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Sean Avery's time with the New York Rangers organization is reportedly over.
Sean Avery has had a tumultuous 2011-12 season. Twice placed on waivers by the New York Rangers and never picked up by another team, Avery was spending time with the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Connecticut Whale. Now it appears as though the Whale no longer requires his services, effectively ending Avery's time with New York.
Katie Strang at ESPN New York reports that the Whale has informed Avery that he will not be placed on their postseason roster. The Connecticut team told Avery that he is no longer required to report, either for practices or for games. He has not appeared in a game for the Whale since Jan. 27.
Avery is currently in the final year of a four-year contract with the Rangers.
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Sean Avery is back on waivers Friday afternoon, available to be claimed by any team in the NHL, placed there by the New York Rangers.
This is the second time this season Avery has been on waivers. He cleared the wire and was sent to the American Hockey League earlier in the year, where he played two games. The team called him up following an injury to Mike Rupp, and he even cleared re-entry waivers, where he was available to the other 29 clubs at half price.
But now that Rupp is back from his injury, Avery is a disposable piece. He hasn't played since December 10, and in his 15 total games with the NHL club this season, Avery has just three points. He's not been an impact player for the team like he has been in the past, and he's clearly fallen out of favor with John Tortorella.
The only unfortunate part is that he won't be involved in the Winter Classic festivities, and with his personality, that could've been pretty darn entertaining. Then again, there is the chance that he could clear waivers and still be a member of the Rangers come Monday. Or, the Flyers could claim him for laughs.
For more on this year's game, head over to SB Nation's Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter and Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey. For everything Winter Classic in the build-up to the game, head over to our NHL Winter Classic StoryStream.
Last week, when the New York Rangers returned to their renovated home for the first time this season, Sean Avery was not with them. He had been sent to the AHL on October 5 after clearing waivers, and there were some fans who felt that his absence was a detriment to the club.
So instead of welcoming their team home prior to the home opener, a bunch of them jeered the team over No. 16's demotion, chanting "We Want Avery!" during the game and unfurling a big banner at the arena.
Sean Avery is a member of the New York Rangers again after clearing waivers and rejoining the team for practice on Wednesday morning, but just because he's on the NHL roster doesn't mean he'll be getting into a game.
Head coach John Tortorella confirmed to the media at practice that he'll be going with the same lineup he employed in the Rangers' win over Anaheim on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, and that's obviously a lineup that doesn't include Avery. Blueshirt Banter explains:
Avery told the Daily News that he completely understands why he will not be in the lineup, and agrees with the coaching staff that there is no reason to change things up since the team played so well on Monday. Avery also went on to say that he is happy to be back and repeated multiple times that he loves playing for the Rangers.
It's clear, though, that he understands his place this time around. He is not expecting a roster spot or expecting to get any special treatment from the coaching staff. He knows that there are other players on the team, at the moment, that belong in the lineup over him. One of those is Andre Deveaux, because he really did play a solid game for the Blueshirts the other night.
There's no word on when Avery will make his way into the lineup, but the only reason he's in New York again is an injury to Mike Rupp. Rupp has a knee problem and there isn't a ton of detail on whether or not he'll be back soon. Kind of in the same situation as Avery right now.
Sean Avery has cleared waivers on this Tuesday afternoon, and he'll awkwardly rejoin the New York Rangers at some point before Thursday's game against Anaheim at Madison Square Garden.
Avery only played two games in the AHL with the Rangers' affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, and both games occurred this past weekend despite Avery being sent down weeks ago. Avery scored an empty net goal to seal a win for the Whale at Adirondack on Friday night, and he also played in the teams 3-2 shootout win at Worcester on Saturday.
A knee injury to Mike Rupp necessitated the call up, but who knows if Avery will actually play for the Rangers. John Tortorella, who said that the team has "better players" than Sean Avery when the Rangers sent him down to the AHL, was non-committal. He only said that he liked the team he has on the ice at present, but that Avery was being called up because he can do a lot of the same things Rupp does.
We'll see come Thursday night if he actually plays for Torts.
For more on the Rangers and the Avery call up, check in with SB Nation New York and Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter.
Sean Avery will be back with the New York Rangers if can clear re-entry waivers Monday, Steve Zipay of Newsday reports. Avery was placed on waivers earlier in October, eventually landing with the Connecticut Whale of the AHL when no other NHL teams put in a claim for him.
Per NHL rules, any player sent down on waivers must go through the same process when being recalled. Any team that claims a player becomes responsible for half of the player's salary, with the former team paying the other half. In Avery's case, his salary could actually be split three ways -- Avery landed with the Rangers on waivers from the Dallas Stars -- should another team pick him up.
Avery's move to the minors was seen as a cap-conscious decision by the Rangers, with Erik Christensen's $925,000 contract being slightly more palatable to the front office than Avery's $1.9 million deal. Avery only played two games with the Whale.
