Avery hated by fans, but can get the job done
by BRAD KURTZBERG, Inside Hockey
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But despite all the controversy surrounding Avery, all signs point to him being one of the most valuable players in the Rangers' lineup, yet the Rangers and Avery have broken off contract negotiations and Avery is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. GM Glen Sather had better make sure he keeps Avery on Broadway beyond this season because without Sean Avery, the New York Rangers are not the same team.
When he is on his game, Avery angers opponents and distracts them from the task at hand. They get so upset about what Avery is saying or doing that they make foolish mistakes that cost them games.
Anybody who saw what Avery did to Thrashers sniper Ilya Kovalchuk in last year's playoffs knows what I'm talking about. Kovalchuk scored 42 goals and 76 points for Atlanta during the 2006-07 season. In the playoffs, Avery and the Rangers held him to just one goal and one assist in four games. Kovalchuk also had 19 penalty minutes and was a non-factor in the Rangers' four-game sweep. Avery made Kovalchuk lose his cool and the Thrashers' biggest offensive weapon was neutralized. Meanwhile, Avery outscored the man he was supposed to help shut down, scoring one goal and adding four assists in the series.
Opposing players around the league can't stand Avery.
"He's got a pretty smart mouth," Anaheim Ducks tough guy George Parros told the Calgary Herald. "He's definitely not afraid to cross the line. That's why he has no respect from most of the guys in the league, including myself."
Mark Smith of the Flames was direct and to the point. When asked by the Calgary Herald to describe Avery, he simply responded, "Verbal diarrhea."
Avery's offensive statistics don't jump out at you right away. In fact, they seem very average. In 51 games, the 27-year-old has 15 goals and 32 points to go along with 145 penalty minutes.
But a closer look reveals how important Avery is to his team. Avery has missed 25 games this season due to various injuries. With their "superpest" in the lineup, the Broadway Blues are 30-13-8, which translates to a .667 winning percentage or a pace of 101 points after 76 games, which would place them first in the Eastern Conference. Without him, they are 9-13-3 which equals a .420 winning percentage and would give them 64 points after 76 games which would place them behind the last place Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference standings.
If Avery contributes offensively, the Rangers are almost unbeatable. In the 12 games in which Avery has scored at least one goal this season, the Rangers are 8-1-3 (.792). When Avery picks up at least one point in a game, New York has a 15-6-3 record (.688).
That is not to say that Avery is without his flaws. He sometimes takes dumb penalties that hurt his team. He can be a distraction at times with his antics and trash talking and he has even gotten into a fight in practice with teammate Marik Malik this season. Both players say there were no grudges held and no long-term issues between them.
A key example was this week's 2-1 overtime loss to Philadelphia in which two Avery mistakes led directly to both Flyers goals.
But when his head is on straight and he is playing well, Avery adds grit, can make plays with his skills, and get the opposition off of their game. He also makes his teammates bolder with his in-your-face attitude and his refusal to allow anybody to push him or his teammates around without some kind of response.
"I like to tune into the Sean Avery show," teammate Brendan Shanahan told the New York Daily News. "It keeps me happy. It keeps our team loose."
Unfortunately for the Rangers, Avery is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. While Rangers GM Glen Sather has managed to sign defensemen Dan Girardi and Fedor Tyutin and goalie Henrik Lundqvist to long-term contract extensions, Avery remains unsigned. In fact, according to published reports, negotiations have broken off with the club offering Avery $2.5 million per season while the player is asking for $4.2 million.
"We're extremely far apart in each other's view of what I'm worth as a player," Avery told the New York Daily News. "Listen, I certainly love playing for the Rangers — no question about it. I'd say that window is probably not as open as it has been in the past, I guess. I think both sides are pretty adamant about a dollar amount and I don't see anyone moving off of that anytime soon. My main concern right now is us winning games. And that's what free agency is all about, to deal with it July 1."
Avery has done his best to prevent the contract situation from affecting his play on the ice. Rangers' coach Tom Renney thinks that so far, the negotiations have not hurt Avery's on-ice performance.
"I'm not going to put words in his mouth, but he's really tried to focus on his game and concentrate on what is required of him on behalf of his teammates and he's really tried to keep all that other stuff outside of that," Renney said. "He's done a good job of that and I think his play reflects it."
The Rangers need Avery to help them clinch a playoff berth and make a deep run into the post-season. The Eastern Conference is wide open and lacks a dominant team. If they are hitting on all cylinders, the Rangers have as good a chance as anyone to represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The numbers concerning Avery don't lie. The Rangers are a much better team with Avery in the lineup than they are without him there. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Glen Sather better face that fact before July 1 or Avery will take his agitating antics somewhere else and the Rangers will be worse off for it.
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