Marian Gaborik (AP)
It’s clear by now that whatever it is in mind or body that’s ailing Marian Gaborik, neither sophomore center Artem Anisimov nor rookie pivot Derek Stepan is equipped to cure it.
Why would they be and why should they be? Neither is ready for the responsibilities that come with being an NHL first-line center. Indeed, the burden of trying to get the Rangers’ most important forward going has weighed down the kids. They have enough to deal with on their own without taking the weight of Gaborik’s slump on their own shoulders.
Without the injured Erik Christensen, an imperfect solution in his own right anyway, the Rangers have one center and one center only on the roster who’s capable of helping Gaborik escape his deepening funk, only he’s been playing left wing all season.
But now it’s the time to move Brandon Dubinsky back into the middle in order to give Gaborik his best chance to succeed that in turn will give the Rangers their best chance to succeed the rest of the way.
Dubinsky has the shoulders and he has the presence to take on the job just as he had the bravado as a 21-year-old rookie to take on the assignment as Jaromir Jagr’s pivot in 2007-08 and carry it off.
I give Tortorella nothing but credit for his resolve to look at the big picture and for his commitment to coaching to build a team that will become an annual contender down the road instead of one whose overriding objective is to finish in seventh place this year.
But of course there’s a but, otherwise there wouldn’t be a column. It is imperative for Tortorella to coach this team now, not next season’s team or the one for 2013-14. It is imperative that he makes the move to strengthen this team that consistently leaves it all on the ice yet nevertheless is no more than another bad week away from going into the All-Star break on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Gaborik is anything but a bad guy or a malingerer. He’s suffering in silence through this killer of a drought in which he hasn’t scored in eight games and has just three goals in his last 19. There’s no such thing as a world-class athlete of Gaborik’s caliber who doesn’t care deeply. There’s no such thing as a goal-scorer of Gaborik’s pedigree who doesn’t beat himself up for not scoring.
Tortorella has the mandate to turn the Rangers into a perennial winner, but he also has the responsibility to take the personnel he has at his current disposal and give them their best chance to win. That means doing anything within reason to give Gaborik his best chance to succeed. The time for benching is over.
The coach believes Dubinsky’s best position is left wing. He believes that moving Dubinsky to the middle could retard the progress he’s made in a year in which he has taken a significant leap forward in terms of consistent application and accountability while leading the team with 17 goals, 21 assists and 38 points.
But that’s a debatable theory. What’s not debatable is that Gaborik has a protective comfort zone and a compatibility with Dubinsky. What’s not debatable is that there’s no other center on the roster who can help Gaborik navigate through this malaise.
What’s not debatable is that without Gaborik getting back to being himself, the Rangers will not make the playoffs.