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Once upon a time, say a couple of years back before the lockout, teams had the ability to fix problems during a season because there was no limit on how much they could spend.
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But the salary cap has changed all that and made it far more important for general managers to make smart decisions about the personnel they acquire through free-agency or trades. Unfortunately it's not exactly a science, and for those who guess wrong, the mistakes tend to be glaring.
Here's a look at 10 players who changed teams during the offseason but haven't come close to meeting their high expectations.
1. Todd Bertuzzi, Florida: The Panthers traded away a franchise goalie to get a player many in the organization now believe was damaged goods. Bertuzzi had a great first game in Florida before his back problems flared up and forced him to undergo surgery. He won't be back until late December or January at the earliest, and he can leave as an unrestricted free agent after the season.
2. Martin Gerber, Ottawa: Gerber lost his starting job on the Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes during the playoffs, but the Senators figured he was the right guy to replace disappointing Dominik Hasek. Of course that meant they dismissed Ray Emery out of hand, despite the backup goalie's extremely strong play in the second half after Hasek went down. Gerber was signed for three times the price of Emery, but he has won only two games and looks worse each time out.
3. Alex Tanguay, Calgary: The Flames needed to improve their offense so they traded for this $5 million player who put up pretty good numbers during his career in Colorado. Of course, he usually played with Joe Sakic or Peter Forsberg in a free-wheeling system that suited players not known for being particularly gritty. The game is played a lot differently in Calgary, and Tanguay hasn't been able to adapt to it.
4. Rob Blake, Los Angeles: Entertainment value is important in Los Angeles, and with the Kings in the initial stages of a major transition, they needed someone with marquee value who could help them maintain a little credibility. Blake was a star here in his first go-round and a force with the Avs, but at 36, he's no longer a player to rally around, especially with a $6 million price tag. His individual numbers are disappointing, and his overall impact on the struggling Kings has been virtually nil.
5. Anson Carter, Columbus: Carter had a great season last year with Vancouver, but the Canucks figured at 33, he wasn't worth the money he sought, so they let him become a free agent. A lot of teams must have agreed, because Carter didn't hook up with anyone until the Blue Jackets panicked in September and gave him a one-year deal. Problem is that Nik Zherdev eventually did come back to Columbus, while Carter has struggled so much offensively, he is now essentially a fourth-line player.
6. Kyle Calder, Philadelphia: It's probably not fair to single out Calder, because just about everyone on the Flyers should be embarrassed this season, but the left winger is arguably the most important acquisition made by former GM Bob Clarke during the offseason. Calder won $2.95 million from an arbitrator just days before being traded to Philadelphia, after scoring 26 times last season. He has no goals this season and is minus-11.
7. Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix: He has kept his mouth shut, which some might consider a good thing, although his reputation for being colorful is probably one of the reasons the Coyotes brought him back to the desert. Of course he'd probably help the struggling franchise sell a few more tickets if he could help them win more than every other week. Roenick worked hard this summer to get in shape with the hope of salvaging his reputation and his career at age 36, but he has only one goal and doesn't seem to have much game left.
8. Dan Cloutier, Los Angeles: The Kings felt they needed a No. 1 goalie, and their new coach Marc Crawford had a history with Cloutier in Vancouver, so they traded for him. Of course Crawford knows that Cloutier was effectively run out of town by fans there who blamed him for most of the team's ills. So he shouldn't be surprised things haven't been much better down the West Coast. Cloutier has some really ugly numbers and basically has lost the starting job to Mathieu Garon.
9. Doug Weight, St. Louis: The Blues essentially rented Weight to the Hurricanes for their Stanley Cup run last season before the trade deadline, and then the new regime re-signed him as a free agent to help the rebuilding team maintain a level of respectability during its transition. If the Blues were strictly going with youth, his leadership value might be understandable, but St. Louis is loaded with veterans and with no goals yet, Weight isn't exactly pulling his yet.
10. David Tanabe, Carolina: A former Hurricanes first-round draft pick, Tanabe had stints in Phoenix and Boston before the 'Canes re-signed him this summer to give them some more speed and transition ability from the back end. Those are supposed to be the Minnesota native's strengths, but he hasn't showed them this season. Tanabe has only one assist, and his ice time has dropped steadily from opening night to the point where he was a healthy scratch Thursday against Washington.