We're airing some grievances in this week's edition of "On the Fly," theScore's Friday NHL roundtable series. Below are four players taking an axe to our respective fantasy teams, and we're not pleased about it. Oh, and Happy Holidays.
Patrice Bergeron
Ian McLaren: Hopes were high in regards to Patrice Bergeron this season, and for good reason.
From 2013-14 through 2015-16, the versatile Boston Bruins center averaged 29 goals and 62 points, marking some of the most offensively productive seasons of his career.
Through 32 games this season, however, Bergeron is well off that pace, having recorded only five goals and five assists. His shooting percentage is well below his career average, meaning the puck is bound to start going in at some point. But what's most baffling is the fact he's playing with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, who are both posting solid numbers. So where are the assists?
At this rate, he'll be good for 12 goals and 25 points, which is flat-out unacceptable for a player drafted in higher rounds.
Bergeron did score Thursday against Florida, and hopefully that's a sign of things to come.
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Craig Hagerman: If you're unfortunate enough to have Evgeny Kuznetsov on your fantasy team, you're likely less than impressed with his production this season. If you used a spot in a keeper league on Kuznetsov and can no longer drop him, then you're really ailing - trust me, I know.
After a career-high 20 goals and 77 points in 82 games last season, when he led the Capitals in scoring, Kuznetsov's limped through the first three months of 2016-17.
He's got just three goals and 17 points through 31 games, putting him on pace to net only seven goals and 44 points - 33 fewer than last season. He has just four power-play points, no game-winning goals, and is also on pace to record nearly 50 fewer shots than last season.
Making matters worse, his trade value isn't very high at the moment, while the concept of giving him away for nothing is hard to justify, with the ever-possible chance the 24-year-old turns things around - something fantasy owners must be praying happens soon.
Kyle Palmieri
Navin Vaswani: Never put your faith in a Devil.
Kyle Palmieri was money in 2015-16. Dude scored 30 goals and led New Jersey in points with 57. And it wasn't even close. Adam Henrique's 50 was the next best on the Devils.
It was a good story, too: After back-to-back 14-goal seasons in Anaheim, the latter in only 57 games, Palmieri finally got a chance to play top-six minutes and rewarded the Devils' faith in him. A career 11.4 percent shooter, he was at 13.5 percent last year - it clearly wasn't all luck.
But, maybe it was. Palmieri's got five goals in 31 games, only three on the power play after 11 PPGs in '15-16, his shooting 8.5 percent, and his ice time's down, too. Even his Corsi's down, from 45.33 percent to 44.44 percent. It's literally all bad.
The most painful part: I drafted him in the second round of a 20-team keeper league (four per team), in which drafting successfully is paramount, ahead of Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Suter, Kyle Turris, Rick Nash, Jeff Skinner, David Pastrnak (that one really hurts), Nazem Kadri, Jakob Silfverberg, Ryan Kesler, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Marian Hossa.
The list goes on and on and on and on. I hate myself.
Dylan Larkin
Cory Wilkins: Dylan Larkin has a bad case of the sophomore slump.
The Detroit Red Wings forward has hit an offensive wall through his second pro season, coming away with just 12 points through the first 33 games of the season.
It's a major downfall from the 45-point campaign the rookie sensation put up with the Red Wings last year, when he finished at a 0.56 points per game pace.
This season, that number has hit the skids, with Larkin firing well below, at 0.36. While the goals are still there - he has 10 already, and is actually on pace for two more than last season - the helpers have been nearly non-existent, as Larkin has just a pair of assists on the year.
Whether that's on Larkin or his linemates is left to be determined, but no doubt more was expected from Larkin after he made the quick jump to the NHL as a 19-year-old.
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