"The whole situation, everything, I kind of let it get to me a little bit more than I should have," Zuccarello said. "I was thinking about it too much and just being negative and just wasn't myself."
So, Zuccarello spoke to Quinn, who responded with positivity and encouragement, telling Zuccarello how much he likes him and how neither of them is in control of what general manager Jeff Gorton might do, so they might as well try to win as many games as they can together for as long as they can.
"It's all my fault to let it get to me, but at the end of the day I'm a human being with feelings," Zuccarello said. "It was a little bit of a tough time and I made it tougher on myself, but it's all good now."
It is, partially, because Zuccarello is trying to keep his mind in the present instead of thinking about the future and where he might be playing after Feb. 25.
"I don't read the news," he said.
He still can't shield himself from friends, family and fans asking and sometimes telling him where he might be going. That happens often.
"I signed a picture the other day for a fan in New Jersey who was in the hotel," Zuccarello said. "He said, 'Hey, can you sign this?' I said, 'Sure.' And he says, 'I need you to get this signed before you go to Calgary.' I'm like, 'What? Whoa.' I had another guy tell me, 'Good luck because it's cold up there.' You just learn to ignore that because it's new stuff every day."
Keeping perspective helps, Zuccarello said.
"At the end of the day, we live a really good life," he said. "We're NHL players. No matter where you play in this league, you're living the dream, you're playing in the NHL. We're privileged to be able to do what we love as a job. So you just have to deal with it."
For a little while longer.