Sean Avery, New York Rangers Reportedly Cut Ties

VIDEO: It Seems As Though Sean Avery Retired On Bravo TV

Sean Avery, New York Rangers Part Ways, According To Report

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.

For all news and information regarding the New York Rangers, please visit Blueshirt Banter or check out SB Nation New York. For all comings and goings in the world of professional hockey, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NHL hub.

Sean Avery Placed On Waivers Again By New York Rangers

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.

New York Rangers Photoshop Sean Avery Out Of Madison Square Garden

Sean Avery Won't Play For New York Rangers Thursday

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 Clears Re-Entry Waivers, Will Rejoin New York Rangers

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 Recalled On Re-Entry Waivers

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 Reports To AHL's Connecticut Whale; Dallas Stars Could Fall Under Cap Floor

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 Clears Waivers, But Likely Won't Stay With New York Rangers

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 Placed On Waivers By New York Rangers, According To Report

Sean Avery has been placed on waivers by the New York Rangers. Cap relief, or something more?