The NHL offseason offers the opportunity for general managers to reshape their rosters. While some moves turn out to be the perfect fit, other buys often leave GMs scrambling for the receipt.
Here are three players who are not fitting in with their new squads:
Andrew Ladd
The New York Islanders GM Garth Snow should call for a mulligan after signing veteran forward Andrew Ladd to a seven-year, $38.5-million deal in the offseason.
To say Ladd has struggled in his first year in Brooklyn would be an understatement. With just four goals and three assists on the season, this wasn't what the Islanders had in mind when they splurged in the summer.
Ladd's play is a stark difference from the consistency he saw in the last five seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, where his point totals floated between 46 and 62. And at 31 years old, his best days are already in the rearview mirror.
To make matters worse, New York passed on re-signing Kyle Okposo, who was a fit with the Islanders and has seen early success with his new club, the Buffalo Sabres, already potting 22 points. That's would be good for second on the Islanders, who sit last in the East. Okposo's new deal pays $500,000 more than Ladd, but seemingly comes with some production.
Brian Elliott
The discussion point of taking Brian Elliott out of St. Louis and away from Blues coach Ken Hitchcock to see it all unravel appears to have some merit.
After a draft day deal sent him to Calgary, the veteran netminder has quickly seen his season go up in flames. Last year's save percentage leader, coming in at .930, Elliott has leaked goals through his first season with the Flames. Through 15 games, Elliott has come away with just four wins, while his save percentage has tumbled to an ugly .889.
That performance planted Elliott on the bench and saw journeyman goaltender Chad Johnson run with the starter's role, who has grabbed 13 wins on the season.
At the season's beginning, the Flames initiated extension talk with Elliott, a pending unrestricted free agent, but given his lagging performance this campaign, the Flames could change routes. That would leave Elliott to explore the market for a new crease next season.
Mikkel Boedker
After eight seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, the club that drafted him eight overall in 2008, Mikkel Boedker very quickly went from the only team he'd ever known to now being on his third team.
The Coyotes flipped Boedker to the Colorado Avalanche at last year's deadline, and he put up respectable numbers in Denver, tallying 12 points in 18 games. But that performance didn't follow him to Silicon Valley, after agreeing to a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks this summer.
With just six points on the season, Boedker is on pace for the worst campaign of his career, a far cry from the career-year he put up in 2013-14, when he finished with 19 goals and 32 assists. No doubt the Sharks aren't getting bang for their buck on the $4-million salary they handed to the Danish forward.
Such a performance could see Boedker quickly move on to his fourth team, should the Sharks choose to cut ties by leaving the streaky winger exposed for the Vegas expansion draft.
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