NHL Year in Review: The most disappointing players of 2016

It’s that time of year!

You know. The time of year where the year ends and people rank things that happened throughout the year in case you forgot. We are not immune to this Internet fad. We have succumbed.

Because, honestly, these things are fun to do. Unfortunately, we decided to start with the most disappointing NHL players of 2016. Starting on a sad note. Sad Blog Nation.

But don’t worry! Every day through the end of the year, we’ll be rolling out our NHL 2016 in review features. Many of them will be more uplifting than this. But we must start somewhere.

Onward.

This disappointment, at least, is through no fault of his own.

After a few years with declining numbers and injury woes, Stamkos was leading the NHL in goals for a good chunk of the 2015-16 season. By the end of March, Stamkos had 36 goals and 64 points. The Lightning were an offensive powerhouse again and all things ran through him even as Nikita Kucherov emerged as an equally dangerous threat.

And then, the blood clots. Stamkos underwent surgery on April 2 to remove one from his arm and didn’t return until the Lightning were on the brink of either making the Stanley Cup Final or elimination in Game 7 against the Penguins. It made everyone wonder what could’ve been with the Lightning if Stamkos hadn’t missed so much time.

Armed with a new contract and much-needed rest, Stamkos flew out of the gates this season with nine goals and 20 points in 17 games. And then he tore his lateral meniscus. Gone for four months.

Robbed of two years in his prime, essentially. At a time when the Lightning are poised to make Cup runs every year. A shame.

Oh, John Klingberg.

Like so many young defensemen lately, the Dallas Stars blueliner stormed into the NHL with a terrific rookie season with 40 points in 65 games. He was dynamic.

And like so many young defensemen, the game suddenly gets a lot more difficult when NHL teams discover your weaknesses.

In 2016, opponents started getting physical with Klingberg. They forced him into quick decisions. Mistakes. And as they piled up around playoff time, his confidence crumbled.

Klingberg was a non-factor in Dallas’ playoff run, finishing with four points in 13 games. He created few scoring chances and (like most of the team) couldn’t keep the puck out of his own end.

The rest of 2016 hasn’t gone any better. His turnover rate keeps rising, his possession stats are getting worse, and the only two goals he’s scored all season have come in one game. He’s fallen off a cliff.

Klingberg’s earned the multiple healthy scratches Lindy Ruff has handed out to him this season. Like the rest of the Stars, Klingberg’s 2016 is turning into one to forget.

It’s not a great sign when Boedker is the biggest prize at the trade deadline, but that was the case when the Arizona Coyotes shipped him to the Colorado Avalanche last March.

Whatever the Avalanche thought they were getting, Boedker didn’t live up to their hopes. He’s never been a prolific scorer, but in 18 games with the Avalanche to close out the season, Boedker finished with four goals and 12 points. Colorado let him walk in free agency without a second thought.

He’s been even worse in San Jose. Loaded up with a four-year deal worth $4 million per season, Boedker has scored twice in 32 games and dished out only four assists. If we were ranking these guys, he might be at the top of this list.

It was a tumultuous 2016 for the Buffalo Sabres winger. He hit 20 goals in 2015-16 (which is an accomplishment, I guess), but took 114 shots and scored on only nine of them after the All-Star break.

Then the summer happened. Two crime reports were filed against Kane, placing him squarely in the age-old “Is His Production Worth the Trouble?” conversation again.

He started the 2016-17 campaign with three broken ribs. He came back from injury before Jack Eichel did but simply can’t find his offensive game yet. Trade rumors have swirled around him for months. Kane would like to move on from 2016 and his team might just want to move on from him altogether.

That the Avalanche struggle so much with dynamic players like Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, and Semyon Varlamov is difficult to explain. But they’re broken. And their captain is a big part of the problem.

In 2016, Landeskog stopped producing offensively. He tallied seven goals in 27 games after the All-Star break and saw his power-play time dwindle. Lining him up with MacKinnon hasn’t worked for whatever reason, and the Avalanche have been hesitant to keep him with Blake Comeau and Carl Soderberg, who has has played better with.

This season has gone horrifically for the Avalanche and Landeskog isn’t improving; with four goals and nine points in 20 games, Landeskog is on pace for his worst season as a pro. If the Avalanche decide to blow up their core at the deadline, their captain might be the first out the door.

Injuries have started to catch up with the highly paid Wild winger, and his production tapered off as 2016 wore on.

Parise finished 2015-16 with 25 goals, but 17 of those came before the All-Star break. His struggle to find the back of the net continued into the new season; Parise has five goals in 23 games. This is part of a worrying trend for Parise.

He’s signed for $7.53 million per year through 2025.

This is a case of BIG TRADE expectations not lining up with reality. Chicago traded for the Winnipeg Jets captain at the deadline in March to add some depth under their tight cap situation. And why not? With 17 goals at the time of the trade, Ladd was on pace to eclipse his previous season total.

After 19 regular season games and eight goals with Chicago, the trade started to look a bit underwhelming. But not enough to be disappointing. Then the playoffs kicked in and Ladd only contributed two points in a heated playoff series and ultimate elimination at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.

Chicago let him walk, and he signed a massive seven-year, $38.5 million deal with the New York Islanders. He’s making as much this season as John Tavares is. With four goals and seven points in 31 games to show for it.