What kind of hockey player do teams always seem to chase, but turn out to be busts?

Gene J. Puskar - AP

Even Chris Drury can't believe he's about to make $8 million this season.

View full size photo »

Today's conversation piece touches on a theme we've heard often with the Nashville Predators, but it really applies to just about every team in the NHL. Since the Preds always have acres of salary cap space available, speculation abounds as to what kind of player they might acquire if only the budget could be increased. Usually in Nashville, that takes the form of a proven goal-scoring winger, but for other teams it may be a stud goalie, or puck-moving defenseman.

Quite often, however, teams that make that flashy deal often find themselves regretting it shortly thereafter, as reality fails to live up to expectations.

My question today, then, is what kind of hockey players are the ones which usually don't live up to the hype? Follow after the jump as I toss out a few examples, and make your nomination in the comments...

The Sniper

You know the type - the guy who scores a ton of goals in the final year of his contract, hitting the free agent market as a hot commodity. Think Jason Blake in 2007, getting rewarded for his fluke 40-goal season with a 5-year, $20 million contract from Toronto. He's averaged under 20 goals per season since then.

The Champ

Often, a team looking to achieve playoff success brings in a player with a championship pedigree, and if he's got a few game-winning overtime goals to his credit, that only adds to his aura. Case in point? Chris Drury and his 5-year, $35.25 million contract with the New York Rangers, for whom he has yet to tally 60 points in a season.

The Big Cannon

Teams love to build around a physical defenseman with a heavy shot, but on a bad team, even a decent blueliner can look horrible. Also in 2007, Sheldon Souray received a 5-year, $27 million contract from the Edmonton Oilers, and two of the three seasons since then have been absolute stinkers. Toss in his no trade clause, and that contract becomes a real boat anchor.

The Stopper

"Proven" goaltenders have traditionally enjoyed a healthy premium on the free agent market, at least until this summer. Just think of all the high-price goalies who have failed to deliver in recent years - Cristobal Huet (4 years, $22.5 million) in Chicago, Nikolai Khabibulin before him in Chicago (4 years, $27 million from 2005-2009), Khabibulin in Edmonton (4 years, $15 million last summer for an aging goalie with back trouble).

What gets your vote for the most overrated type of player in the NHL? One of the above? How about heavyweight goons, "agitators", or shutdown centers?

And perhaps even more interestingly, who looks to be the big bust from this summer's free agent market?

To keep up with all of our coverage of the Nashville Predators, you can subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter (@Forechecker & @predatweeter), or catch the site on Facebook. You can also email me at the.forechecker@gmail.com.

Friday's news: the Chicago Blackhawks are still losers

Let's finish off the work week with some surprising news - while they may have won the Stanley Cup, the Chicago Blackhawks are still losers in a very important sense.

This, and a whole lot more after the jump...

Predators News

Brent Peterson coaches up the next generation of hockey players - Nashville Predators Examiner
Jim Diamond cuts through the facade, pointing out that while it appeared that he was merely help young kids learn the fundamentals of hockey, he was actually "scouring the ice looking for anyone to improve upon the woeful Predators penalty killing unit".

Off-season Losses & Gains (Part 3 of 4) - Predlines
Ah, Boyd & Grebeshkov, Preds fans hardly knew ye.

Rink Side Rants - Predlines
Nathan joins a podcast to talk Preds, among other things.

30 Goals In 30 Days: #5 vs. STL, Nov. 12 - PredsBlog
The goal here is nice, but the fan reaction is better!

Around the NHL

Blackhawks finances: Blackhawks win on the ice, lose off it - chicagotribune.com
The Blackhawks may have just won the Stanley Cup, but they're not turning a profit yet; that part of their turnaround is still a work in progress (thanks to @SLakePreds on Twitter for pointing this out).

Cover art for EA Sports' first Wii hockey game, "NHL Slap Shot" - ProHockeyTalk
Check out the cover for the new Wii game (NHL Slapshot ) endorsed by Wayne Gretzky. We're a Wii household, so I'll have to try this one out with my kids.

Blake Wheeler awarded $2.2 million in arbitration - Stanley Cup of Chowder
He's not an exact comparable to Patric Hornqvist, but with 39 goals in two NHL seasons, it was good to see his salary come in under the $2.5M mark. Now the question is whether the Bruins will accept the award or walk away from the deal.

Devin Setoguchi and San Jose looking for a one-year deal - Fear The Fin
A number of players are going with one-year contracts; could Patric Hornqvist also keep things short-term?

Eight NHL franchises that improved the most this offseason - SI.com
Allan Muir's list, inexplicably, includes St. Louis. Have they done anything significant other than swap out Chris Mason for Jaroslav Halak? I'm sorry, but that's not a huge improvement.

The 'Lidstrom in decline' arguments are wearing thin | MLive.com
George Malik reacts to a truly terrible hockey stats blogger's questioning of the Detroit captain. Is Lidstrom in decline? Certainly, but it's a slow, steady one, and he's still one of the elite blueliners in the league.

