointing seasons in general, as many offer intangibles not found on the scoresheet. But, in today’s NHL, you need scoring production up and down your entire lineup. Listed below are struggling NHL players not meeting expectations:
Statistics obtained from ESPN
Struggling NHL Players in Need of a Strong Second Half
F Carl Hagelin, Anaheim Ducks – 8pts 38gp
D Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks – 8pts 37gp
F Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks – 6pts 38gp
F Patrick Maroon, Anaheim Ducks – 5pts 34gp
Lack of productivity from top six forwards will often earn a team honors among lowest scoring in the NHL. Riding the shoulders of John Gibson in-goal, Anaheim will have a stronger second-half that sees them looking just outside the playoff picture.
F Boyd Gordon, Arizona Coyotes – 2pts 35gp
F David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins – 4pts 10gp
Injuries derailed his sophomore season. He’s coming off a strong showing at the World Juniors, and will look to build off that in the second half. Don’t be surprised if he’s one of the Bruins top producers on the back-end of 2015-16.
F Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres – 8pts 36gp
F Johan Larsson, Buffalo Sabres – 4pts 37gp
2015-16 was intended to be a coming out party for Girgensons and Larsson with a much improved roster. Both are capable of tripling their productivity over the next 45 games.
D Dougie Hamilton, Calgary Flames – 14pts 39gp
D John-Michael Liles, Carolina Hurricanes – 7pts 40gp
F Jay McClement, Carolina Hurricanes – 6pts 39gp
F Riley Nash, Carolina Hurricanes – 5pts 29gp
F Chris Terry, Carolina Hurricanes – 3pts 34gp
G Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes – 11w 2.45gaa .903sv pct
G Eddie Lack, Carolina Hurricanes – 5w 2.96gaa .892sv pct
F Ryan Garbutt, Chicago Blackhawks – 4pts 35gp
F Bryan Bickell, Chicago Blackhawks – 2pts 21gp
F Marko Dano, Chicago Blackhawks – 2pts 13gp
Few Blackhawks players are struggling this year, but newcomer Ryan Garbutt is well below last year’s point totals. If Bickell doesn’t find his game, he may be destined for Europe in the near future. Dano has top six talent, but hasn’t managed to lock down a roster spot. Look for that to change in the back half.
F Alex Tanguay, Colorado Avalanche – 13pts 29gp
F Mikhail Grigorenko, Colorado Avalanche – 11pts 36gp
D Nate Guenin, Colorado Avalanche – 0pts 25gp
G Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche – 13w 2.67gaa .913sv pct
F Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets – 24pts 38gp
D Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets – 11pts 39gp
D Fedor Tyutin, Columbus Blue Jackets – 2pts 33gp
D Dalton Prout, Columbus Blue Jackets – 2pts 28gp
G Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets – 11w 2.52gaa .916sv pct
The Blue Jackets biggest struggle this season is on the blueline. It’s more so the overall defensive play, but three defenders well below career average in production doesn’t help either. Bobrovsky will need to be much better in the back half if Columbus hopes to avoid claiming top spot in the Draft Lottery.
G Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars – 12w 2.85gaa .907sv pct
D Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings – 16pts 40gp
F Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings – 12pts 40gp
D Danny DeKeyser, Detroit Red Wings – 9pts 36gp
D Jonathan Ericsson, Detroit Red Wings – 5pts 35gp
F Tomas Jurco, Detroit Red Wings – 3pts 17gp
G Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings – 7w 2.66gaa .910sv pct
All six skaters above are producing well below their abilities. Howard’s recent struggles are earning him less time in the crease. He’ll need to have a much better back half to convince Detroit not to trade him when Mrazek gets his pay raise next summer.
D Justin Schultz, Edmonton Oilers – 4pts 27gp
F Anton Lander, Edmonton Oilers – 2pts 40gp
G Anders Nilsson, Edmonton Oilers – 10w 2.91gaa .908sv pct
F Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings – 16pts 39gp
F Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings – 14pts 39gp
Brown is on pace to match last season’s totals. The hope was that Dustin would reclaim his status as a top six forward. But, it seems our suspicions are confirmed, he’s now a bottom six player.
F Jason Pominville, Minnesota Wild – 19pts 39gp
D Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild – 5pts 38gp
F Jarret Stoll, Minnesota Wild – 3pts 39gp
D Alexei Emelin, Montreal Canadiens – 4pts 32gp
D Tom Gilbert, Montreal Canadiens – 1pt 36gp
Emelin is a defensive d-man, so point production is somewhat irrelevant. He only had two points before racking up a pair over the last couple games. Montreal doesn’t need him to fill the scoresheet, but, they definitely need a little more from him.
