SEAN AVERY

[panthersgm]

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has signed restricted free agent forward Sean Avery.

"We are pleased to have Sean under contract and are looking forward to him returning with the same passion and enthusiasm he brought to our team last year," stated Sather. "He is a terrific competitor, who we expect to play a significant role in a successful season."

Avery, 27, appeared in 84 games with the Rangers and Los Angeles Kings this past season, registering 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points, along with 174 penalty minutes. While establishing career-highs in games played (84), goals (18), assists (30) and points (48), Avery led the Rangers and ranked fifth in the NHL with 174 penalty minutes. He also finished the season third on the Blueshirts with 249 shots on goal and placed fifth on the club in scoring with 48 points. In 55 games with the Kings prior to the trade, Avery registered 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points, along with 116 penalty minutes. The Rangers acquired him on February 5, in exchange for Jason Ward and unsigned forwards Marc-Andre Cliche and Jan Marek. Avery tallied an assist in his Rangers debut on February 6 at New Jersey, and collected 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 29 games with the Blueshirts. The Rangers posted a 17-6-6 record during the regular season with him in the lineup. He recorded a career-high, four points (one goal and three assists) on March 17 vs. Boston and notched his third career "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" with two goals, an assist and a fighting major on April 1 vs. Toronto. In the post-season, he tallied one goal and four assists for five points and led the Rangers with 27 penalty minutes. He also ranked second on the team with 42 shots on goal in the playoffs.

The 5-10, 195-pound forward has appeared in 322 career NHL contests with the Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings, recording 50 goals and 84 assists for 134 points, along with 913 penalty minutes. In 75 games with the Kings during the 2005-06 season, he led the league in penalty minutes (257) for the second consecutive season, tied for second on the team with three shorthanded goals and placed fourth on the squad with 91 hits. In 2003-04, his first full NHL season, he appeared in 76 games with the Kings and led the league with 261 penalty minutes, becoming just the second King in club history to accomplish the feat. In 109 career American Hockey League (AHL) games with Cincinnati and Grand Rapids from 2000-01 - 2002-03, Avery collected 56 points (28 goals and 28 assists) along with 492 penalty minutes.

The native of Pickering, Ontario originally signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings on September 21, 1999. He was acquired by the Los Angeles Kings on March 11, 2003 from Detroit, along with Maxim Kuznetsov, a 2003 first round draft pick (Jeff Tambellini) and a second round pick in 2004 (later transferred to Boston), in exchange for Mathieu Schneider.

Madison Square Garden, L.P. is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation, and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Beacon Theatre; MSG Media, which is comprised of MSG and FSN New York; fuse, the music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

[warriors]

Avery will be a beast the entire season...cant wait

[Vampyre]

Interesting change of tune from what he called Avery the other day....'a detriment to the team' or something like that....pretty slimy to do that if he thinks so highly of him.

[panthersgm]

i didnt right that hope u guys no lol

[Vampyre]

No, I know you didn't write it.....I'm just commenting that Sather was being more than a bit disingenuous when he makes comments like that in order to mislead in salary arbitration.....either you want the guy on your team or you don't but he shouldn't bad-mouth him and act like he's a cancer to the team, and then say that he looks forward to having him on the team again.....that's hypocritical.

[Commish]

Unfortunately this is a business we're talking about. As such, GM's have an obligation to point out the 'negative' attributes of their players when it comes to salary arbitration hearings. The team is generally trying to pay the players much less then what the player and his agent actually want in a contract. It would be very odd to argue that a player is only worth 'this' much when at the same time the GM is praising the player for all of the great qualities he brings to the hockey club.

There have been many NHL General Managers who have actually talked about how difficult salary arbitration hearings are for both the team and the player. The fact is the GM's wants the player in their lineup, but are forced to downplay the players value in order to get a better financial deal for their hockey club.

[Vampyre]

Downplaying is one thing, but by saying the things he did, I know I wouldn't feel much loyalty to the team at all....and in the case of Avery in particular, if he becomes less than enthused with playing in NY then he really could have a negative impact on the team.

Financial realities being what they are, it shouldn't be that difficult to fairly acknowledge a players positives/negatives in order to arrive at a fair salary (I know the case is different with UFAs). Maybe Avery wanted too much, but the Rangers were ridiculously low-balling him, which is why arbitration was forced in the first place.

[Devils]

Avery is a punk and is perfect for the Rangers. I think it's funny how the media tried to spin his "value" in the Rangers early playoff luck. The fact of the matter is he is a detriment to whatever team he plays for because of his lack of respect for the players, and his confidense in his own skills aside from annoying the opposition. As a Devils fan I could just as soon see this guy retire, but on an unbiased level, I think Avery is a perfect 4th liner. The sooner the Rangers realize this the better for their organization. Avery should play with Hollweg on the "we suck at hockey but are decent brawlers line." He got way too much ice time last season.

[Deleted]

avery definitely has skill offensively....so 4th line doesnt make sense at all...you devils fans get me mad haha

[knights]

IMO, Avery is way better than a perfect 4th liner.

Like Vampyre said, it'd be hard for Sean to bleed blue after hearing that crap, business or not.

[vancouverhotheads]

This happens all the time. Generally, what is said in these arbitration hearings doesn't get leaked to the media.

Avery's agent got him under control. He knows that Sean has to be squeaky clean this year to get a decent contract next year. The Rangers know this too and they've got Sean over a barrel.

A few years ago Brendan Morrison went to arbitration with the Canucks and the Canucks compared him to a mouse riding on the back of two elephants (Bertuzzi and Naslund). Years later, Morrison is still a Canuck, although he's a lightning rod for criticism from idiot Canuck fans now.