Is Thomas Vanek Becoming An Enigma?

The term 'enigma' is in a coach's vocabulary of words he hopes will never describe a player on his roster. There are several classifications of being such a person with question marks outlining their potential. Marian Gaborik is a headcase because of his injury woes preventing him from being the superstar he is. Nikolai Zherdev could make it look as if he had the puck on a string floating through defensemen without losing control. Inconsistency was the Ukrainian's nemesis and he didn't take his gifts seriously enough.

When Thomas Vanek entered the NHL, he scored 25 goals and 48 points as a rookie for the Buffalo Sabres. In the postseason, he was often a healthy scratch and contributed two goals in ten matches. Next season came the infamous 43-goal, 41-assist explosion with a plus-47 to boot. With Buffalo's amazing line-up, Vanek was a third-line player mostly and didn't have to go up against the oppositions best defensemen which obviously favored his task.

The Austrian added ten points in 16 playoff games but wasn't nearly as potent as he was during the regular season. Then came the lucrative offer from the Edmonton Oilers in the summer totaling $50 million dollars over a seven-year span. In matching the offer sheet, the Sabres ensured that they wouldn't lose Vanek similarly to how they allowed Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to part ways.

Here's where the problems began for the 26-year-old as he now went face-to-face with elite defensemen which hurt his production drastically. Add the huge expectations with the contract and the first half of 2008 was a nightmare for Vanek. Below are his numbers in a month-by-month comparison from that campaign.

October: three goals, five assists, eight points.

November: three goals, five assists, eight point.

December: five goals, one assist, six points.

January: three goals, seven assists, ten points.

February: 13 goals, seven assists, 20 points.

March: five goals, three assists, eight points.

April: four goals in three games.

As you can see, Vanek did the majority of his damage after December seemingly forgetting about his pressure and playing hockey. The strong finish gave him 36 goals and 64 points; respectable given his awful start. Last year, Vanek scored 40 goals in just 73 games in a rejuvenating season. A jaw injury took nine games away from him and slowed down his production upon returning. 

The former property of the University of Minnesota missed a total of five games this season with an upper body injury followed by an abdominal strain. Vanek has 18 goals through 55 games and is on pace for his lowest total since his freshman year. Buffalo as a team, is struggling to put up goals as they depend on a style stressing more defense but Vanek is expected to supply at least 30 goals which he isn't targeting.

Opportunities have been there yet the tips, shots and break-aways aren't beating goaltenders the way they have when he's clicking. While he is capable of burying every prime chance he gets, it's become a common theme for him to receive a couple before making one count. Vanek has the size and scoring hands that coaches covet but minor health problems and inconsistency have kept him from staying with the league's elite.

Everybody knows what Thomas Vanek can do. The question is what will he do in the remaining 22 games on the Sabres' schedule and more importantly, the postseason?