Memorial Daigle Celebration

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft -- an event which two of your NHL FanHouse buddies will make the trek to Columbus to cover live -- begins this Friday, which means dozens of writers are at this moment Googling away in an attempt to author their annual "NHL'S ALL-TIME BIGGEST BUSTS!!!" columns. Sun Media revealed its busts on Sunday, showing a blithering bankruptcy of creativity by putting Alexandre Daigle (No. 1 overall, 1993, by the Ottawa Senators) at the top of the list:

Among his many indiscretions was saying that nobody would remember who was chosen No. 2 that year. A bold statement, especially when Chris Pronger was the man selected behind him. Daigle deserves credit for getting back to the NHL after spending time out of the game and in the minors. He even managed 20 goals and 51 points in 78 games with the Minnesota Wild in 2003-04 and finished with 129 goals and 327 points in 616 NHL games. Others chosen behind him that year include Paul Kariya (4th), Rob Niedermayer (5th), Jason Arnott (7th), Saku Koivu (22nd), Todd Bertuzzi (23rd), Brendan Morrison (39th) and Bryan McCabe (40th).

This article should be the last time the Spectre of Alexandre is raised from the dead only to be dragged through the mud once again. Now that Daigle's career in the NHL has effectively ended, we're left with a player that competed in 616 regular season games, scoring 129 goals and 327 points. We're left with a player that was crushed by expectations and his own egomania, only to come back to the game after a two-season "retirement" to become a serviceable forward. The "biggest bust" in NHL history busted his ass to make it back to the show; sorry, but I just don't remember winger Dave Chyzowski -- taken second overall by the Islanders in 1989 and eight places behind Daigle on the Sun Media list -- pulling the same trick after his 126 games in the NHL.

This ESPN Page 2 list from a few years back almost had it right, making Daigle an honorable mention; but it still had Brian Lawton, who played 483 games in the league, as a bigger bust than defenseman Greg Joly (365 games), who went from the next Bobby Orr in 1974 to a minor leaguer by 1984. By the numbers, Daigle had a better career than both of them, as Tom Layberger pointed out in a fair and well-researched all-bust team Sports Illustrated piece from last summer. Daigle is also less of a bust than:

Scott Scissons, C, taken No. 6 overall by the Islanders in 1990. He went on to have a stellar 2-game NHL career. Suffice to say that Bryan Smolinski, the next center taken in the draft at No. 21, had a slightly longer tenure.
Daniel Dore, RW, taken No. 5 overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1988 draft. While his 17-game NHL career was obviously outstanding -- you know, compared to Scissons's -- Dore might be considered a bust when you consider that three of the next four forwards selected were Martin Gelinas, Jeremy Roenick and Rod Brind'Amour.
Wayne McBean, D, taken No. 4 by the L.A. Kings in the 1987 draft. He only played 211 games in the NHL and...aw, who cares: Anyone who tapped this can't be considered a total loser.

Look, I'm not saying Alex Daigle isn't a bust, because based on the hype, the expectations and the draft position, he sure as hell was one. But looking back on his 600-plus game career versus the stillborn NHL lives of others, I think it's fair to say that Daigle can no longer be considered THE BUST in NHL history -- especially with Patrik Stefan still on the clock.