When the New York Islanders signed Derick Brassard to replace Val Filppula the thought was that he'd be at least a lateral step over in the third line center role. Both centers had seen better days but were good enough veterans to fill a role on the third line, or so we thought.
In the first 20 games of the year, Brassard put up 16 points. There was even a stretch where he netted goals in five straight games while playing on the wing. In the 45 games since Brassard has just 14 points.
He has gone into a complete shell and was one of the main reasons why the Islanders felt it was necessary to bring in JG Pageau at the trade deadline.