Here’s the thing about New York — the people here don’t care how much money their professional athletes get paid. Unlike so many other spots across the landscape, no one obsesses over the size of a player’s paycheck. This isn’t, for instance, Canada, where resentment abounds.
There is, of course, one caveat. Nobody cares as long as an athlete puts in an honest day’s work for his honest day’s dollar. It’s not necessarily about production, it’s about effort. That is what matters here. That is the bottom line here.
This is why there hadn’t even been a murmur of discontent uttered about Rick Nash, who had scored only two goals in his first 10 games wearing the Blueshirt after being acquired from Columbus in the off-season at the cost of four assets, including popular Bluebloods Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov and, dare we mention, a massive $7.8 million cap hit on a contract that runs through 2017-18.
If it is clear we’ve yet to see the full kaleidoscope of Nash’s imposing game, it is equally clear that lack of production hasn’t been for a lack of trying. The winger has been involved, he has been on the puck, he has been recording shots at a rate historically consistent with his first nine years in the NHL and he has been defensively responsible.
Last night, Nash completed the scoring in the Rangers’ 5-1 Garden victory over the Lightning, whipping a left wing two-on-one drive past Anders Lindback with just nine seconds to play. But his third goal of the season did not define the night any more than his stats defined his first three weeks as a Ranger.
Rather, the night was defined by the combination power/finesse move on the game’s very first shift, when the winger accepted a feed at the right hash marks and wheeled to the top between the circles, firing a wrist shot that banked in off Carl Hagelin at 0:31.
He made this move while shrugging off both Martin St. Louis and Victor Hedman as if the two Tampa Bay defenders were no more than an optical illusion.
“He has such a big frame and protects the puck so well, and then you add that special finesse skill set and you have a very special player,” said Derek Stepan, Nash’s center the past two games. “There are some plays he makes where he uses that combination of size and skill, and I’m in awe.”
Like Brad Richards, who came here a year ago, Nash is a low-key personality comfortable performing in the Broadway spotlight but who neither needs it nor seeks it. Paycheck aside, he’s a blue-collar guy who would fit right in up in the blue seats.
“I think the way we play here is right up my alley,” Nash said after his two-point, five-shot, plus-four performance. “When I was in Columbus playing for Ken Hitchcock, he preached the same type of defensive responsibility that we practice here, about how your offense comes from your defense.
“That’s how I was taught to play. I know the goals aren’t there, but that’s not a concern for me as long as I play the right way and as long as I get the opportunities. Really, it’s not bothering me.”
The Rangers steadied after a first period in which they yielded four glorious odd-man rush opportunities to the Lightning. Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding for the second straight game. The Rangers led almost wire-to-wire for the second straight game in going over .500 (6-5) for the first time.
“It’s been a bit of a battle, but I think that’s entirely expected without training camp,” Nash said. “We’ve obviously had some bad stretches, but our goal has been to improve every game. I think we’ve done that.”
The Rangers are just beginning to come. So is Nash, a blue-collar New Yorker no matter what the paycheck reads.