NHL

2014-15 NHL Midseason Report: 10 Most Disappointing Players

2014-15 NHL Midseason Report: 10 Most Disappointing Players

NHL Players
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Sometimes players have a bad season or don’t live up to their expectations. Some of them are attached to big contracts that their playing isn’t worth. The following 10 players were expected to do a lot more, but so far have been having disappointing seasons.

10. Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek
Brace Hammelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

10. Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek
Brace Hammelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Vanek is a good player who has been moving around the past couple seasons trying to find a permanent home for himself. It seemed that he had found a good spot with the talented group of the Minnesota Wild, but so far, he has yet to live up to expectations.

9. Thomas Hertl

Thomas Hertl
Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

9. Thomas Hertl

Thomas Hertl
Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

After taking the league by storm last season with his incredible four-goal performance, Thomas Hertl was looking like a superstar in the making for the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite lived up to what was expected of him, although luckily for him there is still time.

8. Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

8. Taylor Hall

Taylor Hall
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Taylor Hall hasn’t done much to impress this season for the Edmonton Oilers. His numbers are okay (11 goals, 18 assists), and there’s definitely potential, but he’s not what you’d expect from a first overall draft pick. Then again, none of the Oilers seem to be playing really high-caliber hockey this season.

7. Joffrey Lupul

Joffrey Lupul
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

7. Joffrey Lupul

Joffrey Lupul
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Joffrey Lupul is the type of player who has a lot of potential, but can rarely get through a stretch without being injured. This season has been no exception, and even when he’s playing, he hasn’t been putting up great numbers.

6. Nathan MacKinnon

Nathan MacKinnon
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

6. Nathan MacKinnon

Nathan MacKinnon
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Nathan MacKinnon had a great rookie campaign, leading many to believe he would only continue to impress, but so far this season, it looks like he’s suffering from the sophomore slump. In 49 games, he only has nine goals so far, a far cry from his numbers last season with the Colorado Avalanche.

5. Mike Smith

Mike Smith
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

5. Mike Smith

Mike Smith
Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Smith has been one of the biggest disappointments so far this season and definitely not the goalie the Arizona Coyotes needed to make a run for the playoffs this season. To date, he has 31 starts and only seven wins.

4. Mike Richards

Mike Richards
Marc DesRoslers-USA TODAY Sports

4. Mike Richards

Mike Richards
Marc DesRoslers-USA TODAY Sports

Recently put on waivers by the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Richards has gone from superstar to underachiever the past few seasons. Despite being given a chance to turn it around this season, his performance has been disappointing.

3. Jarome Iginla

Jarome Iginla
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3. Jarome Iginla

Jarome Iginla
Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sport

Though Jerome Iginla is getting older, it was expected that his veteran presence would be a great addition to the young Colorado Avalanche lineup, which is full of potential. Unfortunately, it hasn’t really panned out that way for the team who is having a less successful season than desired.

2. Dany Heatley

Dany Heatley
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2. Dany Heatley

Dany Heatley
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Although it was a risk when the Anaheim Ducks signed Dany Heatley, they took a chance on the two-time 50-goal scorer to see if he had anything left in the tank. It seems he didn’t as he’s now been put on waivers by the Ducks.

1. Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

1. Alexander Semin

Alexander Semin
James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Alexander Semin is having a nightmare of a season, from having only one goal in 26 games to being a healthy scratch on multiple nights. The worst part is he carries a million cap hit for the Carolina Hurricanes.

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