From the Press Box: Pulling the Plug

This week, three players reached crossroads in their careers.

The Canadiens signed Alex Semin over the offseason to address concerns about their offensive woes last season. Coming off a bad year, they were able to get him to agree to a low-cost ($1.05 million), one-year contract, with his profile around the league low due to concerns over his work ethic.

Even so, the fact that Semin delivered 34-, 38- and 40-goal seasons earlier in his career had to be attractive to the goal-starved Habs. We all know that Montreal has shot out of the gate and leads the NHL's Eastern Conference thanks to what's been a much-improved offense, but Semin has had almost nothing to do with that success. He was limited to only one goal and three assists in 15 games played, ultimately becoming a frequent healthy scratch.

Finally, the Canadiens' brass saw enough to determine this experiment was a total failure, and they placed Semin on waivers.

Well, the rest of the NHL teams obviously agreed with the Habs' sentiment, as he cleared waivers, agreeing to go to AHL St John's. Luckily, Montreal did not commit big dollars to Semin and it's now only going to cost them $150,000 against the cap to see if he can motivate himself and earn a return ticket.

Jonathan Bernier entered this season with a brand new two-year contract at an annual cap hit of $4.15 million, staying with the Toronto organization that liberated him from backup duty in Los Angeles early in his career. He was always given top priority in goal during his first two years with the Leafs, and Bernier compiled a 47-47-6 mark with a 2.78 GAA in 113 appearances.

This season, he was named the No. 1 guy before Opening Night by new head coach Mike Babcock, but Bernier stumbled out of the gate, failing to record a win in his first nine appearances. The veteran coach saw enough trouble with Bernier's game that he decided to lean on backup James Reimer, who responded with some of the best hockey of his career. Ultimately, the Leafs decided to send Bernier to the minors on a 14-day conditioning stint, where he continues to earn an NHL salary. That move, in combination with an injury to Reimer, has allowed Garret Sparks to emerge as a potential goalie of the future.

The Leafs could also have considered sending Bernier down via waivers, but would have risked losing him without any compensation if any other team put in a claim for his services. So exasperated with his early ineptitude were the Leafs, that outright waivers must certainly have been contemplated, but they have to be heartened by the fact that he's recorded shutouts in his first two AHL starts.

The Leafs have a one-week break in a light schedule that factored into this opportunity, and it's now a certainty that Bernier will return to the NHL next week with a shot at reclaiming his former status. It will be a real competition with Reimer, though.

The most unfortunate of the three stories is Pascal Dupuis, who has battled serious injuries and health concerns over the past couple of seasons. He is on the books for a $3.75 million cap hit this season and next, but has been forced to end his career because of a recurring issue with blood clots that are threatening to his life, let alone his playing career.

The shame of it is that Dupuis had formed a great chemistry with Sidney Crosby as his most frequent left winger on the Penguins' top line. In fact, his defensive prowess seemed to insulate Crosby, who took advantage of this latitude and frequently took more offensive risks, knowing that Dupuis had his back.

While there was some doubt about the veteran winger's ability to start this season in that plum role, the Penguins have auditioned a number of other players, and their ineffectiveness negative impacted Crosby to the point that the Pens captain was suffering through one of the lowest–scoring periods of his career. It's no coincidence that Crosby regained his touch when he was recently reunited with Dupuis, and he's now on a typical scoring tear, having racked up nine points in his last eight games.

However, those good times weren't destined to last forever, and the Pens are now left to find Crosby a new sidekick, which leads us right into a review of sidekicks who are poised to take advantage of increases, higher-profile roles around the league.

Sidekick theory revisited

Every year I look at the top players around the league and pay particular attention to those who are expected to start alongside them. All fantasy hockey players are familiar with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf in Anaheim, the Sedin twins in Vancouver, and other top tandems around the league. But few can name the players who fill out those lines.

Similarly, we can all name the elite defensemen around the league, but their playing partners are often much well known. Those guys will all play big minutes, but will also be available later in your drafts or for fewer dollars in daily games.

That's what I call my sidekick theory.

Now that we're 25 games into the season, some new sidekicks have emerged and are making unexpected impacts.

Rickard Rakell, C/LW, ANA – Here's the current answer to questions about the third component of the top line in Anaheim. Rakell offers a sharp contrast to a number of other players who have been tried in this position. He's neither physically imposing, nor gifted with blazing speed, but Rakell is still a former first-round pick with a knack for getting himself in position to support his more talented mates. He's responded to the top-line assignment with eight points and a plus-3 rating in his last 13 games.

Teuvo Teravainen, C/LW, CHI – The Finnish native has bounced around the Hawks' roster with little to no success after having a nice impact in last season's playoff run. He was finally moved up to the top line and has tallied two goals and an assist in the last two games while playing along with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Now that's a nice assignment.

Valeri Nichushkin, LW/RW, DAL – A year ago, there was much anticipation for the addition of Nichushkin to the tandem of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, but an early-season injury derailed the big winger to the point that he wasn't considered as the top option for this role in this season's training camp, limiting his fantasy upside. In the last five games, however, this experiment has been revisited, and the results have been impressive. Nichushkin has seen his playing time rise to 15 minutes per game in that span, and he's registered six points and a plus-2 rating.

Darren Helm, LW, DET – The Red Wings have incorporated a lot of new blood into their top six in recent years, but Helm may be the most underrated among them. He's currently enjoying playing time with veterans Pavel Datsyuk and Brad Richards, two of the better playmakers in hockey. Helm had been struggling early this season, but in three games since joining this line, he's scored his first goal of the season and added an assist while averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time.

Sven Andrighetto, RW, MON – The Canadiens have decided to shake up their offense, which had gone dormant in the aftermath of Brendan Gallagher's injury, and that's given Andrighetto a look on the top line alongside Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk. Andrighetto earned the opportunity by notching three goals in seven games despite averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time.

Jannik Hansen, RW, VAN – Hansen has been one of a few players to audition alongside the Sedin twins before, and he's getting another look with them now. The results have been five points in his last seven games to accompany a rise in ice time to 16 minutes per game. He's yet to see power-play time, but if Hansen continues to be this productive at even strength, that opportunity will come.

Michael Stone, D, ARI – Oliver Ekman-Larsson is firmly established as one of the NHL's top blueliners even though he's toiled in relative anonymity for the Coyotes. But the even lesser-known Michael Stone has emerged as his regular playing partner this season. Stone is benefiting from that association as well as the improved talent base among Arizona's forwards. He has nine points in 25 games, but could get more productive as the year goes on.

Brayden McNabb, D, LA – Drew Doughty began this campaign paired with long-time partner Jake Muzzin, an assignment that's elevated the latter's status for the last two seasons. But the Kings shook up their blue line earlier this year, and now McNabb is playing alongside their top defenseman. The 24-year-old is averaging a career-best 21 minutes per game and scored his first goal of the year last week. With his booming shot, there will be many more to come.

Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN – When you're paired with a guy who regularly leads the league in playing time, you know you're in for more minutes yourself. Such is the lot for Spurgeon in his role next to Ryan Suter. He's off to a career-best start, having notched 14 points in 26 games, and is a fixture on the Wild's power play as part of his typical 22 minutes of game-night duties.