Biggest Fish in the Pond.

[GVKelly]

I've noticed that some players performance drops off when a player of equal or greater ability joins a team, do these players feel the need to be "the biggest fish in the pond". I've noticed this on a few occasions, most recent is the NYR trading for Rick Nash, Richards and Gaborik performance has dropped off since he has arrived. Another is, when Crosby is going good, Malkin seems to drop off in performance.
Have you noticed other instances of this occurring.

[fleemur12]

I've noticed it with Crosby and Malkin, but not really so much when they're both playing. When either is out with an injury, the other seems to pick it up a couple of notches. It's probably a bit of both personal ego as well as being a team player. But what a great problem to have. If you lose one superstar, the other steps in and fills the void. When both are healthy and playing well, the team excels. Is Malkin turning it down a notch when Crosby is playing so he doesn't upstage him and cause strife between the two? It's possible, but I tend to doubt it. It's just as possible that one relaxes a bit when the other goes on a tear in order to keep their stamina going through the season and playoffs. I guess we neesd a fly on the wall to answer that.

As for the Rangers, I actually see just the opposite phenomenon occurring - Gabby and Richards performance has waned, and now so has Nash's. For the first 10 games or so, Nash's arrival seemed to light a fire under Gaborik. Nash was springing him with some nice passes, and Gabby was skating fast and hard. But then Gabby got into his usual streaky scorer thing, and it seemed to spread to Nash as well. Granted, it seems to have spread to the whole team. The whole team is playing like thay have no confidence, so there's not much that one player can do without the support of a team behind him. I've watched personnel changes ruin the Rangers' team chemistry on more occasions than I care to admit.