There are always surprises and disappointments in fantasy sports, and hockey is no exception. Unfortunately, you may be one of those people that were excited about their draft only to finish near the bottom of the league.
Here are five of the most disappointing fantasy hockey players this season.
LW Daniel Sedin - Vancouver Canucks
Sedin has normally been a shoe-in for thirty goals, but this year he has only tallied fourteen. He was typically a first round pick in most fantasy drafts, but his production (or lack thereof) compared to others taken just as early has really taken its toll on those who wasted an early pick on him.
Yes, he has missed a small amount of games due to injury this year, but his numbers in 68 games this year (14 G, 29 A, plus-4) are nearly identical to his numbers from last year's strike-shortened season in which he played 47 games (12 G, 28 A, plus-12 rating).
C Henrik Sedin - Vancouver Canucks
Henrik's story is almost the same as his twin brother's: a fairly minor injury caused him to miss a small amount of games, but his numbers this year in 65 games (10 G, 36 A, plus-6 rating) are not really any better than last year's numbers from 48 games (11 G, 34 A, plus-19 rating).
Drafting Henrik in the past normally meant that you were a lock to win in the assists category pretty much every week; in fact, he tallied a whopping 83 helpers in his Hart Trophy season of 2009-10. Unfortunately, both he and Daniel seem to be beginning a decline.
RW Nail Yakupov - Edmonton Oilers
The first overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft had a solid rookie season in 2013, scoring seventeen goals and adding fourteen assists in 48 games. This led many to believe that he would have an even better 2014 and would help his young Oilers contend for a playoff spot.
Like his Oilers, however, Yakupov has been an extreme disappointment.
He has played in 63 games this season (fifteen more than last year), and has less goals (11), less assists (13) and a much worse plus-minus (minus-4 in 2013, minus-33 this year).
G Craig Anderson - Ottawa Senators
Anderson's numbers were arguably Hart Trophy-worthy before he suffered a lengthy trip to the IR last season with a 1.69 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage in 24 games. This led some to believe that he was on the way up the ladder as one of hockey's better goaltenders, but his numbers this year indicate otherwise.
We should have been more wary of Anderson's past, as he was only a starter in two full seasons previously to this year. Last year was the only year in which he truly put up eye-popping numbers and it does not come as too much of a surprise that he came down to earth again this season.