One of the worst players of all time from a PR standpoint, Avery was the prototypical agitator with hockey abilities. The New York Rangers surely miss having a guy like him on their roster.
There was only one Sean Avery.
A guy who was so polarizing–for better or worse–you didn’t even need to know anything about hockey to know his name. He was a player that you either loved or you loved to hate and there was no in-between.
Avery was the definition of a pest. Every game he would find a way to get under the skin of the opponent. Although sometimes he would cross the line, teams would need to think twice before they pulled anything dirty on another Ranger.
For a guy who was only 5’10”, Avery would never back down to anybody, whether they were his size or much, much bigger.
Perhaps the best part of Avery’s game compared to other “enforcer” type players was his ability to contribute on offense. Avery scored 45 goals, 123 points and managed a +19 rating while also putting up 601 penalty minutes in his 264 games in a Rangers uniform.
He wasn’t the greatest teammate in the locker room. He isn’t the greatest person off the ice. But man, did he make the game entertaining, exciting and kept onlookers on their toes night in and night out.
Especially when it was against Martin Brodeur.
A Lopsided Trade
The Avery-Rangers saga began on February 6th, 2007, when the Los Angeles Kings traded the controversial winger to the Blueshirts for Jason Ward and prospects Marc-Andre Cliche and Jan Marek. The Rangers undoubtedly won the trade as Ward, a bland type of fourth line checker went on to play 7 games as King before calling it a career 3 years later with the Tampa Bay Lightning after barely playing during that stretch.
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Cliche had very minimal NHL success. The 2005 second round pick played once with the Kings years later. He did play 70+ games with the Colorado Avalanche in both the 13-14 season and 14-15 season. Marek never played an NHL game.
What the Rangers got was a spark plug.
In the year and a half that followed, the Rangers had an astounding record with Avery in the lineup (50-20-16) and a very lousy record when he was not (9-13-3). In his first half season on Broadway, Avery notched 8 goals and 12 assists in 29 games. The year after that, Avery continued to put the puck in the net with 15 goals and a total of 33 points.
After this and the birth of the “Avery Rule” (see the video above), Avery found himself a nice contract with the Dallas Stars, one that would pay him $15.5 million over four years.
Avery’s Dallas career was very brief.
His Last Chance
After his infamous “sloppy seconds” comment that had him suspended from the league, the Stars waived him and, since they didn’t have an AHL team at the time, sent him to the Hartford Wolfpack.
In 18 games with the Rangers, Avery was back to his old ways, scoring 5 goals and 12 points in that span. The year after that, Avery tallied 11 goals and 16 assists in 69 games in the only season in the Lundqvist era where the Rangers missed the playoffs.
And after that, Avery was never the same.
Former coach John Tortorella was not a fan of Avery and the fiery coach and player had many disagreements in the years to follow. Avery put up 174 penalty minutes in 10-11–the most in his Rangers career–but only notched 3 goals and 21 assists.
In 2011-2012, Avery only suited up with the Rangers 15 times, tallying only 3 goals, his last of which coming on 11-11-11 against the Hurricanes at the Garden. Avery unceremoniously retired after the season in pursuit of a million different careers.
Avery was not a perfect player by any stretch of the imagination. What he was, though, was a much-needed shakeup to a dull locker room. The Rangers are in a position currently where this present day group is very much of the same.
Next: Rangers Flashback: Dan Girardi was an All Star
From an entertainment standpoint, the Rangers would be much more fun to watch with a Sean Avery-esque player on their squad. But more so than that, an Avery-like persona in the room could be just what the Rangers need to add to their locker room’s dynamic; a guy who can back up his antics with inspired play who can push his teammates to the max.