Players in Need of a Comeback Year
A lot of talented players in the National Hockey League (NHL) have had down seasons, be it due to injury, being on a bad team, or just simply bad luck. After last season, here are the players that will be looking to bounce back to form the most:
Evgeni Malkin:
Malkin had a season with 28 goals and a total of 77 points. While this is a good year for most players, for the Pittsburgh Penguins star it was the worst of his four total NHL seasons. The year before, Malkin had won the coveted Art Ross Trophy while putting up 113 points. He then followed that up by winning the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP. Malkin will be hungry to re-join the 100-point club, and it is almost certainly he will succeed.
Pavel Datsyuk:
Like Malkin, the Detroit Red Wings centre also did not have a poor season per se but did experience a significant drop-off from the year before. In 2009-10, Datsyuk had a respectable 70 points on 27 goals. Unfortunately, after two back-to-back seasons of just under 100 points, a 70 point performance is essentially a failure.
Vincent Lecavalier:
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward won the Rocket Rickard Trophy for top goal-scorer in 2006-07. Last season, the Lightning’s franchise player managed only 24 goals and averaged less than a point per game for the second season in a row, even though he was healthy this time around. The Lightning have been building up a solid team of youngsters and it is important for Lecavalier, who is the franchise’s leading scorer, to step up and lead them to some form of contention.
Jay Bouwmeester:
Bouwmeester seemed like a very smart acquisition for the Calgary Flames, who traded for him during the 2009 Draft. The Flames signed Bouwmeester to a long-term contract, expecting a consistent two-way defenseman who could help produce on the offensive end.
Instead, Bouwmeester has scored just three goals and amassed just 29 points. These are his lowest totals in five years and a massive decline from the 42 total points on 15 goals and 27 assists he had the year before with the Florida Panthers. Bouwmeester is hitting his prime right now and should be maintaining his impressive totals rather than declining.
Steve Mason:
Mason burst onto the scene as one of the most impressive rookie goaltenders in recent memory for the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 2008-09, he led the team to the play-offs with a record of 33-20-7 and a League-leading 10 shutouts. Since then, the Calder Memorial Trophy winner has struggled.
Last season, Mason went on a dismal 20-26-9 and allowed his goals against average to skyrocket from 2.29 to 3.06. He is the franchise player for the Blue Jackets and the team’s aspirations rely most heavily on Mason.
Cam Ward:
Ward is yet another netminder who struggled last year after strong previous performances. Ward went on a disappointing 18-23-0 a year after going 39-23. The game total shows that injuries most likely had something to do with Ward’s poor performance, but even prior to being injured he was clearly playing on a lower level than he had in previous years. The Carolina Hurricanes’ fate is tied to their goalkeeper as well, and if they are to repeat their 2009 Eastern Conference Finals run, Ward must return to 2009 form.
Bryan Little:
In 2008-09, Little was one of the more impressive players on the Atlanta Thrashers. In that year, his first in the NHL, the then 21-year-old scored an impressive 31 goals. Since then his production has waned severely. Last year, he had 13 goals and only 34 points. With Ilya Kovalchuk no longer in the picture, the Thrashers are looking for a long-term franchise forward and this is the year Little needs to show that he is the one they are looking for.
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