Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
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Who are some of your big disappointments as far as hockey players go? These could be big time prospects that inexplicably busted or stars whose careers fizzled out for one reason or another. I've only been watching hockey for the past twelve or thirteen years or so, so all of my picks are relatively recent ones. Here's my top ten:
1. Eric Lindros: We all know the story. The original Next One. Hockey's Shaquille O'Neal. Made a big fuss coming into the league as a 6'4" 230 some odd pound 19 year old who refused to play by the rules of the draft. Threw his weight around and scored in bunches. Won the Hart Trophy at the age of 22, carried his team to the Stanley Cup finals two years later, falling just short. The hockey player Mario Lemieux passed the torch of greatness to. Team Canada's captain in 1998 at the Olympics in Nagano. And then the concussions came, the feud with Bobby Clarke, the trade to New York and the steady decline in play. Could have been one of the all time greats.
2. Pavel Bure: Bure was an electifying hockey player who scored more goals in his first three seasons in the NHL than Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky. With two 60 goal seasons and a Stanley Cup appearance in the first three years of his career, Bure looked like he was going to be one of the greats of this era. While three more 50 goal seasons and two seasons of 58 and 59 goals are nothing to scoff at, Bure's career is disappointing in the fact that he missed so much time and experienced so little in terms of team success.
3. Felix Potvin: Hometown pick here. Potvin was an all-star goalie that was pegged as the heir apparent to Patrick Roy when he was breaking into the league. He made the final fours with the Leafs in his first two years and was a huge part of the Leafs Renaissance with Gilmour, Clark and company. I remember reading all these hockey magazines as a kid where they compared him to Brodeur, and the comparisons were often favorable for Potvin. But the Leafs fell apart and his career seemed to unravel too, bouncing around the league and becoming a kind of journeyman goalie while Brodeur went on to be the best goalie in the league.
4. Nolan Baumgartner: after he was drafted, he was compared to Nik Lidstrom as a kind of perfect defenseman for the longest time. Every year he seemed to be one of the league's top prospects. And then he had some shoulder problems and never really got on track as far as playing in the NHL. Not really sure what happened with this guy.
5. Bryan Berard: a phenomenal talent with amazing offensive instincts and skating ability. The Potvin for Berard trade had the potential to be one of the all time steals because the Leafs were essentially trading an average starter for the next Brian Leetch. Unfortunately for the Leafs and Berard, the eye injury really put an end to Berard's potentially great career. He's still a good offensive defenseman even with the injury.
6. Eric Fichaud: He reminds me a little of Marc-Andre Fleury in that he was an amazing reflex goalie who was always flashy when he made saves. I remember watching him in the 94 Memorial Cup when he was with Chicoutimi and he was just amazing to watch. I was very happy the Leafs drafted him in the first round in 1994, and I remember a game during the exhibition season when he completely shut down the Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens. Unfortunately he was traded to the Islanders where his development was somehow screwed up and now he's not good enough to play in the NHL.
7. Alexandre Daigle: biggest first round bust since Brian Lawton.
8. Paul Kariya: this guy used to be an offensive machine with the Ducks and one of the brightest young stars in the NHL. Concussion problems, being on a bad team and moving to the Avalanche have stalled his career. Still has lots of time to turn his career around, but right now he's definitely swerved off the path of uninterrupted greatness that was once a given with him.
9. Dan Cleary: hyped as a great prospect as early as 15, the guy has problems scoring 30 points in the NHL.
10. Chad Kilger: he's big, he's skilled and he can skate well. He's almost like the Joe Thornton who couldn't put it together.
1. Eric Lindros: We all know the story. The original Next One. Hockey's Shaquille O'Neal. Made a big fuss coming into the league as a 6'4" 230 some odd pound 19 year old who refused to play by the rules of the draft. Threw his weight around and scored in bunches. Won the Hart Trophy at the age of 22, carried his team to the Stanley Cup finals two years later, falling just short. The hockey player Mario Lemieux passed the torch of greatness to. Team Canada's captain in 1998 at the Olympics in Nagano. And then the concussions came, the feud with Bobby Clarke, the trade to New York and the steady decline in play. Could have been one of the all time greats.
2. Pavel Bure: Bure was an electifying hockey player who scored more goals in his first three seasons in the NHL than Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky. With two 60 goal seasons and a Stanley Cup appearance in the first three years of his career, Bure looked like he was going to be one of the greats of this era. While three more 50 goal seasons and two seasons of 58 and 59 goals are nothing to scoff at, Bure's career is disappointing in the fact that he missed so much time and experienced so little in terms of team success.
3. Felix Potvin: Hometown pick here. Potvin was an all-star goalie that was pegged as the heir apparent to Patrick Roy when he was breaking into the league. He made the final fours with the Leafs in his first two years and was a huge part of the Leafs Renaissance with Gilmour, Clark and company. I remember reading all these hockey magazines as a kid where they compared him to Brodeur, and the comparisons were often favorable for Potvin. But the Leafs fell apart and his career seemed to unravel too, bouncing around the league and becoming a kind of journeyman goalie while Brodeur went on to be the best goalie in the league.
4. Nolan Baumgartner: after he was drafted, he was compared to Nik Lidstrom as a kind of perfect defenseman for the longest time. Every year he seemed to be one of the league's top prospects. And then he had some shoulder problems and never really got on track as far as playing in the NHL. Not really sure what happened with this guy.
5. Bryan Berard: a phenomenal talent with amazing offensive instincts and skating ability. The Potvin for Berard trade had the potential to be one of the all time steals because the Leafs were essentially trading an average starter for the next Brian Leetch. Unfortunately for the Leafs and Berard, the eye injury really put an end to Berard's potentially great career. He's still a good offensive defenseman even with the injury.
6. Eric Fichaud: He reminds me a little of Marc-Andre Fleury in that he was an amazing reflex goalie who was always flashy when he made saves. I remember watching him in the 94 Memorial Cup when he was with Chicoutimi and he was just amazing to watch. I was very happy the Leafs drafted him in the first round in 1994, and I remember a game during the exhibition season when he completely shut down the Canadiens at Maple Leaf Gardens. Unfortunately he was traded to the Islanders where his development was somehow screwed up and now he's not good enough to play in the NHL.
7. Alexandre Daigle: biggest first round bust since Brian Lawton.
8. Paul Kariya: this guy used to be an offensive machine with the Ducks and one of the brightest young stars in the NHL. Concussion problems, being on a bad team and moving to the Avalanche have stalled his career. Still has lots of time to turn his career around, but right now he's definitely swerved off the path of uninterrupted greatness that was once a given with him.
9. Dan Cleary: hyped as a great prospect as early as 15, the guy has problems scoring 30 points in the NHL.
10. Chad Kilger: he's big, he's skilled and he can skate well. He's almost like the Joe Thornton who couldn't put it together.