When it comes to pro sports, there are some things that happen to players that they cannot overcome or figure out a way to solve.

When this happens and it causes a trade, a release or a demotion, it can do a lot to the psyche of an athlete.

In the NHL, recently waived New York Islanders’ netminder Rick DiPietro has had it tough his whole career. From being the No. 1 pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, to signing that mega contract in Sept. 2006, to suffering numerous injuries and being waived and sent down to the team’s farm club, it is easy to see why the 31-year-old masked man needs a new start.

With that in mind, here are a few ways DiPietro can turn his career around and be the goalie that he was supposed to be when he was drafted.

Attitude

For starters, the much-maligned goaltender needs to have a new attitude.

If you’re a hockey fan or an Islanders’ fan that has been following DiPietro, than you obviously heard that since being waived and even before then, “D.P.” has been going through some tough times.

In an interview with News 12 Long Island’s Kevin Maher, DiPietro said the following:

DiPietro told me Isles waiving him felt like, “they ripped my heart out, stabbed it, set it on fire and flushed it down the toilet.”

— Kevin Maher (@KMaherNews12) February 28, 2013

Obviously, it is easy to understand why a usually confident DiPietro would react this way. With that said, he didn’t have to take it to an even uglier level:

DiPietro also admitted injuries, losing and fan hatred over the past 3 years made him think about killing himself at one point.

— Kevin Maher (@KMaherNews12) February 28, 2013

DiPietro later clarified what he meant when he mentioned the above in the interview. With that said, it is still not the kind of attitude DiPietro should have about this whole situation.

While it certainly is a demotion, going down to Bridgeport could end up being the best thing to happen to DiPietro. He will get to play a lot, will get plenty of shots, will get to work on his game and, hopefully, get his on-ice game back to where it should’ve been a long time ago.

If DiPietro can go down to the AHL and play consistently, who knows what it could lead to in the future? It might certainly be better than it was when he was injured on-and-off for the last several seasons.

Staying healthy

This idea is a no-brainer, folks.

DiPietro has had injury problems his whole NHL career and, because of that, he finds himself in the situation that he’s currently in.

D.P. needs to go a full year and play in a ton of games while not getting hurt. For DiPietro this might seem like an impossible task but, should he accomplish it, he might just be able to show executives in the organization, and the rest of the league, that he is worth signing to a short-term deal.

Finding that swagger

In his interview with News 12, DiPietro was a much different person than everyone is used to seeing.

DiPietro came into the league as someone who was very cocky, sure of himself and knew that he was a solid goaltender. When D.P. was healthy, the Islanders saw all of this and it’s probably what made them sign him to that ridiculous contract.

In this shortened season, DiPietro has been unsure of himself, both on and off the ice, has fought the puck when he was in between the pipes and said some pretty dark things (see above). In prior seasons, even when he was injured, D.P. was never like this.

In fact, even when he was fighting to get back from various injuries, DiPietro always appeared to be a confident, humble and a happy-go lucky kind of guy.

Obviously, a lot has changed since then for D.P. but he needs to do everything he possibly can to get that confidence back and be the goalie he was supposed to be all along.