Players that did not meet expectations this year

[thadd]

Klefbom - Injures
Larsson - Everything
Rieder - Didn't score a single goal on a contract year.
Petrovik - Wasn't worth a 5th round pick, let alone a 3rd.
Puljujarvi - Yelp.

 

[Boud]

Mikkel Boedker finished with a 0.5PPG but got scratched several times. Dissapointment for sure, likely traded if there's a market.

Zack Smith is completely done.

Ben Harpur this was a make it or break it season for him, he was a disaster.

 

[CartographerNo611]

For an idea of where the expectations were for Matthews:

68.3% of voters predicted he would score 50 goals. (He didn’t)

Somebody wouldn’t have been shocked if he won the Art Ross this season. (He didn’t)

54.9% of voters predicted he would score more points than Nicklas Backstrom. (He didn’t)

Sportsnet said he was evolving as a generational goal scorer. (He finished 17th in goals)

It’s Toronto, they thought Kaberle was a legit number 1 for the longest time lmao

 

[M88K]

Nichushkin, Benn, Klingberg, Janmark,

 

[Johnnybegood13]

I thought I stole Kopitar 14th overall in our 20 team $5k pool, I ended up 3rd.. 8 points out of first despite my 1st pick bum, I had 5 other players with more points.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

For an idea of where the expectations were for Matthews:

68.3% of voters predicted he would score 50 goals. (He didn’t)

Somebody wouldn’t have been shocked if he won the Art Ross this season. (He didn’t)

54.9% of voters predicted he would score more points than Nicklas Backstrom. (He didn’t)

Sportsnet said he was evolving as a generational goal scorer. (He finished 17th in goals)

most of these are result of being hurt and missing 14 games more than his actual ability. 1 fewer point than Backstrom in 12 fewer games is technically falling short, but hardly something to point and laugh about. Especially when only 55% of people predicted it

 

[FinnishSniper]

Simply wrong. Barzal's development moved along just fine. And most fans' expectations were rational. Losing Tavares had to have an impact, regardless of Barzal's development curve. Gaining Trotz as a coach meant being held more accountable defensively. And the eye test showed nothing but positive development for Barzal.

@FinishSniper: expectations are not opinions. Rational expectations are based on (a) actual performance and (b) circumstances surrounding future performance.

I expected him to be hovering around PPG and he didn’t. Thus he didn’t meed my expectations. I’m always talking for myself and my own opinions, I have no clue what everyone else’s expectations are/were.

End of story.

 

[FinnishSniper]

Laine's got to be at the top of the list. Considering he was supposed to be the heir apparent to Ovechkin for the Rocket, him finishing with so few goals and him struggling most of the season really stands out.

Yea, this is not going to be Jets’ year if he doesn’t start scoring in the meaningful games.

 

[CREW99AW]

I expected him to be hovering around PPG and he didn’t. Thus he didn’t meed my expectations. I’m always talking for myself and my own opinions, I have no clue what everyone else’s expectations are/were.

End of story.

Pretty amused with the idea the isles finished 1 pt behind the Metro winning Caps ,DESPITE Barzal

 

[Kuz]

On Washington the biggest disappointment must be Kuznetsov. Had a decent season, but I think most expected him to be better after last seasons playoff. He doesnt seem to be able to consistently care enough to be at his best during the regular season. Wouldnt be surprised to see him step up his game by a lot in the playoffs.

 

[saintunspecified]

Beau....coming off back to back 20+ goal seasons, I thought he would put up 50-60 pts . He was very inconsistent again.

JHS...during an early season call up he was taking a K.I.S.S. approach and drawing Trotz praise for his D. He was not as dynamic offensively, but that was not surprising with his attempt to limit turnovers.
Demoted after Trotz said his bad habits started creeping back into his game. Been Bridgeport since then.

Eberle....tbrived in Weight's wide open system. Struggled in Trotz's system. Finished with 35 or so pts.

I thought Eberle was fine, and he played good defensive hockey too. His production woes go along with the power play generally. Tito has been disappointing, as was Barzal who didn't seem to get any stronger and shied away from contract.

