So if you haven’t heard, word on the street  internet is that Sean Avery will be placed on waivers and presumably will head to Hartford. Obviously with Avery being such a polarizing player, this news has been met with both criticism and acclaim.

Being the eternal centrists that we are, we decided to weigh the pros and cons of this move. We will let you, the people; decide if this move was beneficial.

Cons

  • The Rangers lose the league’s best agitator, a player who initially was very successful at knocking elite players off of their game.
  • With solid ice-time, Avery was a 10-15 goal producer. That’s exactly what you want for a bottom six grinder costing you $1.9 mill.
  • Even if his offense disappeared, Avery was always a good forechecker and fit well tactically into Torts’ dump & chase/2-1-2 strategy.
  • Avery rarely lost a fight. Few were better at creating home ice advantage and getting the crowd going.
  • Sean wasn’t a pro’s pro and he’s presumably bringing his baggage to Hartford where our prospects are learning to be professionals. Expecting him to be an exemplary mentor, in the way Redden has, is a stretch.
  • HBO’s 24/7 just went down a notch on the Nielsen ratings estimates.
  • Erik Christensen gets a roster spot…for now
  • If he gets picked up by an Eastern Conference team, that could come back to bite us in the ass big-time.

Pros

  • If he gets picked up, we are off the hook with his cap hit. The claiming team and Dallas now split the cost.
  • He had just 3 goals in 76 games last season.
  • If EC doesn’t perform, it could open up a spot for another young guy down the road
  • Some thought he should have been on the first line. I looked at his bad passing ability and his propensity to be off-sides and thought otherwise.
  • Though the occasional spin-o-rama made me second guess myself…until of course he caused a bad turnover or was off-sides again.
  • Prior to the “sloppy seconds” fiasco Avery was akin to drawing key penalties, but that asset quickly diminished upon his return to NY.
  • It’s one thing to be an agitator, but it’s another thing to be a scumbag. Cheapshotting unsuspecting players and punching guys when they’re already down on the ice won’t win you any favors with teammates or more importantly, the referees.
  • Avery took bad penalties. Indeed some of them were due to overzealous refs, but if he’s marching to the box late in the third period, it’s going to cost you wins plain and simple.
  • At the end of the day Avery was a distraction. Teammates, coaches, and others in the organization don’t want to have to answer questions about his extracurricular activities. Even though those extracurriculars were part of why I liked the guy, the media bombardment he received brought too much negative attention to the organization. He just created too many headaches for too many people and that goes beyond John Tortorella.

 

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