The NHL has a lot of cool traditions: Playing for a trophy with a storied history, setting the tone of a game with a few punches, and shaking hands at the end of a playoff series no matter how many punches were thrown.
Those traditions won't help you if your team has already suffered a major injury or you're sitting at 0-2, but there is one that can. And utilizing it can be the difference between saving your season and tanking it.
A hockey goalie is the only position in sports where, if you make a mistake, lights flash and a loud siren goes off. Hey everybody, this athlete just messed up! The crowd cheers or boos, everybody is staring at you, and when things finally settle down the arena announcer reminds the fans what they just saw. Then there’s more cheering or boos and you're right back to work again.
So what does the goalie do? They reach for a water bottle and shake it off. Moments later they're back in position. They don't react to anything but the puck dropping. No matter what just happened they're back in the game, because there's no time to fret over the past. And that's exactly how you should react to early-season adversity.
We're just two weeks into the season, and 15 percent of the league has quarterback injury issues. You've got Jayden Daniels, where it's not known how many games he'll miss, if any. Then you have Joe Burrow, who has signed off for the rest of the fantasy regular season. And as you know, each one affects not just that player, but their team's entire offense. Even your kicker could be impacted. A quarterback problem is a big deal for fantasy teams.
So what should you do now? Grab that water bottle and get back into position. Now is not the time to worry about fantasy gods or bad karma or the very worst luck in the history of your league. You need to look to your bench or the waiver wire to pick up the slack. It's not ideal but it's reality. Ignore the league message boards and definitely ignore the crazy trade offers. Every scrub with a decent stat line will be a sell-high opportunity for other managers, and your underperforming players are their buy-low targets. They figure you're 0-2, you're desperate, you're rattled and you're ready to dismantle your team.
Except you aren't any of those things. You're an NHL goalie. You're ignoring the noise and focusing on week 3. Patch up your roster as best you can and keep it moving. A panicked or defeated mindset won't help your team. If you want to lament your bad luck, do it in January. You have other priorities right now.
I could have themed this column around Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel, who had a great answer on Sunday when asked if he was worried about getting fired. He essentially said that he doesn't worry about his job because he has to spend his time actually working at the job. If he's wasting time worried about it, he's not doing it. But I didn't make him the focus because I didn't believe him. His body language and his tone suggested he absolutely is worried about losing his job. And if Miami keeps playing the way they have, he won’t have to worry much longer.
But I do believe NHL goalies. They'll give up a goal, then make 12 saves in a row. They're trained to move past a bad decision and prepare for the next one. And that's exactly what you need to do, whether it was an injury, a bad beat, starting the wrong guy or just a general failure to launch by the guys you drafted. Put it out of your mind and get ready for the next one, starting right now. This week’s column is finished. Get to work. Good luck this week.
How do you stay calm when you're facing some frustrating scenarios? What are you telling yourself after a slow start? Have you ever panicked too early and made things worse for your team? Share your thoughts below.