There’s a scene in the 1996 movie Tin Cup, where Roy “Tin Cup” McAvoy (Kevin Costner) gets the dreaded shanks. He goes from immaculate ball striker to chili-dipping a 7 iron in a matter of a few strokes on the range. To remedy the situation, his caddie Romeo, played by Cheech Marin, tells him to take all the change from his left pocket and put it in his right pocket. Like many sudden funks in sports, he believes that this one is all in Roy’s head.
For the New York Rangers, who are 1-6 in their last seven games, it sure looks like a Tin Cup moment. The team is too talented to be playing so poorly. Answers for what has gone wrong are few and far between, leaving most to point to a good old-fashioned funk as the primary reason. Their poor positioning relative to the puck was explored here, but the Rangers are well coached and experienced. No, the problem, it seems likely, is in their minds.
The question then becomes, what is the hockey equivalent of taking the change from their left pocket and putting it in their right pocket? The psyche of high-level athletes is a fragile and fleeting thing. Performing their job night in and night out in front of thousands of people and televised to hundreds of thousands more can be glorious. It can also be isolating. When things are going well, an athlete can feel invincible. And when they are not, well, most should be grateful to not understand how isolating that feeling can be.
A team is no different. After all, it is but a collection of athletes and their psyches and is subject to the same extremes. Sometimes slumps seem to be contagious. Sometimes it seems as if a team can will themselves to victory. Both feelings can be fleeting. And both can linger.
Perhaps that was the motivation behind General Manager Chris Drury’s recent memo to all of the other teams declaring that he was open for the business of trades, and specifically naming the team’s captain and its longest tenured player as candidates? If so, the result has been, uh, not great. So, what now? The nature of the salary cap and the rhythm of the season make roster adjustments impractical for the next two months or more. But here are some thoughts, a la Romeo in Tin Cup, for breaking the recent slump, one serious, the pthers more along the lines of moving change from one pocket to another.
Sign Igor Shesterkin. Maybe acknowledging their best player and locking him in long term will work better than dragging the negotiations out into the Summer. While Shesterkin looked unphased early, veritably carrying the Rangers through their first 10 games or so, he has come back down to Earth. But the truth remains that this team will only go as far as Igor takes them, so getting him back on track should be priority number one.
Make a Chris Drury pinata. Maybe taking out their aggression towards the GM on a pinata in the middle of the locker room will alleviate some built up angst and anger.
Wear the alternate jerseys until they get things turned around. The issue may be as simple as sending out the regular blue and white uniforms to the dry cleaner, wearing the third set in the interim.
Line brawl! Bring back the start of the game line brawl. It’s not like the start of games could get much worse for the Rangers.
Make Sam Rosen unretire. Let’s face it, things just haven’t been the same since the long-time voice of the Rangers on TV announced his impending retirement. No one has earned it more, but desperate times call for desperate measures!
Ignore the outside world and just go play hockey. With so much noise around the team, the most likely culprit for the slump is just a bunch of unnecessary distractions. Making a conscious decision to forget about all of that and focus on playing hockey and having fun is probably just what the doctor ordered.
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