I consider a bust someone who cannot stay in the NHL. Yeah sure there were higher hopes for him but he is not a bust.
As a fellow NYR fan, I think there’s an in between. If he starts scoring 50+ points per year, but never significantly more, I would call that a disappointment but not a bust. However if he fails to reach 50 this year and again doesn’t progress next year, even if he stays in the NHL as a chippy 40 point guy, that’s pretty much a bust at that point.
Guys like Malholtra stayed in the league but were definitely busts. It’s possible to find a niche and stick around but also be a bust. If Yakupov had been able to turn himself into a speedy penalty killer who played 12 minutes a night and scored 30 points per season but was a reliable fourth liner, to me that would be a bust, despite carving out a way to stay in the NHL.
Laf is hovering in the middle right now - what he’s doing this season, he’s in the “not a bust but disappointing for his hype” territory. If he can keep this up and even continue to progress, he’ll be only moderately disappointing, based on draft pedigree, but a worthwhile player. If he regresses and his pace slows to 45 or less, he’s definitely still in limbo between being a bust and being a disappointing 1OA. I have a hard time imagining he will ever live up to his 1OA status, let alone the hype he had as a better than average 1OA, but if he can manage a steady 55 per year… that’s not a bust, just much less than was hoped for. As a 40 point third liner? It doesn’t really matter if it’s an “official” bust or not… it’s a failure.
Obviously I hope he continues and actually takes another step. Right now he has points in 17 of 35 games but 22 points, and he’s riding shotgun to one of the hottest players in the NHL (Panarin) and a center having a career year (Trochek). His production is way behind theirs. Obviously PP time is a factor there (though 18% of his points are PP points as well), but I also have to be fair in assessing that while his numbers are improved this year, he’s still not really capable of creating anything on his own, which is definitely an expectation for a highly touted high end pick. He’s kind of still Jimmy Vesey playing on a better line. Its tough to really measure the season Laf is having.
