The Man, the Myth, the LEGEND

I would like to take this opportunity before game five tonight, to give a little background information on Sean Avery. Sean was born on April 10, 1980 in Pickering, Ontario. Avery was not blessed with the biggest frame only standing at five feet ten inches tall and weighing 195 pounds according to NHL.com. Before his professional debut in Detroit, Avery played for two different junior A teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Owen Sound Platers and the Kingston Frontenacs. Avery then made the jump to the NHL being signed by the Detroit Red Wings in 1999; Avery was signed as a free agent due to the fact that he was not drafted in the NHL entry draft. He did not see any real action until the 2001-02 season in which he played only 36 games for the Wings. The Wings went on and won the cup that year with Avery watching from home during the play-offs. He did not play in the required 40 games so his name was left off the cup as well. Midway through the following season the Los Angeles Kings traded Mathieu Schneider to the Detroit Red Wings for Avery, Maxim Kuznetsov, a first round selection (Jeff Tambellini) in 2003 and a second round selection in 2004. Sean finished the season with 15 points in 51 games. Avery had a lot of trouble with Kings organization that included fines from the NHL and actual suspension by the Kings organization in 2006 for supposedly not participating in a practice drill. Finally, Avery was traded by the Kings to the New York Rangers on February 5, 2007, together with John Seymour, for players Jason Ward, Jan Marek and Marc-Andre Cliche. Avery recorded a career-high four points in a game against the Boston Bruins on March 17. He notched one goal and added three assists to help the Rangers beat the Bruins 7-0. Avery later played in his first career playoff game on April 12 against the Atlanta Thrashers. He recorded his first playoff points with a goal and an assist in the series against the Thrashers. During the past off-season Avery's contract went into arbitration in which he was awarded a one year, 1.9 million dollar contract in which the Rangers agreed to pay him. Something that all Ranger fans were extremely happy about not only has Avery's game gone to new heights in New York but so has the Rangers record. The Rangers record with Avery in the lineup has been 50-20-16 while their record while Avery has been sidelined with injury has been an unimpressive 9-13-3. At the end of the season the Rangers will be faced with an extremely tough decision with New York fans screaming, "Sign him, sign him." In my opinion, Avery plays an extremely important role on the Rangers, and his combination of quick hands, breakaway speed, and hard shot, along with his tenacity make him a feared player in the NHL. Just ask players like Martin Brodeur and Darcy Tucker and you will understand what I mean.