Once upon a time Mike Cammalleri was a 39-goal scorer in the NHL. He will try to regain that form in Calgary after arriving from Montreal in a trade.
His goal totals have plunged to 26 and 19 the past two seasons. In his first 35 games this season he scored just nine goals and added just 13 assists. Before his trade to the Flames, he picked up his pace with 11 points during a 15-game span.
“It hasn’t been a great year-production-wise, no doubt,” Cammalleri told Calgary reporters. “I don’t think it does any good to try to figure out in front of the cameras what it specifically was or wasn’t. I’m just going to worry about playing as hard as I can tomorrow. I have full confidence in my ability to produce.”
Sure enough, he scored in his first game for the Flames.
Here are some other established winger looking to pick up their scoring pace during the season’s second half:
Patrick Marleau, Sharks: An ever better San Jose power play -- with Brent Burns offering a second hammer on the blue line – should have positioned Marleau to do his usual damage. But the reconfigured Sharks struggled with the man advantage at even strength. This left you to wonder if Marleau’s epic 44-goal season as a fluke. But he scored 16 points during a 14-game span after scoring just 20 points in his first 28 games.
Alexander Semin, Capitals: He has been all over the map in his career, highlighted by a 40-goal season featuring a plus-36 rating and 66 PIMs in 73 contests. After scaling back its offense last year, Washington tried to crank it back up this year. Then Dale Hunter arrived as coach to reemphasize defense. Semin had 14 points in a 17-game span after scoring just 10 points in his first 22 games. There is hope after all!
Matt Moulson, Islanders: He has had back-to-back seasons of 30 goals while playing with John Tavares. But how much of that is Moulson and how much is Tavares? During the first two months he scored 12 points in 22 games. Since then he has scored 13 goals with 13 assists in 20 games.
Bobby Ryan, Ducks: His earlier connection Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf created expectations for a 35-goal, 70-point season with a nice PIM element. That was the NHL’s best unit last season. After scoring 23 goals on the man advantage over the two previous seasons, he recorded just five in 2010-11. Maybe that was a warning signal. His downside appeared to be 30 goals with a nice PIM element . . . and then the bottom fell out this season. He posted a disappointing 13-8-21 line in 37 games. He picked up in pace in December, scoring six goals and adding three assists in 13 games. In his first seven games this month he has scored four goals and added three assists.
Nathan Horton, Bruins: He recovered from a concussion suffered in the playoffs, but that incident raised the threat of reinjury. He scored 14 goals in his last two regular season games and scored 17 points in 21 playoff games, so he was trending well coming into the season. He earned 41 PIMs in his first 35 games, yet he scored just 22 points and earned a minus-2 ranking. But in his first six games in January, he had five goals, two assists and a plus-6 rating. The fog is lifting.
Chris Stewart, Blues: After moving to St. Louis, he scored 15 goals in his final 26 games. Nobody expected him to keep up that pace, but lack of first-half productivity was baffling. He earned 50 PIMs in his first 35 games, but he scored just seven goals and added just seven assists. He was bad all three months. But he had three goals, two assists and a plus-3 rating in his first six January games.
Ales Hemsky, Oilers: He scored 64 points in 69 games over the last two seasons. When he’s healthy, he is capable of being a point-per-game player. Edmonton’s rapidly evolving offense seemed to guarantee his success, but he scored just 11 points in his first 24 games. His role increased when injuries picked off Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He has a goal and four assists in his last seven games as other NHL teams began scouting him.
Shane Doan, Coyotes: This reliable power forward should have been good for 50 to 70 points, depending on how the young Phoenix forwards came together. Keith Yandle’s development as a power-play quarterback also improved his potential. then Doan scored just 12 points in 29 games in November and December. So that hat trick he scored at home against the Islanders Jan. 7 came out of nowhere. Can he jump start his offense for the stretch run?
Michael Grabner, Islanders: He scored 26 goals in the final 44 games to emerge as a significant scoring threat. He scored 34 goals overall and was plus-13 as a rookie last season. But can he sustain that? The Islanders have a breakout offensive team, so he seemed like a decent bet. But he had 10 goals but only 16 points and is minus-12 after 35 games. In his last six games he had three goals and an assist.