 

[MichaelK]

Beau....coming off back to back 20+ goal seasons, I thought he would put up 50-60 pts . He was very inconsistent again.

JHS...during an early season call up he was taking a K.I.S.S. approach and drawing Trotz praise for his D. He was not as dynamic offensively, but that was not surprising with his attempt to limit turnovers.
Demoted after Trotz said his bad habits started creeping back into his game. Been Bridgeport since then.

Eberle....tbrived in Weight's wide open system. Struggled in Trotz's system. Finished with 35 or so pts.

Eberle got better as season went on. I don’t think you should go by the point totals, but I thought he was one of the better players on the ice when some of the younger players were hitting a wall towards the end of the year and that at least kept Islanders competitive.

 

[yzerman]

Linus Ullmark had not a very good season

 

[sandysan]

Going to put it out there - Sergachev. Didn't really see the progression I hoped for.

We are down for take-backsies

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Matthews was widely touted as a top-10 player in the NHL going into this season and was frequently tagged with the “generational” label by his fan base. After his hot start, it was beginning to look like his fan base was right about him. The expectations grew...

Then, his performance pretty much fell off a cliff. In the calendar year of 2019, he scored 38 points in 43 games, and posted a -18 rating. If you set the cut-off date at just the moment he signed his contract, he scored 27 points in 30 games and posted a -12 rating.

Even in the statistics which his fan base uses to pump his tires, he didn’t do all that well. He finished 15th in even strength points per 60, behind players like Max Domi and Tomas Hertl. He finished 20th in points per game, behind players like Jonathan Huberdeau and Brayden Point.

He actually finished the season on pace for 88 points. Given his performance in the first 7 games of the season, and the expectations set by his fanbase and the Canadian media, I would say that is a thoroughly underwhelming performance.

This is a wonderful post.

Yeah, Matthews for me as well.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

most of these are result of being hurt and missing 14 games more than his actual ability. 1 fewer point than Backstrom in 12 fewer games is technically falling short, but hardly something to point and laugh about. Especially when only 55% of people predicted it

14 extra games wouldn't have given him 50 goals. Or put him with-in 20 points of the Ross. Or put forth evidence that he is a generational anything.

So when you say most, you mean only finishing ahead of Backstrom?

 

[Jugitsu]

Mikael Granlund was a big disappointment to me.

 

[Atas2000]

Who was underwhelming this year that you had higher hopes for?

Subban
Turris
Drouin
W Nylander
Kovalchuck

Kovalchuk is 4th on the team in scoring, 3rd among forwards. The team that will have the second best odds tomorrow.

What was expected of him?

 

[Atas2000]

nichushkin

Only for people who did not watch him over the years.

 

[Le Grec]

Nick f***ing Leddy.

Although this year was better than last year, I was hoping for more...

 

[Atas2000]

Going to put it out there - Sergachev. Didn't really see the progression I hoped for.

For his age and position?

If he is not a clear cut first pairing D at 23 I will not be disappointed.

 

[Atas2000]

On Washington the biggest disappointment must be Kuznetsov. Had a decent season, but I think most expected him to be better after last seasons playoff. He doesnt seem to be able to consistently care enough to be at his best during the regular season. Wouldnt be surprised to see him step up his game by a lot in the playoffs.

You only need him at his best in the playoffs, so...

 

[PatrikBerglund]

Linus Ullmark had not a very good season

God himself could not look good on this disastrous defensive trainwreck of a team.

 

[NotLeddy]

Justin Abdelkader, and even though expectations weren't necessarily high this year, holy crap was he awful.

Bertuzzi was out with a concussion from a fair amount of time from January-February, so despite being useless and killing any offense being created by really poor decision making all season, he was rewarded top line minutes with Nyquist and Larkin during Bertuzzi's injury. It was hard to watch, he was so, so bad.

In the last game of the season, he ends his 41 game (half a season!!!) goal drought against Tampa, and then gets injured with a hairline fracture from blocking a shot, and his season ends.

 

[Hostile Offer]

For the Habs Drouin, Hudon and Niemi. Pretty much everyone else met or exceeded expectations.