D Adam Larsson, New Jersey Devils – 7pts 40gp
F Jiri Tlusty, New Jersey Devils – 4pts 28gp
F Craig Smith, Nashville Predators – 14pts 40gp
F Cody Hodgson, Nashville Predators – 8pts 37gp
F John Tavares, New York Islanders – 29pts 37gp
F Ryan Strome, New York Islanders – 14pts 29gp
F Nikolay Kulemin, New York Islanders – 13pts 40gp
D Travis Hamonic, New York Islanders – 8pts 40gp
It’s hard to complain about 29 points in 37 games. We’re talking about John Tavares though. He’s a point-per-game producer, and the Islanders will need that Johnny T in the second half leading into the playoffs. Hamonic is a defensive stud not relied on for his production, although eight points is well below his career average.
F Chris Kreider, New York Rangers – 18pts 39gp
F Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers – 17pts 39gp
F Derek Stepan, New York Rangers – 15pts 30gp
F Emerson Etem, New York Rangers – 3pts 19gp
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ottawa Senators – 13pts 40gp
F Curtis Lazar, Ottawa Senators – 8pts 35gp
F Alex Chiasson, Ottawa Senators – 5pts 40gp
F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers – 29pts 38gp
F Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers – 25pts 38gp
F Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers – 22pts 38gp
F Brayden Schenn, Philadelphia Flyers – 19pts 36gp
D Michael Del Zotto, Philadelphia Flyers – 8pts 36gp
F Michael Raffl, Philadelphia Flyers – 8pts 38gp
G Steve Mason, Philadelphia Flyers – 7w 2.85gaa .910sv pct
When almost all of your top six forwards are producing well below career averages, you generally find a team struggling in the standings. That’s the case in Philly, where role-reversal is the theme is 2015-16. The usual weaknesses (defense and goaltending) are Philadelphia’s strength this year, while, it’s offense is the weak link. If everything can come together at some point, the Flyers could be a dangerous team down the stretch.
F Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins – 22pts 39gp
F David Perron, Pittsburgh Penguins – 16pts 39gp
F Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins – 16pts 39gp
F Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh Penguins – 13pts 39gp
D Olli Maatta, Pittsburgh Penguins – 10pts 33gp
D Trevor Daley, Pittsburgh Penguins – 9pts 39gp
F Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins – 9pts 37gp
D Ian Cole, Pittsburgh Penguins – 4pts 38gp
F Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks – 27pts 37gp
F Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks – 15pts 36gp
F Tommy Wingels, San Jose Sharks – 9pts 37gp
D Paul Martin, San Jose Sharks – 8pts 34gp
F Matt Nieto, San Jose Sharks – 8pts 34gp
Thornton’s 27 points aren’t anything to complain about. The production does suggest he’s possibly beginning a decline most aging vets reach at some point. San Jose needs Tomas Hertl to be better over the next 45 games. An emerging Hertl makes trading Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau that much easier.
F Troy Brouwer, St.Louis Blues – 15pts 42gp
D Alex Pietrangelo, St.Louis Blues – 15pts 42gp
F Jori Lehtera, St.Louis Blues – 15pts 42gp
F Kyle Brodziak, St.Louis Blues – 3pts 38gp
F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning – 30pts 40gp
F Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning – 13pts 39gp
F Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning – 11pts 27gp
F Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning – 8pts 20gp
F Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning – 8pts 19gp
D Braydon Coburn, Tampa Bay Lightning – 6pts 40gp
D Jason Garrison, Tampa Bay Lightning – 6pts 40gp
D Matt Carle, Tampa Bay Lightning – 0pts 33gp
F Nazem Kadri, Toronto Maple Leafs – 20pts 37gp
F Joffrey Lupul, Toronto Maple Leafs – 12pts 32gp
G Jonathan Bernier, Toronto Maple Leafs – 5w 3.09gaa .896sv pct
Kadri is looking much better this season, but he’ll need to find the scoresheet a little more if there’s any hope of getting a decent contract next summer. Lupul’s production has slowed since return from injury. He started the year off hot, and needs to finish the same way if Toronto hopes to relieve themselves of his lucrative deal.
Next: Top 5 Overachieving Point Producers in 2015-16
F Radim Vrbata, Vancouver Canucks – 18pts 38gp
F Alex Burrows, Vancouver Canucks – 12pts 38gp
F Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks – 11pts 40gp
F Chris Higgins, Vancouver Canucks – 3pts 24gp
G Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks – 10w 2.74gaa .909sv pct
F Alex Burakovsky, Washington Capitals – 10pts 36gp
F Brooks Laich, Washington Capitals – 5pts 39gp
F Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg Jets – 23pts 40gp
F Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets – 13pts 40gp
F Toby Enstrom, Winnipeg Jets – 10pts 40gp
G Michael Hutchinson, Winnipeg Jets – 5w 2.97gaa .904sv pct
Coming off a 62-point campaign that led the Jets in scoring in 2014-15, Ladd’s production has tapered off. It’s an important contract year, so look for Ladd to have a strong second half of the season. It’s tough to complain about a rookie’s production, but, experts predicted Ehlers in the Calder Trophy conversation. He’s a highly skilled winger that should have a better back half now that he’s got 40 games of NHL experience.