X Factors For 2010: Sean Avery Edition

Good article here….with a well-thought out analysis of what Mr. Avery offers the NY Rangers.

It’s nice to see an article that deals with reality; here’s an important player for the Rangers (who actually will be on the team this year) that needs to have a better year for the team. Not one bit of pointless speculation contained here, and I thank you for that…..

Mine seems to be just frozen when I try to play it

Having a player like Avery gives the Rangers an instant advantage over most opponents. There are not many others like Avery – Jarkko Ruutu is similar – because of the fact that he can agitate and score goals at the same time. In my opinion he is the best in the league at pushing his limits. He may not be a favorite of the officials, but he is a favorite of mine. Avery is a key player to this team and should be treated that way by the coaching staff.

But I know when I see it. Round 1 in 2007, Round 1 in 2008. Unfortunately that didn’t quite carry over to round 2 in either of those years against the Sabs and then Pens (even before his ruptured spleen).

I like that he brings some personality to what has become a very plain vanilla-mayo on white bread team over the past couple of years. I was at the Dallas game where he took over the game, not to mention one of the best passing plays for a goal the Rangers had all season (spin-o-rama then feathered a pass to Drury).

The questions I have with him however are:
-On average, how many minutes of ice time are required to make him the effective Sean Avery?
- Will he be able to stay on the ice for various reasons

I ask those two because if the Rangers are to develop young talent over the next couple of years, Avery can’t take up top 6 forward minutes unless he produces like one. And his style of play can lead to physical limitations (he’s played 70+ games in a season just once since the lockout, although last year he played 69), benchings for periods or scratches out of the lineup.

If the Rangers were deeper in scoring and had a more reliable PP, I could see giving the guy free reign on the 3rd line and letting him irritate opponents to his heart’s content. Otherwise, the guy is going to have to make the most of his minutes in order to justify his playing time.

The first few seasons we had Avery, I loved the guy. He fits that blue-collar style of play to a T and who doesn’t love that? I’ve also met the guy a couple of times and find him to be one of the more interesting athletes.

The problem with Sean aside from the disappearing act, is his inability to stay healthy. He’s only about 5’8, but he plays like he’s 6’3. Guys who grind, who are that small, get nicked up. So for me, I’m more worried about him staying healthy. I think if he does, he’ll be fine. I think last year, was an adjustment for him and for Torts, but I’m confident they will have it all figured out. Sean can skate, and this system revolves around the forecheck and the rush, so as long as his head is on straight, he’ll have a role.

I remember when the Rangers first got Avery

The day the Rangers traded for Avery, they were playing at home against Detroit. (For some reason I could’ve sworn it was against Montreal; had to double check) It just so happened that I was going to that game. I sat in section 423, as I do always, right above the beat writers, and I remember talking to the MSG employee who works in the beat writers section, trying to get a media guide with lots of information and stats from the days game and around the league, when he responded, “You know the Rangers made a trade today? A couple of minutes ago… (What? to who?) to LA… (What player?) Sean Avery.” Even though the Rangers lost that game (And here I thought they beat Montreal…) the whole game the talk in the section was about the Sean Avery trade.

When I got home, I looked up who Sean Avery was, only to find out he was the player who used to lead the league in penalty minutes a couple years back, and he was the same player I would always see as a free agent in yahoo fantasy hockey, think about picking him up for his PIM, and never do.

to find out what prust was actually projected to be… i mean obviously he’s an Averyesque player now, but he does seem to have some really good puck skills in front of the net…

Joe, I agree with almost all of your post; nice write-up!
But I think there’s a decent chance of Avery being demoted this year, and as Jurgen said above, I think Weise has a good shot at taking his place. Weise is bigger and stronger than Aves, can skate and hit, is more of a power forward. It’ll be interesting to see what Torts does with the roster/lineup.

I can’t see Prust getting above the third line…he can skate and can hit, but lets call a spade a spade here….the guy isn’t anywhere close to top 6 material

Avery I def like his game even if you dont like the man his hockey is pretty good
I like the way he plays
I just wish the refs would give this guy a break
last year he took alot of cheap shots and refs just turned their eyes
def a tough guy I respect that

I wasnt reading these boards during that time he was dancing in front of brodeur. What was the reaction from the guys here? I thought it was funny and overblown. I dont think he was going to keep doing that during the rest of that game or start doing that in every game. I also thought it was wrong of the nhl to change or implement any new rules during the season.

well avery has one less distraction, no more twitter. Now if we could get his head out of the fashion world he might become some kind of force again.

If I was making $4 million a year, I’d probably have a nicer wardrobe too…..no purses though….that is a bit extreme haha, but hey he does live in Chelsea so….

My boys and I are Sharks fans – but I’ve shown my boys clips of Avery – they LOVE him. If they had to pick an east conf team, I think they would go with the Rangers just cause of Avery.

Without putting any conspiracy theories out there, Torts has been too reactionary and controlling to let him play. Even his comments that he let Avery go to long this past season show that he doesn’t understand how to get the most out of Avery.

Aves will take some dumb penalties, but he makes them count. He doesn’t nudge a guy, he sticks him where it hurts, he dumps them into the boards, he does things that piss guys off, leave a mark. I see these penalties as like losing a hand or two early in poker, but using it win a big pot later. These guys think they got Avery when he goes to the box, but he keeps chirping and chirping, and eventually, because they’re hockey players, they do something about it. Aves might take a penalty in the first period, but he’ll get his guy to react down the line, when it matters.

Having Torts getting all worked up Aves every time he chirps doesn’t help his game. It also doesn’t help when other teams know Torts will bury you down the bench the first time you screw up. Torts needs to sit back, let Avery play his game, and get so much sweat on his shiny suits worrying if Aves is costing himself Lady Byng votes.

Regarding his scoring, I think Aves won’t have a problem contributing enough to stick around a few more years. He’ll probably be a 10-15 goal guy, but on this team, you’re contending for the scoring title with those numbers. I also think he finds a way to score some goals when he needs them. I’m not sure his skill outweighs his other abilities, but when he focuses on scoring, he seems to get it done.