AlexanderScharf

"Talking New York Rangers Hockey, since 2007"

New York, NY • United States • 23 Years Old • Male

Sean Avery Is An Idiot

Sean Avery is an idiot. He has been alienating his teammates since he came into the league. He has made extremely insulting and hurtful comments. He has taken shots at Dion Phanuef, Quebec, Martin Broduer and allegedly Jason Blake in the last two seasons alone. He is a locker room cancer, the type of guy who destroys chemistry by creating conflict and division within a team. No team wants him, not even minor league teams, and they wouldn't take him even if they were paid to put him on the ice. He is the guy that nobody wants, yet the Rangers are reportedly going to pick him up when he hits re-entry waivers on Monday. They are going to pay him 1.9 million dollars every year for the next three years and his biggest impact is going to be being a disruption. And that is just what the Rangers need. This is the best move they could make right now, and that includes firing head coach Tom Renney.

What does this picture show? Besides for Marty Broduer making the sourest sourpuss face in history. It shows everything the Rangers lack. It shows the will, as an individual, to make a difference. It shows complete apathy toward convention, and instead encourages traveling off of the beaten path. And it shows hate for the other team, along with disgust at the notion of such an opponent being triumphant at his expense.

Imagine, for a moment, that all of the current Rangers had Sean Avery's personality. They would all keep the same skill sets they currently have, but the personality becomes 100 percent Sean. Aside from becoming a more dysfunctional group than the Osbournes, the Kardashians, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, and the Hogans combined, the Rangers would become a smash-mouth hockey team. You would never complain about boring hockey, and you would never see a drop in intensity during a game, or a season for that matter. There would be enough incidents on and off the ice to fire up an army of Spartans, let alone the 20 men on the roster. Of course, I don't mean to suggest that this would be a good thing, but you can see the positives that would come out of this.

Now introduce one Avery onto the present team (the rest of the players having re-assumed their normal dispositions). Now there is one man to provide the energy and controversy. But there is also the rub-off effect. When Avery gets himself into trouble, the Garden will be rocking. Teammates will come to his aid and no need to say the heart rate in the building will spike significantly. Energy, being the first and foremost attribute needed to win a hockey game, will increase in the aggregate. No doubt some will be turned off by Avery, but let them be. Maybe some internal hate will help some Rangers find their game. It certainly can't hurt.

What most people forget about Avery is his actual concrete contributions. He has scored 15+ goals in each of the last 3 seasons, a number which only five Rangers are on pace to surpass. He seems to score clutch goals and while the Rangers have had their fare share of buzzer beaters this season, you can never have enough of that when you dig yourselves into deep holes so often. 51-23-16 is another example of Avery's contribution as seen on paper. It is how we know that he helps the Rangers win. Because when the record is so good with him, and so average without him, we know that something is doing.

Yes, this is a risk. Sean Avery is an idiot and idiots are unpredictable. But despite Scott Gomez's objections, the Rangers have hit rock bottom, and worse comes to worst, the Rangers will be the next team to throw Avery off the bus. But it is well worth it to give him a shot. Now he is coming back home to the only team and the only city that he has fit with throughout his career. And all he has to say to the rest of the world is:

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