The rules regarding the media and John Tortorella are brutally clear: If you ask the Ranger coach any questions about his struggling players, about injuries, about lineups or opponents, you will quickly be told to kiss his butt, which did not have such a great season behind the bench.
You are also not supposed to ask Tortorella questions about himself, which is too bad because he really is the elephant in the locker room right now. Tortorella is entering the final year of his contract, and by his own admission on Monday he did not do an adequate job of psychologically preparing his players in their 4-1 second-round loss to Boston.
“That's what I struggle with now,” Tortorella said. “We didn’t get the mind-set back.”
Tortorella admirably took responsibility for that shortcoming, said Game 1 against the Bruins didn’t even feel like a playoff game. The Rangers lacked Boston’s depth, certainly, which falls more on injuries and Glen Sather. But they also appeared leaden, worn down and risk-averse. That last characteristic, more than any other, may be due to Tortorella’s minor-league demotions and ice time allotments. The team lacked spark, adventure and imagination.
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Now the bigger question is whether the Rangers have grown weary of Tortorella’s voice and his demands, as happens often to very good, very loud coaches. It happened to Tortorella in Tampa Bay quickly enough after the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, even though there were extenuating circumstances. And it may be happening in New York, where the biggest question of all next season will be whether Henrik Lundqvist wants to put up with this place much longer.
The word “tense” comes into play a lot during playoff hockey, but on Monday it took on a different meaning when Lundqvist used the past tense while describing his time with the Rangers. Given the opportunity to swear his allegiance forever to the sacred, diagonal logo — as did virtually every other free-agent-to-be — Lundqvist quite specifically avoided such a commitment.
“I’m gonna talk to my agent, and we’ll see,” Lundqvist said about potential contract talks. “You know, I had such a great time here in New York. From day one they treated me really well and have given me an opportunity to play a lot of hockey. It’s been a lot of fun. I have one more year on the contract. I’m just focused on — well, right now, I’m trying to get over this year — but we’ll see. I’ll talk to my agent and take it from there.”