Fantasy Killers - Ovechkin, Getzlaf, Stewart, Visnovsky...

If I can't win my league, my next favourite pastime is coming up with excuses explaining why I didn't. If you're at all like me this post might give you some good ammo to hang onto the last shreds of your fantasy hockey reputation.

Here are the players that have massively failed to live up to our expectations. If there is somebody you're frustrated by on your fantasy team feel free to vent in the comments.

The ''what we wanted' stats are from our SuperStats Projections. Current and Project Stats have both been prorated to 82 games to make comparisons easier.

Alex Ovechkin
What we wanted: 51+58=109... what we got: 34+32=67
Ovie's struggles have been well documented. The good news is he had a bit of a hot streak a few week or ago (11 pts in seven games) but the bad news is he's gone cold again (two points in last five). Do you know that Ovechkin hasn't scored more than three points in a game this season?

Magnus Paajarvi
What we wanted: 22+28=49... what we got: 0+12=12
Remember we're not saying he has 12 point total, we're saying in the 28 games he played he was playing at a 12 point pace! We weren't expecting too much of him but when you have such an epic fail it deserves a mention. Just to prove that Cam and I are stubborn we just picked up Paajarvi in a deep keeper league and we're going to stash him on the bench for next year.

Ryan Getzlaf
What we wanted: 25+65=91... what we got: 13+45=58
Health has been the only problem with Getzlaf the last four years. He's been over a point-a-game player in every one of those seasons... until this year. His minus-19 is a nice cherry on the top for his owners as well.

Ville Leino
What we wanted: 21+37=58... what we got: 7+17=25
Everybody (except for Terry Pegula) knew that the signing of Leino was a bad idea. He might be overpaid, but we still expected around 50 points. Instead we get an injury filled campaign where Leino has played at just a 25 point pace.

Ales Hemsky
What we wanted: 26+49=75... what we got: 11+32=42
Hemsky had a bit more talent around him and he was apparently healthy coming into the season. He did get injured again but the surprising part is that he hasn't produced when he's been in the lineup. Things are looking up for Hemsky though as he's got five points in his last six and he should get a ticket to a contender very shortly.

Chris Stewart
What we wanted: 35+34=70... what we got: 20+18=38
He's another injury prone guy who has shown he can produce when he's in the lineup... well at least until this season. He's been around .85 ppg the last two years and was even better than that when he arrived in STL last season. He's still putting up the PIM's and shots but a 38 point pace just isn't going to cut it. He has four points in his last five... it's a start.

Alexander Semin
What we wanted: 40+42=82... what we got: 23+27=50
I'm not sure you can even call Semin a fantasy killer since he's as unpredictable as they come. You should have known better when you drafted him, but he's got so much talent you can't help but take a flyer on him. He's got 13 points in his last 12 games so imagine how bad his numbers looked a few weeks ago.

Lubomir Visnovsky
What we wanted: 17+47=64... what we got: 11+24=34
That early season slump (four points in 16 games) and his 13 game finger injury really hurt. Since then he's been a bit better (nine in 15 games) but it's too little too late for most of his owners.

Rene Bourque
What we wanted: 32+29=62... what we got: 27+6=34
After seasons of .69, .79 and .63 ppg we figured Bourque would be good for around 50-60 points. The goals are there but he has only three damn assists so far. Maybe playing in Montreal will get him passing a bit more effectively... I wouldn't count on it though.

Paul Stastny
What we wanted: 25+50=75... what we got: 23+25=48
He was playing like a champ for four straight years until last year's disappointing 57 points. We projected a bounceback but Stastny doesn't want to cooperate as he's actually gotten worse this year.

Derek Roy
What we wanted: 31+46=77... what we got: 18+31=49
Check out the ppg's from his career .39, .66, .84, 1.04, .85, .86, 1.00 and then this year he's at just .60. That's right he's having his worst year since his rookie season. He's rumoured to be on the block so maybe a change of scenery gets him going again. I think he makes a good buy low candidate.

Jeff Carter
What we wanted: 38+36=74... what we got: 27+19=46
He's only been a 60-something point guy the last two years but as the centerpiece for the Jackets offense we were hoping for a lot more than this.

Brad Richards
What we wanted: 28+57=85... what we got: 29+31=59
The big ticket item this year has quietly been letting his fantasy owners down so far. He's been over a point-a-game for the last two years. It's amazing the Rangers have done so well even though their star has underperformed.

