All you Sean Avery fans out there, have a seat for this one. Cause as a long time defender of the man, I am about to throw him under the bus.
When the Rangers first traded for him back in the middle of the 2007 season, Sean Avery made an instant impact with the Blueshirts. He scored 20 points in 29 games, and his agitating style and ability to seemingly change the course of almost every game, fueled a 17-4-6 run that helped get the Rangers into the playoffs that year. And when he did the unthinkable, and got in the face of Devils goalie, Martin Brodeur, during a Ranger-Devil game shortly after the trade, it made him a crowd favorite. Night after night, there would be chants from the Garden rafters of, “Avery! Avery! Avery!”, and #16 became the most important player on the team next to Henrik Lundqvist, as the Rangers went on to the 2nd round of the playoffs that year, and Avery was a major factor in the Rangers 4 game sweep over the Atlanta Thrashers. He only scored 1 goal and 1 assist, but was constantly under the skin of Ilya Kovalchuk in that series.
Avery had a similar affect in the playoffs against the Devils the next season, as the Rangers defeated the Devils in the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. Once again making his presence known, Avery scored 3 goals in the 5 game series victory, and employed his now infamous screening technique against Brodeur, while the Rangers were on a power play in Game 3, at the Garden. This led to the NHL issuing an interpretation of the league's unsportsmanlike conduct rule the next day, stating that any similar actions in the future, would result in a minor penalty.
But that was as good as it would ever get for Avery, who in all honesty has never been the same player since that series. Maybe he realized even he went too far in that game against the Devils. Or maybe it was the “sloppy seconds” comment the next season, when he was a member of the Stars, and the fallout that resulted in him being released by Dallas, and coming back to the Rangers, after he left as a free agent. Whatever the case, when John Tortorella made the decision to make Avery a healthy scratch for the first time this season, prior to Saturday’s 3-2 shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks, I, for one, applauded that decision. Avery has pretty much been invisible all season. And while he hasn’t hurt the Rangers, I can’t remember the last time he had a Sean Avery type game. He’s having the worst offense season of his career, and he is never in any goalie’s face anymore, and he hasn’t really pissed anyone off all season long.
Meanwhile, after being a healthy scratch for the past 2 games, Erik Christensen scored the game tying goal, late in the 1st period on Saturday. Clearly, Christensen took his time sitting in the stands to heart. Will Avery’s benching have a similar affect come tomorrow night, against the Islanders? We shall see.
If he’s not wearing a suit again, that is.
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6 comments:
As I said on another forum, Prust has basically assumed Avery's role and in fact does it better. He sparks, inpires, agitates. scores big goals and genrally leaves it all on the ice every single night without any extra drama. Avery is not part of this team's future.
Wolfie
He really isn't. And if I'm not mistaken, this is the last year of his contract. I highly doubt he will be back next year.
Actually, he's signed through next year.
I think Avery has been put in a tough spot. It is obvious that he has been neutered and is not palying his way. It has hurt him this season even though he does have a decent number of assists. I thought the best game Avery played came after the Devils series T. I thought that he was the best player on the ice in game 7 versus the Caps. I also believe that Gabby has been at his best with Avery on his wing.
I think that he hasn't been used properly this season. He needs to agitate and they won't let him. He has looked lost at times and that has never been Avery. I'm not so eager to let him go, I think his grit and speed can be very valuable in a PO run. That said I can also see why some would tire of him.
And I think I disagree with Wolf that Prust has assumed Avery's role. I don't think he has. I think he is far more important than Avery has ever been to the Rangers. To me he is a cross between a smaller Adam Graves and Balir Betts. If Cally and Duby are the heart of this team, I believe that Prust is the soul.
Oh and sitting Avery against the Sharks was the right idea because Bill McCreary was the ref that night. He hates Avery and would have hit him with 2 or 3 minors -- no matter what. Nice bit of coaching by torts.
Thanks for the feed back Blue..I see your points, and I even agree with some of them. And believe me, no one wants Avery to go back to being "The Little Bastard", anymore then me! I do agree that the he has been stifled since he came back, and every once in a while, he lets loose, and you see the "old" Avery. But it just hasn't happened in so long. When he first came to the Rangers, every night he was making a difference. And I think he was maybe trying to do that last night against the Islanders. Unfortunately, it didn't really work and he took some stupid penalties. Thankfully, it didn't cost us!
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