Restricted free agents still waiting on offers - NHL Free Agency 2010
There are a ton of good RFA's just sitting around, supposedly ripe for an offer sheet. It would still be surprising to see one happen, however.

NHL Head Coaching: No More Recycling! - View From My Seats
Matt celebrates the new blood coming into the NHL.

Who is the most hated team in the NHL today? - Puck Daddy
A wonderful question to consider here in late July...

To keep up with all of our coverage of the Nashville Predators, you can subscribe to the RSS feed, follow us on Twitter (@Forechecker & @predatweeter), or catch the site on Facebook. You can also email me at the.forechecker@gmail.com.

The 10 Toughest Sets of Back-To-Back Games in the 2010-11 NHL Season

More photos » Keith Srakocic - AP

Browse more photos »

Last month, I unveiled the 2010-11 NHL Super Schedule, which allows you to compare the travel burdens of every team in the league. Which team will travel the most? San Jose. Which will travel the least? New Jersey. That, and much more, is available via a publicly accessible Google Spreadsheet which you can download and analyze to your heart's content.

One particularly grueling aspect of professional hockey is the dreaded "back to back" set of games, in which a team has to play on one night in a given city, then immediately hop aboard a plane and jet to another town for a contest the next night, often arriving in the wee hours of the morning. Toss in the hassle of a US/Canada border crossing, or weather delays, and it's no wonder that sometimes your favorite team looks like they're skating in a collective fog.

So which are the ten nastiest sets of back-to-back games that NHL teams will face this upcoming season? Follow after the jump to find out...

Buffalo Sabres, Games #64 & 65

The Sabres enjoy an unusual weekend when they play at Philadelphia on Saturday, March 5 at 1:00 p.m., then head to Minnesota for a 5:00 p.m. (Central) start on Sunday. That's almost 1,000 miles of travel, but at least with the early start in Philly they should be able to arrive in Minnesota at a decent time that evening.

Florida Panthers, Games #14 &15

You don't normally think of long-distance travel within the Eastern Conference, but the Panthers are relatively isolated down there in southeast Florida. After a home game against Minnesota on Friday, November 12, they hop on a plane for a 996-mile trip to Philadelphia for a Saturday tilt against the Flyers.

Vancouver Canucks, Games #37 & 38

To finish off a 3-game road trip (that starts New Year's Eve in Dallas), the Canucks play at Colorado on Saturday, January 2nd, then jet over to San Jose (928 miles) for a game the next night against the Sharks.

New York Islanders, Games #39 & 40

The Isles finish off a 5-game Western Conference roadie with a Saturday afternoon date against the Avalanche on January 8, followed by a game in Chicago Sunday night.

Columbus Blue Jackets, Game #77 & 78

On Thursday, March 31st the BJ's play at Washington, only to head home for a game against the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks the following night. That's an average Points Percentage from last season of .711 for those two opponents, the 2nd-toughest competition faced by any team in a back-to-back set.

Colorado Avalanche, Games #67 & 68

After hosting the Ducks in Denver on Friday, March 11, the Avs hop on a plane and travel over 1,000 miles for a Saturday night in Smashville against the Predators. The opening faceoffs are just 23 hours apart due to the time zone difference.

Chicago Blackhawks, Games #69 & 70

On Sunday, March 13 the Blackhawks play at Washington in an afternoon start, then come home for a Monday evening faceoff against the San Jose Sharks. That's the top two teams from the 2009-10 Regular Season standings on back-to-back nights, representing the nastiest opponents faced on consecutive nights by any team.

Atlanta Thrashers, Games #17 & 18

Talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire - the Thrashers face the Pittsburgh Penguins at home Saturday evening, November 13, only to have a quick turnaround the next day with a 5:00 p.m. start at Washington. Besides only having 22 hours between opening faceoffs, those are two of the tougher opponents any team will face in a back-to-back set.

Nashville Predators, Games #7 & 8

The Preds have a tough road trip early in the season, starting at Dallas on Saturday, October 23rd before zipping east for a game the next evening against the Lightning, with a 6:00 p.m. Eastern start in Tampa. That's only 22 hours from the start of one game to the next, with over 900 miles on a plane in between.

Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks, Games #81 & 82

In perhaps the most interesting back-to-back set of the entire 2010-11 campaign, these Pacific Division rivals square off on Friday, April 8 at Phoenix, then finish the season at San Jose the next night. At the very least we should expect playoff positioning, if not a division title, to be on the line in these final games.

Honorable Mention: Los Angeles Kings, Games #34-37

While the travel isn't insane, the Kings do boast this season's only stretch of 4 games in 5 nights. A Sunday, December 26 home game against Anaheim is followed Monday night in San Jose. They then head to Phoenix for a Wednesday tilt, before going back home for a Thursday match against Philadelphia.