By Andrew Miller
Jeff Carter (Los Angeles Kings)
Shocking, I know.
But do not get caught up in his goal production this year. Yes, he has scored
17 on the year, giving him credit for 23 percent of the Kings’ goals. But the
problem lies in his assists. Carter only registered two assists on the year so
far. Two.
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| (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) |
Between even
strength and power plays he has played at one point or another with several elite
players. Starting with Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar as well as Mike Richards
for forwards, he also has Drew Doughty on the back end for the power play. Two
assists places him in a tie for 442 in the NHL and that is nowhere near good
enough. The infamous Paul Bisonnette even has three on the year. It is time to
forget about the goal production and realize that he has to make his teammates
around him better.
Chris Kunitz (Pittsburgh Penguins)
The average NHL
player does not see the age of 33 in the league, let alone find himself on the
top five goal scorer’s list. That being said, Kunitz is reaping the reward of
playing next to the demi-god that is Sidney Crosby. Outside of Teemu Selanne,
scorers do not peak past the age of 30. Kunitz is above average, but not a big
time scorer.
I’m convinced I
would able to make it to the 30 goal mark in a standard season if I was playing
along side Crosby. Heck, Mario Lemieux could climb out of the owner’s box, lace
up, and put up 40. Sid the Kid averages almost an assist a game. He is fifth on
the all time per game list behind Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, and Forsberg; only a
few guys who know how to dish it out. Even more impressive is his margin
between him and Peter Stastny, almost a tenth of an assist per game. Crosby is
on a mission to tear up the record books and Kunitz is just along for the ride.
Brian Campbell (Florida Panthers)
Once one of the
best two-way defenseman in the game with the Sabers and Blackhawks, Campbell
has come up way short of stellar of late. With six goals and ten assists, his
offensive numbers are not horrible. However, as a defenseman, he has to take
care of his own zone first and a minus 17 is not cutting it. That lands him 261
in the league and that is just among defensemen.
One thing that is
not near the bottom for defensemen is his salary. His $7,142,875 cap hit is
more than Chara, Karlsson, Doughty, and Seabrook. Even more ridiculous is the
percentage of the Panthers’ cap he takes up. Consuming 12.6 percent of their
cap, Campbell takes up more space that everyone mentioned above along with
Weber, Suter, Keith, and Yandle. GM Dale Tallon is not getting his bang for a
buck or anything close to that. Over valued and overrated, Campbell is not
doing anything that would bring the Panthers out of last place any time soon.