Matt Duchene
What we wanted: 33+43=76... what we got: 25+25=50
After 67 points as a 19 year old last year it looked like the sky was the limit for Duchene. Turns out... no. He's out for the season now. I own him in two keeper leagues and I just keep telling myself "he's only 20, be patient". He's making it hard.

Antoine Vermette
What we wanted: 24+33=57... what we got: 11+21=32
He picked up 47 and 65 points the last two years so to see him playing at a 32 point pace is disappointing.

Rick Nash
What we wanted: 43+40=83... what we got: 30+28=58
He finally got that center he needed in Jeff Carter (although only for 30 games so far) but he hasn't done much with him. The minus-20 doesn't help either. Cam and I tried to dump Nash for Valtteri Filppula in a keeper league only to be pointed out that Filppula is outproducing Nash... by a lot. Doh.

Patrik Berglund
What we wanted: 24+34=59... what we got: 19+15=34
Berglund has started his own little 'Prospal Pattern'... one good, one bad season over the last four years. If the pattern continues next year could be nice.

Martin Havlat
What we wanted: 27+45=72... what we got: 6+41=47
The speedy Havlat on the potent Sharks? Sounds good, sign me up! Only 15 points and now he's injured... definitely now what I was expecting.

Drew Stafford
What we wanted: 33+33=66... what we got: 13+29=42
Stafford had a nice breakout in an injury shortened season last year (.84 ppg) but this year he's only picking up a point every second game. Gross

Simon Gagne
What we wanted: 28+34=63... what we got: 17+24=41
Lining up next to Mike Richards on the 2nd line was supposed to rejuvenate Gagne, instead he's playing at the worst pace of his NHL career. Stick a fork in this guy.

Bobby Ryan
What we expected: 39+35=74... what we got: 32+20=52
I wasn't expecting as much as other but even non-believers like me are surprised by Ryan's season. Maybe the trade talk gets him going? Seems to be working so far... 11 points in his last 10 games.

Henrik Zetterberg
What we wanted: 30+51=81... what we got: 15+45=60
He's been much better since his early season slide (seven points in first 15 games) as he has 25 in his last 26 games. He hasn't scored since Dec 17th but at least he's putting up the points lately.

Victor Hedman
What we wanted: 8+28=36... what we got: 5+10=15
He's been called the next Nicklas Lidstrom... um when is that supposed to happen exactly? His .19 ppg is alarming and now he's out with a concussion. I'd take a flyer on him next year but the lack of progress is worrying.

Mike Cammalleri
What we wanted: 33+36=69... what we got: 21+27=48
He's having his worst season since 2003-04 but he's not this bad. The trade to Calgary might be exactly what he needs. I wouldn't expect the 1.01 ppg he put up with Calgary a few years ago but a 60+ point pace is definitely do-able.

Brent Burns
What we wanted: 21+31=51... what we got: 14+18=31
Watching Burns kill two of my teams this year has been very frustrating. 46 points with a pretty terrible Minnesota team should equal more than 50 with the powerful Sharks, right? Somehow that logic didn't translate into the real world. If that wasn't bad enough his PIM's are way down (98 last year, on pace for 31 this year). He does have four points in five games so there is hope.

Other contenders:

Shane Doan - what we wanted: 26+40=66... what we got: 22+24=46

Brandon Dubinsky - what we wanted: 29+34=63... what we got: 10+33=43

Bobby Ryan - what we wanted: 38+33=71... what we got: 32+21=52

Eric Staal - what we wanted: 37+41=78... what we got: 19+40=59

Dany Heatley- what we wanted: 36+37=73 what we got: 24+31=55

Martin St. Louis - what we wanted: 31+63=94... what we got: 21+55=76

Michael Grabner - what we wanted: 35+24=58... what we got: 26+14=40

Cam Fowler - what we wanted: 14+38=52.... what we got: 6+28=34

Patric Hornqvist - what we wanted: 26+29=54... what we got: 23+13=36

Jarome Iginla - what we wanted: 38+44=82... what we got: 30+34=64

Alex Goligoski - what we wanted: 16+35=51... what we got: 13+21=33

Travis Hamonic - what we wanted: 10+29=38... what we got: 2+20=21

Mark Giordano - what we wanted: 8+38=46... what we got: 13+16=30

Tomas Kaberle - what we wanted: 6+41=47... what we got: 2+31=33