The real NHL awards will be handed out Thursday night in Las Vegas, so FanHouse decided to hand out its own special awards for the 2008-09 season. It takes a special player to get paid a lot of money. In the salary cap era, you expect guys who are signed to big-money deals to produce. When they disappear into the Witness Protection Program, it's usually a notable occurrence. With that said, we present nominees for the 2008-2009 Witness Protection Award, and boy do we have some options to pick from.
Marian Hossa, Detroit Red Wings (Stanley Cup Finals)
Maybe he was mesmerized by playing his old team in the Finals. Maybe the long postseasons in back-to-back years finally took a toll on his play. No matter the excuse, Hossa picked the wrong time to slip away from sight for seven games.
In his defense, he had a great season before this ... for whatever that's worth right now.
The Brothers Kostitsyn, Montreal Canadiens
Both Andrei and Sergei took noticeable steps backward in their development this season. Neither player was a factor with the man advantage, nor were they as productive overall as they were the season before. To top it off, they both pulled an impressive disappearing act in the playoffs, as Montreal took a four-game sweep at the hands of Boston.
They're both young (24 and 22, respectively), and maybe new coach Jacques Martin can get them both back to playing at a consistently high level.
However, the 2008-2009 season was pretty much a disaster for both.
Dany Heatley, Ottawa Senators
He's still a really good player, but Heatley appeared to disappear when his team needed him most.
As times got tough the star forward couldn't stop the bleeding.
After averaging 47 goals over the previous three seasons, Heatley slipped to 39 this past season on a losing team. While his production didn't dip a sinful amount, Heatley wasn't nearly as productive at the other end of the rink. His plus-minus slipped from a plus-33 in 2007-2008 to minus-11 a year ago.
Being a non-factor in the offensive zone when your team stinks isn't a terrible thing. Being a non-factor anywhere on the ice is. That's not a good way to head out on the trade market.
And the winner is ...
When the Rangers signed Gomez, they didn't expect the 29-year-old's game to flatten out like it did. Instead of emerging as a real leader, Gomez didn't really do much in his second year as a Ranger.
Even though he almost completely vanished during the Rangers' first-round loss to Washington, management appears determined to figure out where he is, because rumor has it they're looking to deal Gomez and/or fellow overpaid veteran Chris Drury.
Though Drury is a strong candidate for this award, we'll give it to Gomez. Not only did he not impress in New York, but he left New Jersey, where he could have been a big-time leader and one of the most popular players on the team. Instead, he's "just a guy."
