This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Well, the Habs finally cut noted piece of driftwood Alex Semin on Monday, waiving him even while he lingers on IR with a lower-body injury. Although he could still end up on their AHL team, after the former 40-goal (and 38-goal, and 34-goal, and another four seasons over 20) scorer managed only one goal and four points in 15 games for Montreal, often getting healthy scratched, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him end up bolting to the friendlier ice back home in the KHL.
The decline of Semin was a fairly sudden one – he averaged a point per game for Carolina in the lockout-shortened season and was still solid the next year, gathering 22 goals and 42 points in 65 games, but he fell off a cliff last season at age 30. He hasn't been able to climb back up. If this seems like a young age for a guy to lose his touch, it is, but it's not unheard of – see Mike Richards. Of course, Semin doesn't exactly have the same sort of issues Richards has, at least as far as we know.
Still, it's truly amazing to see players like this get paid a million dollars a year – sure, that's chump change by the standards of pro sports, but it's a lot of money to be paid for a job you're not any good at anymore.
Speaking of bad contracts, here are a few of the worst in the league by my reckoning:
- Johnny Boychuk: seven years, $42 million, signed March 2015. That's a ton of money to throw at a defenseman who had his offensive breakout last year at age 30. I say "offensive breakout," but in this case that meant 35 points, good for 39th among NHL defensemen. Woo.
- Andrej Sekera: six years, $33 million, signed July 2015. Here's another guy who broke out at an older age (27) and had never been close to that good before. Amazingly, even though he dropped off to 23 points in 73 games last year, the defense-desperate Oilers still handed him that contract for his 2013-14 numbers. I feel like heads should roll over that.
- Jordan Staal: 10 years, $60 million, signed July 2012. Sure, he's got the name brand, but Staal only cleared 50 points once in his Penguins career. I do get that he's known for his two-way game, or at least he once was, but you can't pay $6 million in this league to a top-six center who barely contributes on the power play and is only good for a point every other game.
- Dustin Brown: eight years, $46 million, signed July 2013. The Kings paid Brown off after what turned out to be the last high-quality season of his career; as soon as he signed that contract, the tough winger tanked hard, losing his top-line role and falling from what had been a hyper-consistent 50-plus-point pace to 27 points in each of the last two seasons – a horrible figure he's poised to replicate this year.
Alright, on to Tuesday's action.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:30 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Maple Leafs (Garret Sparks), 7:30 PM
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, Boulton (lower body) – Remains timetable-free
Philadelphia Flyers
Radko Gudas, D (suspension) – One more game on ban
Mark Streit, D (groin) – Skating, but remains out 'til end of month
Sam Gagner, C (upper body) – Has missed six straight, but nearing return
Luke Schenn, D (lower body) – Out two weeks
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) – Out indefinitely following surgery
Dwight King, LW (foot) – About a week from resuming skating
Trevor Lewis, C (upper body) – Traveling with team
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jared Boll, RW (foot) – Back at practice, but unlikely for Tuesday
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) – Out another four weeks
Rene Bourque, LW(undisclosed) – Has already sat longer than initial projection
David Clarkson, RW (back) – May get back in the lineup Tuesday
Detroit Red Wings
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW (shoulder) – Out 6-to-8 weeks
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – Out at least another month
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – No timeline
Drew Miller, LW (jaw) – Out six seeks following surgery
Washington Capitals
Karl Alzner, D (upper body) – Uncertain for Tuesday
Marcus Johansson, LW (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday
Jakub Vrana, RW (wrist) – Out a matter of months yet
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) – Hit IR Monday
New Jersey Devils
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) – A week away from returning yet
Travis Zajac, C (upper body) – Won't go Tuesday
Jiri Tlusty, LW (shoulder) – Traveling with the team Tuesday
Toronto Maple Leafs
James Reimer, G (undisclosed) – Won't play Tuesday
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) – Still not back at practice
Joffrey Lupul, LW (lower body) – On IR; return unclear
Ottawa Senators
Chris Phillips, D (back) – Still week-to-week
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) – Hit IR last week
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Remains without a timetable
Andrew Hammond, G (head) – Had another setback
Florida Panthers
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) – Won't play Tuesday
Alex Petrovic, D (ankle) – Not skating, but improving
Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan, RW (lower body) – Hit IR Sunday
Joe Vitale, C (face) – Should be starting to approach return
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – Out another six weeks yet
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) – Out three months
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – Still chillin' on LTIR
Nashville Predators
Mike Fisher, C (lower body) – Hit IR last week
Gabriel Bourque, LW (lower body) – No timetable offered
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor Daley, D (upper body) – Out Tuesday
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – Out another four months
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – Out another 2-to-4 weeks
Dallas Stars
Jason Demers, D (upper body) – Skated after Monday's practice
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – Likely to rejoin team Jan. 14
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D (lower body) – Sat out Saturday
Calgary Flames
Kevin Poulin, G (knee) – Out another 2-to-4 weeks
Jon Gillies, G (hip) – Having surgery Wednesday; out a period of months
Kris Russell, D (upper body) – Didn't practice Monday; could still go Tuesday
Lance Bouma, C (lower leg) – Won't return within the week
Hot
Michael Cammalleri, LW, NJD – With three straight multi-point games, Cammalleri continues to defy my predictions of a slowdown; he's still pulling more than a point-per-game pace, the first time he's even been close to that since he actually achieved it back in 2008-09. Is it sustainable? Well, the Devils are a more offensively capable team now that they're not playing as tight of a system anymore, and Cammalleri keeps making magic on the top line and the power play alongside Adam Henrique and Lee Stempniak. On paper, that's as unlikely a first unit as you could ask for, but it sure is working out. So the answer is yes, sort of – I still don't believe Cammalleri will crack 80 points, but 70? That's well within his reach.
Tyson Barrie, D, COL – We were waiting for Barrie to kick things into high gear after a slow roll to open the season, and he's finally starting to do so. The talented young blueliner has scored two of his three goals in the last four games, and he's got a couple assists in that span as well. If you didn't strike when the buy-low opportunity was prime, it's too late now – with 18 points in 25 games on his ledger, it's hard for Barrie's fantasy owners to feel like they're getting shorted anymore. Now that the goals are coming, expect them to keep coming.
Cold
David Desharnais, C, MON – He may still be seeing top-line ice time for the Habs, but Desharnais has pretty much been a train wreck lately – he's without a point in the last six games and has gone minus-4 in that span with only seven shots. This despite that he's played over 17 minutes in each of the last five games, with more than two minutes on the power play four times in that span. Since a 5-1 win over the Rangers on Nov. 25, the Habs have only scored 11 goals in five games, and their lack of first-line productivity is exactly why.
Recommended Pickup
Ondrej Palat, LW, TAM – After a rough start and a lower-body injury that sent him to IR, Palat was cut loose in a lot of leagues, and now's the time to check your wire in the interest of adding him before he returns. He's practicing fully these days and may return as soon as Thursday; why would you not take a shot on a guy who's averaged 61 points over his first two full NHL seasons? Perhaps his return will boost fellow Triplets Line members Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, who have also seen their fortunes fall this season, though it's no guarantee that coach Jon Cooper reunites that trio.