For more on the Avery and the Rangers, be sure to check out the SB Nation blog Blueshirt Banter.
Sean Avery is an American Hockey League player. The NHL pest best known for his antics over his hockey ability hasn't played a full AHL season in about a decade, but Avery will do just that this year, as he reported to the Connecticut Whale on Tuesday.
The New York Rangers waived Avery last week after he lost a roster battle with forward Erik Christensen. Coach John Tortorella didn't sugar coat the issue one bit when the team made the decision, saying explicitly that the Rangers had "better players than Sean Avery."
In reality, it's mostly a cap move. Avery makes a lot of money for what he does, even though he does have quite a bit of actual hockey skill. Even though the Rangers were splitting his cap hit and salary with the Dallas Stars as part of having claimed him on re-entry waivers in 2009, that's still quite a bit of money to be paying for a guy like Avery -- especially when you're tight against the salary cap like the Rangers are.
The move frees up about $1.9 million in cap space for both the Rangers and Stars, and that's possibly the most interesting result of Avery reporting to Connecticut. Essentially, a Rangers roster move puts the Stars in jeopardy of falling below the salary cap floor. The extra space doesn't help Dallas at all considering they're so far below the cap that they're actually nearing the lower limit of mandatory spending, $48.3 million.
Currently, without Avery on their cap (but notably, still on their payroll), the Stars are at $48.8 million according to CapGeek. With Adam Pardy set to come off long-term injured reserve in the near future, the Stars will be forced to send another player to the AHL, and that could bring them under the floor. A move is on the horizon in Dallas, and it's been basically forced by a Rangers roster move. Fascinating stuff.
Sean Avery left his New York Rangers teammates behind in Sweden on Tuesday night, taking a flight back to North America after being placed on waivers by the team. A few hours later at 12 p.m. ET, he cleared waivers after no NHL team decided to take on his contract and his services.
Thus, he's still a member of the New York Rangers organization, and now the decision on what's next for Avery hangs in the balance. Coach John Tortorella was pretty clear on Tuesday, saying that Avery doesn't have a place on the roster and that "we have better players than Sean Avery." Yikes.
Hard to imagine Avery will be playing a game for the Rangers again. Per the CBA, the team has up to 30 days to send him down to the AHL if they so choose, and they've shown in the past that they're not afraid to bury salary in the minor leagues. Wade Redden is sad. If they wait longer than those 30 days, Avery would have to clear waivers again.
We'd have to assume they'll likely send him down. If he's not playing in the NHL, there's no point in still having him around the NHL team. If he does go down, he'll likely stay there since he'd have to clear re-entry waivers on the way back up.
For more on the Rangers, check in with Blueshirt Banter.
Sean Avery has been waived by the New York Rangers. Yes, that Sean Avery.
According to the New York Post, the team has decided to part ways with the annoying yet skilled pest of a forward. It was widely reported in the New York hockey media over the weekend that the final roster spot on the Rangers club was going to be a battle between Avery and Erik Christensen, with coach John Tortorella even explicitly outlining that battle.
Blueshirt Banter, SB Nation's Rangers blog, doesn't like the decision.
My thoughts are that Avery should have easily made it on the team over Christensen. Avery came out flying in the two preseason games he was in, and he was noticeable on the ice.
As opposed to Christensen, who seemed lazy, missed wide open opportunities and was less physical than Avery. I'm not the coach, but I still believe Avery should be on this team instead of Christensen.
But the writing was probably on the wall. Avery came out flying in those first two preseason games, but "flying" also comes along with another dose of extreme controversy, in which the Ranger accused Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds of using a homophobic slur. After that incident, Avery sat in the press box as a scratch for his team's final two preseason contests.
Maybe the maneuver has nothing to do with Avery. It's possible that with his $1.9 million cap hit, as opposed to the $925,000 cap hit that Christensen comes with. With Marc Staal injured and the need for another defensemen possibly on the horizon, the $1 million in savings could be the real impetus for waiving Avery. At the same time, given those cap hits, it seems slightly more likely that Avery could clear waivers than it would for Christensen to do so.
But of course, this is Sean Avery, so this could always be more than just a shrewd business decision by Glen Sather. If he clears waivers, which we'll know by Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET, he'll likely be sent to the Connecticut Whale of the AHL.
VIDEO: It Seems As Though Sean Avery Retired On Bravo TV
by Travis Hughes
Bravo TV is the home to such series' as Real Housewives, Top Chef and Inside the Actor's Studio. Not exactly the typical hockey demographic there. Ah, but Sean Avery is not the typical hockey player. In fact, he might not even be a hockey player anymore.
Monday on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, a late-night talk show, Avery joined the crew and answered questions from viewers. In the answer to one of those questions, he retired from the game. We think. Maybe.
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Mar 13 4:31p