Really?
Am I the only person out there who thinks that Sean Avery and the shit he tends to kick up great for the NHL? Was his off color remark directed at Elisa Cuthbert and Dion Phaneuf about “sloppy seconds” at a pre-game interview really that bad to warrant banishment!? How is it that the Dallas Stars didn’t expect exploits like this when signing Avery? Do they not keep up with the sports pages? Come on, I know Dallas was looking for any excuse to get rid of Avery since their horrid start to the season and Mike Modono’s continued disdain for him. But this banishment, even with full pay is totally uncalled for and I hope Avery not only sues the Stars but winds up on another team before the end of the season. Not so much for his sake, but for the sake of the NHL!
He’s the type of player fans not only love to hate but he makes hockey fun to watch and follow because of his exploits. The perfect agitator who’ll do anything and everything while skirting the grey ares of the rules to get a win for his team. And while many a player has been outspoken about his antics on and off the ice, I know for a fact that if he were their teammate (Mike Modano excluded) they’d be happy to have him. He’s that player you absolutely despise untill he’s playing for your team.
With all the marketing troubles facing the NHL you’d think they would do the motions of publicly putting on a frown for his actions, while privately being grateful for a player like Avery who creates the sort of media attention for himself and the NHL that they’re so desperately starved for. Yeah it’s not “good press” but it’s not really all that bad! Press is press. He’s the ultimate pest on and off the ice who may act unsportsmanlike at times and causes a few hurt feelings, but he’s always been a clean and skilled player who deserves to be in the NHL.
- My Pal the Crook
December 15th, 2008 at 4:44 am
agreed. he was a martyr in a sense. he made a wiseass remark and it blew up. they were making an example of him.
the NHL hasnt been the same since the strike. any sort of mention of the NHL, good or bad, wont hurt them. Problem is it seems like there’s noone youthful in the head office bringing up this type of stuff, different generation, new target audience.
December 15th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Yeah, that’s a weird one I think. Banished for a small jab in the only sport that still allows fighting.
One thing to ponder however is just how hated he is? I have heard numerous times that nobody in the dressing room likes him from all the teams he’s been on. Wonder why? To me anyway he seems to fill the exact same role as Mathew Barnaby but Barnaby’s teammates liked him for the most part and so did the fans.
Weird.
December 15th, 2008 at 8:44 am
good thing he didn’t intern for mishka!
you must be still feeling good after the Devils-Rangers game on Friday. Would Avery have made a difference in a game like that?
starting Jan 1, the MLB channel starts airing 24-hours a day.
December 15th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I couldn’t agree more.
I often catch a lot of shit from friend for being a Sean Avery supporter – scratch that – fan. While I think that the Elisa/Dion comment was totally class-less, he did it (obviously) without thinking and just to try and get Jarome “Avery says I’m ‘boring’” Iginla and Dion “My girlfriend is awful on 24″ Phaneuf riled up and off their game. As you mentioned he’s a perfect agitator and as much as he is a shit-bag, he’s awesome for the NHL. Just about any West Coast term needs someone like him.
This whole thing is far from over though. To borrow a phrase from Marty Turco, this is just another episode of The Sean Avery Show.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I doubt Avery would have made a big difference in the Devils/Rangers game this past Friday. He seemed to only be able to get into Marty’s head and Marty is injured. But that was an amazing and fun game to watch. 13 goals, countless fights! I hate the Rangers, but I love when they play the Devils. Even as a die-hard Devils fan who watched him do the whole stick waving thing Avery did in Brodeur’s face, I still think he’s great for the sport. What he did was retarded, but it wasn’t against the rules… that is until they created the “Avery Rule” for it.
Avery reminds me of one of my favorite players, Claude Lemiuex. A guy who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but because of his reputation probably never will.
December 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
It all boils down to Tom Hicks… he was allowed to watch in the closet and beat off while Dion Phaneuf fucked that pig. So when Avery called Phaneuf out, Hicks was mad his gig was in jeopardy, so he bounced him.
Avery is a good player no matter what the critics say about him. He just is playing the villain role, Someone has to. Hopefully he turns up on the best team in the league, Maple Leafs. God knows we need the help.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Reminds me of Lindros for some reason as well. Just his attitude, tough guy, sport needs characters like this.
Look at the Hanson brothers.
December 15th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Lindros was great player who when healthy and the total package… a goal scorer, a playmaker and a punishing bruiser. But Lindros was also a winy baby who couldn’t stand up to his parents which tainted his public perception. That and his tendency to get concussions.
December 15th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
The problem with this debacle is that he went on air and called a female (albeit a famous puck bunny) “sloppy seconds”.
That comment is harmless to you and I, but within the scope of business, not exactly something you want to be condoning. Not exactly smart business sense when those very puck bunnies and hockey moms comprise almost half of your fan and consumer base. So obviously the NHL is gonna throw the book at him. Obviously the Stars are going to can his ass.
So in the end, the Stars dump Avery and they rid themselves of a thorn of a player, a guy who isn’t liked by his teammates, a guy who is hated by opponents and fans of the game, and a chauvinist.
Sounds like good business to me.
December 15th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
PS: who was secretly wishing that Avery played that game against Calgary just so you could see Phaneuf line that shithead fuck up in his sights and lay him out?
