Rangers Accept Avery's Arbitration Award

[Thrillhouse]

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has signed restricted free agent forward Sean Avery.

"We are pleased to have Sean under contract and are looking forward to him returning with the same passion and enthusiasm he brought to our team last year," stated Sather. "He is a terrific competitor, who we expect to play a significant role in a successful season."

Avery, 27, appeared in 84 games with the Rangers and Los Angeles Kings this past season, registering 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points, along with 174 penalty minutes. While establishing career-highs in games played (84), goals (18), assists (30) and points (48), Avery led the Rangers and ranked fifth in the NHL with 174 penalty minutes.

He also finished the season third on the Blueshirts with 249 shots on goal and placed fifth on the club in scoring with 48 points. In 55 games with the Kings prior to the trade, Avery registered 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points, along with 116 penalty minutes.

The Rangers acquired Avery on February 5, in exchange for Jason Ward and unsigned forwards Marc-Andre Cliche and Jan Marek. He tallied an assist in his Rangers debut on February 6 at New Jersey, and collected 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 29 games with the Blueshirts. The Rangers posted a 17-6-6 record during the regular season with him in the lineup.

Avery recorded a career-high, four points (one goal and three assists) on March 17 vs. Boston and notched his third career "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" with two goals, an assist and a fighting major on April 1 vs. Toronto. In the post-season, he tallied one goal and four assists for five points and led the Rangers with 27 penalty minutes. He also ranked second on the team with 42 shots on goal in the playoffs.

The 5-10, 195-pound forward has appeared in 322 career NHL contests with the Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings, recording 50 goals and 84 assists for 134 points, along with 913 penalty minutes. In 75 games with the Kings during the 2005-06 season, he led the league in penalty minutes (257) for the second consecutive season, tied for second on the team with three shorthanded goals and placed fourth on the squad with 91 hits.

In 2003-04, his first full NHL season, he appeared in 76 games with the Kings and led the league with 261 penalty minutes, becoming just the second King in club history to accomplish the feat. In 109 career American Hockey League (AHL) games with Cincinnati and Grand Rapids from 2000-01 – 2002-03, Avery collected 56 points (28 goals and 28 assists) along with 492 penalty minutes.

The native of Pickering, Ontario originally signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings on September 21, 1999. He was acquired by the Los Angeles Kings on March 11, 2003 from Detroit, along with Maxim Kuznetsov, a 2003 first round draft pick (Jeff Tambellini) and a second round pick in 2004 (later transferred to Boston), in exchange for Mathieu Schneider.

[suckerpunch]

700 K less than he was asking for, 600 K more than the Rags offered him
Seems fair... but can they mend the arbitration damage?

[JKidd]

Good award and good move by the Rags to accept it. I would have thought he'd get more, as arbitration made some strange rulings last year.

[BrianTheAdsFan]

A nice bump for Sean and the Rangers accepting the deal is still a bargain for them.

[ValJamesRules]

Good move. So this still makes it a contract year for Avery, expect a solid season from him. Although I disagree with the way Slats said that stuff about Avery, I think it will sink in a bit, and he will cut back some on the uneccesary penalties. The Rags are going to be tough to match up against.

[NYR36]

Great signing.

With Bambam retired he's my fav player.

Lets go rangers.

[Manimal]

Good that he's signed.

Now sign Fritz!

[atslopes]

He was a huge reason why the rangers made the playoffs last year. Huge!!
Before the avery signing the rangers didnt bring that type of intensity. You can look at the way they were playing before and after the signing and tell me he didnt have a big impact. I cant think why they let him go to arbitration. Their might be some stuff that goes on behind the scenes, that we dont talk about that might be causing the friction. 20 pts in 29 games is not that bad for a guy that was considered a 3rd liner. He has speed, and grit, if hes put on the top line he could easily get 60 pts.

[atslopes]

1.9 mil for a guy that brings it every night and is a offensive threat. The rangers got a bargain, they pay so much for gomez and drury but holdout on a guy like avery, nothing against gomez and drury but you think you would treat a guy better who put in hard work, as opposed to people that just came to town.

[DaveBrown69]

Originally Posted by atslopes

1.9 mil for a guy that brings it every night and is a offensive threat. The rangers got a bargain, they pay so much for gomez and drury but holdout on a guy like avery, nothing against gomez and drury but you think you would treat a guy better who put in hard work, as opposed to people that just came to town.

That seems like a deal to me too 1.9mil.

[Isles4life]

Sather better hope he didn't set Avery off though. Even though it seems like a fair compromise, the guy may be too unstable to take criticisms like Slats dished out without losing it like he did out west.

[nyrpack]

its all a practice that gms across the nhl use, it can be harsh at times but players know the deal, it will all be forgotten by years end if sean plays to his potential and gets awarded a contract extension !!

[flex_buff_chest]

Everybody always takes about the intagibles on this site.....what about the fact that Avery has proven that he is a loud mouth, and he likes to write cheques with his mouth that his ass is too afraid to cash? Whats that worth? Yet he will be the first one to call out any other player he thinks is not backing up his actions/talk.

[Isles4life]

Originally Posted by nyrpack

its all a practice that gms across the nhl use, it can be harsh at times but players know the deal, it will all be forgotten by years end if sean plays to his potential and gets awarded a contract extension !!

Yes, Mike Milbury did make Tommy Salo cry during a hearing. I just would be a little nervous as a Ranger fan given Avery's history of instability. He can become a team cancer at the drop of a hat, and I think it will happen in New York, it's just a matter of how much useful mileage they can get out of him first.

[nyisles15]

"We are pleased to have Sean under contract and are looking forward to him returning with the same passion and enthusiasm he brought to our team last year," stated Sather. "He is a terrific competitor, who we expect to play a significant role in a successful season." says Sather yet he called him a detriment to the team. What a backstabbing SOB.