Top 5 Disappointments This Season...So Far

5. James Wisniewski, D,  Columbus Blue Jackets

GP: 20 G: 1 A: 12 +/-: -15

James Wisniewski is another case of a player having a great contract year, signing a long term deal for a lot of money, and not producing the following year. Wisniewski, who had a career high 51 points with the Islanders and Canadians last season signed a 6 year deal at $5.5 million a year. The Jackets thought they had a centerpiece on their blue line but a -15 just doesn't cut it. Columbus will be disappointed for the next 6 years in this nearly immovable contract.

4. Scott Gomez, C , Montreal Canadiens

GP: 13 G: 0 A: 4 +/-: -3

Where do we start with Scott Gomez? Is it the ridiculous contract he is commanding, making $7.3 million for the next four years, or is it that he has not scored a single goal in the last 47 games. With his horrible play and maybe even worse contract, there are rumblings now that Gomez could be getting the Wade Redden treatment and be sent down to the AHL.

3. Eric Staal, C, Carolina Hurricanes

GP: 31 G: 7 A: 12 +/-: -18

The Hurricanes franchise player is just having a flat out horrible season. -18 puts him worst in the NHL in the +/- category and his 19 points isn't nearly good enough. The usually dependable Staal could possibly blame his on ice troubles with an incident that happened last year when he hit New York Rangers defenseman and brother Marc Staal. Marc suffered a concussion and has not returned since. Maybe having seen the effects of concussion so close to home, he's lost his competitive edge.

2. Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals

GP: 28 G: 9 A: 12 +/-: -8

The well publicized struggles that Ovechkin has been dealing with may be turning around, but still the season so far has been a disappointment. Ovie has been struggling to find his offensive prowess ever since former coach Bruce Boudreau tried to implement a more defensive style of play. Maybe with new coach Dale Hunter, The Great 8 can return to form and lead the Capitals to a Stanley Cup.

1. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins

GP: 8 G: 2 A: 10 +/-: 7

Crosby's play on the ice has in no way disappointed. The disappointment comes when you think back to January 2011 and you can't imagine the world's best player missing the rest of the season and a month and a half of the next. Coming off the concussion, Crosby looked like he never missed a shift, and colliding in the neutral zone with teammate Chris Kunitz caused him to miss two games for "precautionary reasons".    A great man once said "Where there's smoke, there's fire".  I hate to draw this comparison, but could we be seeing an Eric Lindros career start to unfold here? I sure hope not.