PPS: Ray Emery was good for the game. Colorful. Talented. Outspoken. Avery is a douche.
December 15th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I totally disagree with you. Maybe it’s because you’re in Canada where everything regarding Hockey is major news. But in the U.S., as far as the major media was concerned Avery was Hockey! He got more media attention than Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin combined. So chucking him makes no sense unless the NHL is just hoping to create a fan base of hockey moms and puck bunnies… who I guarantee would still be attracted to Avery regardless of how big of a dick he could be.
December 15th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
That actually may be an astute observation.
Because quite frankly, I love the Ocho Cinqo’s and Dennis Rodman’s of sport. It makes shit exciting.
But when the guy calls Laraque a Gorilla, supposedly pokes fun at Blake’s cancer, calls French Canadian’s pussies (even though they are) and then call’s a female a sloppy second on record, not doing anything sets the precedent that league is ‘ok’ with his comments.
The league won’t banish him. If he does get banished, it’s because of his own doing. Like Robin said, Barnaby used to be the same way except teammates actually liked him. Teammates don’t like Avery.
I mean, if you’re the league, you gotta throw the book at him. The NBA used to fine the shit out of Rodman.
That said, with the Avery show, Semin calling out Crosby and Barry Melrose bad mouthing Tampa Bay, the NHL has never been more entertaining.
Except when this happened.
December 15th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
^^^
“The URL contained a malformed video ID”
except when WHAT happened?
December 15th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Dude I’m still trying to figure out how he’s coding in a link into his text! The last time I tried that it just showed the HTML code.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:24 am
That’s an interesting observation about how the media portrays Avery south of the border. In Canada anyway I have to say that the media outright pans his actions. I get the feeling that a lot of hockey players pride themselves on being classy guys (HAHAHAHAHAHAH) and Avery kind of violates this unspoken code.
Yeah, when it comes down to it he is a similar player to Barnaby, and Claude Lemiuex but for some reason I just can’t shake the feeling that he lacks the heart of both Lemieux and Barnaby.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:32 am
Down here I think most of us are used to WAY stupider actions on the part of sports celebrities. I Think Hockey fans in the U.S. find Avery very entertaining, I know I do.
And no Avery is not Lemieux, but neither was Barnaby. Look at how many rings Claude has, and he was directly responsible in some way for his team getting ALL of them. Dude was the definition of clutch in the post season. Of course as a Devils fan I’m being partial here towards Claude.
Man could you imagine how frightening it must have been to play againts a team with Stevens, Neidermeyer, Danyeko, Holik, McKay and Lemieux in the post season? I’d have been scared shitless!
December 16th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Yeah he is definitely entertaining. I have no complaints as a viewer. I think my favorite wise ass is still Patrick Roy though.
Yeah, I wouldn’t want to play against that team in a charity game. All I can say is keep your head up.
December 16th, 2008 at 10:43 am
when is MPtC going to give us an update on the mishka NHL fantasy league?
December 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
no need for an update of the fantasy league, don’t want everyone to know i’ve lost my 3rd place to MPTC! i just dropped Avery, sure was dissapointed there, I loved the guy, what a show!
Wish we had a guy like that in Montreal. Our last good agitator was actually Claude Lemieux. Other than that we had Lyle Odelein in the early 90′s that’s it. We’ve got Begin now, but the guy pretty much has the skill set of a Pee-wee, same for big George. Anyway i don’t think Silent Bob will ever sign a guy like this…
December 16th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Weird how that URL didn’t show up. Anyways here it is. Copy. Paste. Enjoy.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Tony – Montreal is as soft as a Dairy Queen ice cream cone on an August day in the Sahara desert.
Sorry to point that out.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
i’ve been to one Rangers-Islanders game – Nov/Dec 07 at Nassau Colesium. It was the best crowd energy of any sporting event i’ve been to. As a discouraged Isles fan, i have to tip my hat to way Rangers’ fans travel in force to ‘cheer’ their team. Lots of loud “suck” chants and fan ejections.
I know Mikahil is a Devil’s guy, but i almost sent him a Miroslav Šatan Islanders tee this summer (only $4 at Sports Authority clearance sale) with a note that maybe one day “Satan” will skate for his Devils. Instead I wear the tee hoping some year my team might make it out of the constant “rebuilding” phase.
December 16th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I actually love Satan and would have loved to have seen him as a Devil when he was a Free Agent this past summer. I’m glad he’s thriving in Pittsburgh, he’s a natural scorer who unfortunately needs to work with a skilled playmaker to live up to his potential, but when he’s with one, watch out!
I actually suggested to someone in the Devils organization that they should really consider signing him. Not so because he would be a good offensive spark, but the sales from Devils Jerseys that read “Satan” on the back could have been a HUGE profit windfall!
December 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
unfortunately, the NHL is too concerned about Hockey Moms and Puck Bunnies to fulfill fantasies of NHL-licensed Satan products – What about a bobblehead?
December 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Chenyip
Come on! we are not that soft… maybe we’re more like a semi.. we’re up there but not too strong.
ps: elisha cuthbert has a hat trick… mike komisarek is on her list too.
December 16th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Ok. I’ll give you a semi. Simply because you got big George.
And that’s because he’s a big dude…not because blacks are well endo….you get the drift.