What does it say about an organization that would let Brendan Shanahan drift for nearly a half a year, but who practically salivates at the idea of getting a moderately talented but hugely troubled Sean Avery back?
It tells me that the Rangers organization absolutely has its priorities out of whack, and that makes me feel sorry for all the Ranger fans.
When you joke that Glen Sather is the devil, I clearly understand the frustration.
A management team that chooses a guy like Avery:
A guy about whom Jaromir Jagr has emphatically (literally falling of a chair) stated he would not want to play with again: “Aren’t 2 years in that prison enough?”
A guy who so disrupted the 2008 Western Conference finalist Dallas Star locker room that while he was on the team they were:
5 – 15 (5-11-4) and Last in the League
and SINCE Avery they are:
17-11 (17-9-2) and 6th in the Western Conference, 12th in the League .
A management team that chooses a guy like Avery over Shanny.
The Devils’ record, BTW, since Shanny arrived the week of January 13th:
9-2 with 8 straight wins, including a lovely little 3-0 shutout. ahem.
Wow.
That is some brain trust running the ship there on the Hudson. Good thing these guys don’t fly planes.
h3. A Slap on the Prada Clad Wrist
Bringing Sean Avery back into the NY fold sends the clear signal that no one really thinks he did anything wrong. It turns his suspension into nothing more than a slap on the Prada clad wrist.
Maybe it’s Avery’s even up call- the League’s way of saying: we went overboard in suspending you the way we did.
And honestly, I don’t think the “sloppy seconds” comment warrants punishment more severe than stepping on someone’s Achilles with a skate blade, or uttering the most offensive racist insult.
But he was to be punished, and if your going to punish, then you better make it stick. Any good parent knows that- HEDHS, the Dog Whisperer knows that.
Whether you think Avery’s suspension and purgatorial penance was warranted or not, allowing Sean to come back to the Rangers sends a clear, back-pedaling, signal by the League. It says that the next time a player wants to leave a team or a market for the bright lights and Big City, he need only follow Sean’s lead.
h3. Does Sean Sean Deserve a Second Chance?
Actually I think he does. But I think if the league really cared about his antics, and his type of hockey, they would have urged a team in a smaller market, with a strong on ice leader, to take Sean. They would not have sent him back to the place he loves. Sending him back to New York is a reward.
Don’t kid yourself, Sean hasn’t had enough “Behavior management” and/or therapy to have made any real change in his fundamental personality. Ten years may not be enough therapy. Fact is, a 6 week program of electro shock therapy could not garner significant “anger management” progress in anyone.
Does anyone reading this blog really thing Sean Avery thinks he did anything wrong? Sean is a smart guy, he’s sitting back smiling like a Cheshire cat, with a glint in his eye, knowing he had to run the trained chimp routine in order to get back in the game. Knowing that this was nothing more than a slap on the wrist. And Sean did do exactly what it took to get back in the game. He may even behave himself for a week or two once he hits the ice at MSG. But I have 10-2 odds that says before the end of the season, he has done something offensive.
Ranger Fans- some smart ones like JH Rangers- are begging management to do something, and many are even happy that Avery is coming back. But unless 6 weeks of NHL sanctioned “Anger Management” really changed Sean (and we ALL KNOW it could not have) then I think Ranger fans everywhere will ultimately regret this move. No one on that Ranger team is going to be able to handle him. Unfortunately I believe he will be as toxic in New York as he was in Dallas.
I hope I am wrong in my opinions. I hope Sean Avery proves me wrong. I just sincerely doubt that I am.
I think this is a bad move for Avery, a bad move for the League, and a bad move for New York.
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