Giving up on some young talented but underachieving players is a question on the minds of some hockey fans in Edmonton and Toronto. Some other players have come out of the gate on a high that may be sustainable.
Nail Yakupov was drafted first overall by Edmonton in the 2012 NHL Draft and Jake Gardiner was chosen 17th overall in 2008 by Anaheim and has moved on to Toronto, where he remains a big of an enigma. Both players have shown flashes of brilliance but really have not achieved the kind of stardom or even consistency many observers have forecasted.
In Edmonton, Yakupov is one of several top drafts in recent years who have yet to gel on this underachieving club. The sense is that at least one of them needs to be moved out to shake things up. The most likely target appears to be Yakupov, who has averaged a shade over 12 minutes of playing time per game and compiled a goal and two assists (and a -5 rating) in six games.
He just doesn't look like a fit in coach Dallas Eakins system, which demands some attention to optional play and defensive awareness. Neither of these attributes appears to be part of Yakupov's toolbox of skills.
Well, the same applies to Gardiner, who is one of the best skaters in the league but has had trouble with consistency, choosing instead to make his impact with a penchant for the solo effort at the expense of fitting into the plan for a teamwork approach to puck movement. He is off to a poor start this season, too, with a single assist in five games. He has also been sat out of two games this season, showing how far down on the Leafs depth chart he has dropped.
It's odd to look back at the latter part of last season, when the Leafs lost 12 of their last 14 games. Gardiner was the one player who played very well over that stretch, while the rest of the Leafs were headed in the wrong, losing direction. This is another indicator that Randy Carlyle can point to in highlighting how Gardiner is out of step with his teammates.
Does a change of scenery change things for these players?
This is a very risky course of action at the moment. Both players would fetch much less than their pedigree would warrant because they are both playing so far below their potential. Patience needs to be the order of the day for at least the balance of this season. The Oilers and Leafs team front offices need only to recall the best of what these players have shown, albeit in flashes, and recognize that dealing these potential stars is a move that could haunt the clubs for at least the next 10 years.
Similarly, there may be players on your Fantasy squads who are off to slow starts. If you drafted them based on their track records you also need to show some patience. No team has played 10 games yet, so the sample size is too small to make a panic move. The Leafs and Oilers should not panic over the starts of Yakupov and Gardiner and neither should you, regarding poor starts by some of your key picks.
Some players who have already carved out a new niche
A group of defensemen has started out with a string of solid efforts that have raised their long-term outlook. They may all be sustainable.
Damon Severson, 20, has exploded with three goals and two assists while earning over 20 minutes per game on the Devils blueline. He was formerly a second-round pick who was a top scoring defenseman in junior hockey and has made a seamless transition to the pros, surrounded by the many veterans on this roster. Apart from Severson, only Andy Greene and Marek Zidlicky have much in the way of offensive skills on the Devils blueline. So it would seem that Severson would continue to play in the mix of top four blueliners and log some power play time here.
With the development of two solid offensive lines in Dallas, you would expect that some members of their defense should see offensive totals rise, simply because they are playing together. Trevor Daley looks like he's already taking advantage of these opportunities. He has never topped the 30-point mark during his 10 years with the Stars, but he peaked with nine goals and a +10 rating last year.
He has continued to show up on the scoresheet with three goals and three helpers in six games, while averaging about 25 minutes per game. The Stars appear to be a team on the rise and Daley seems entrenched as a top candidate for ice time that will include a great deal of power play time.
In Calgary, T.J. Brodie started this season as the third offensive option on a blueline that includes captain Mark Giordano and Dennis Wideman, veterans who have already established themselves as quality puck-movers who can and have regularly played a big part in moving the puck and firing up the offense. Brodie has been brought along slowly, and at 24 years of age has steadily grown as an offensive contributor, with production that peaked with a 31-point campaign last season. This year he has stepped up and already chipped in three goals and four assists, while recently signing a five-year, $23.25M contract with the Flames. That is a clear indicator to one and all that Brodie is expected to play a central role here for the foreseeable future. As his game logs show over 25 minutes of playing time per game, that future is now.
Anton Stralman is a fourth defenseman who deserves early consideration for an expanded role. He signed on as a free agent, leaving the Rangers for the Tampa Lightning. Stralman has long been considered as a good puck mover, but one who has been a part of a heavy focus on defense first in prior stints with the Rangers and Blue Jackets. He was signed to a five-year, $22.5M deal. He was only able to produce 13 points last season (in 81 games) with the Rangers. Yet he has earned significant playing time (including the power play), garnering five assists in seven games. In addition, the Lightning will lean heavily on Stralman as their lynchpin of the blueline and power play over the next six weeks because of the broken finger that will sideline top defender Victor Hedman.
These are just a small sample of the fluid situations that will continue to evolve as players and teams settle in after evaluating the talent that broke out after 30 training camps.