December 28, 2011
Go his own way
Jettisoned twice, more popular with fans than his coach, lightning rod Sean Avery is still big part of city’s sports landscape
by Elliot Olshansky/Correspondent
(photo: Getty Images)
Sean Avery is known as a man who likes to talk, but the Rangers winger also has a certain fondness for the written word.
In 2007, he told the New York Times’ Style section that he’d like to be editor of a fashion magazine – he’d go on to intern at Vogue the following summer – and admitted the difficulty of reading Jared Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize winner “Guns, Germs and Steel.”
These days, however, Avery admits that he hasn’t been doing very much reading.
“I actually got into ‘Mad Men,’” Avery said, “so I’m broadening my TV horizons.”
Avery’s interest in the AMC hit series makes sense for any number of reasons. As someone who has involved himself in many aspects of New York life ever since he was traded to the Rangers in 2007, it’s easy to see where a series that takes place at a Madison Avenue ad agency in the 1960s could hold interest for him.
At the same time, the show’s influence on fashion trends may well have piqued Avery’s interests and, of course, as a man who’s part-owner of two restaurants in Tribeca and has presented a clothing line at New York’s Fashion Week, it probably doesn’t hurt to know a thing about advertising, either.
Three games into his return to Broadway last month, Though, Avery might have had less use for the talents of Don Draper than Denver’s Multiline International Imports.
In late September, the Colorado-based wholesaler began using its digital sign to join the chorus of Denver Broncos football fans calling for Tim Tebow to replace Kyle Orton as the team’s starting quarterback, a call that was eventually answered by head coach John Fox.
At first glance, it would be hard to find two professional athletes more different than Tebow and Avery, but recent events have shed light on certain parallels. It’s accepted as a given that Tebow’s outspoken Christianity (he’s done missionary work in the Philippines and appeared in a pro-life Super Bowl ad backed by James Dobson’s Colorado-based Focus on the Family) have made him as much a cultural icon in the Rocky Mountains as a sports figure.
In his own way, with his cosmopolitan sensibilities (including his outspoken support for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality) and his penchant for trash talk, Avery is as natural a fit in New York as Tebow is in Colorado.
And, just like Tebow, Avery has had fans clamoring for him to play, from the Rangers’ home opener against Toronto (when he was a member of the AHL’s Connecticut Whale after having been waived by the Blueshirts) to his early November return to Broadway.
As in Tebow’s case – at least until he was named the Broncos starter and led the team to four wins in five games -- the chants fell on deaf ears, almost literally, as Avery played a grand total of 15 minutes and 35 seconds in his first three games back with the Rangers after being called up from the AHL on Nov. 1.
“I really don’t hear much,” said Rangers coach John Tortorella. “I’m so locked in on the bench. I respect the fans. They have their favorites and they have their people they want to kick the hell out of. That’s their thing. I’m not going to coach the game for that. I need to get players in situations that I feel comfortable with and make decisions for the team. They pay money, and they can do what they need to do, but it’s not going to affect anything I do as far as making decisions for the team.”
With Avery, however, it’s evident that the fans’ support has little to do with his interests in politics and fashion, and a lot more to do with what he brings to the ice.
“He gives it all every game,” said Rangers fan Darren McCain of Aberdeen, N.J. “Everything he’s got, he gives for it.”
“It’s the intensity he plays with every shift,” said Rangers fan Matt Katz of Long Island. “He seems to play with a fire, and it’s just a passion that we don’t see out of every player. Even though he may make mistakes sometimes, we’re willing to live with it, because he just plays so much harder than most people play.”
This perception is more than an illusion in the minds of fans, though, and it came to light as he made his way up the depth chart, scoring in back-to-back games against the Hurricanes on Nov. 18 and the Islanders on Nov. 22. The players he’s skated with are the first to extol his value to the team.
“Obviously, he’s physical, he can skate and he’s forechecking,” said center Brian Boyle. “Those are things that I want to try to do, too. If a guy does that, I can read and react a lot easier.”
“Sean can play the game,” said center Brad Richards. “He’s showed you what he can do when he wants to skate, hold onto pucks and create things.”
Richards knows what he’s talking about, having played with Avery during his brief tenure in Dallas in 2008. Between letting Avery leave as a free agent three years ago and putting him on waivers this fall, the Rangers have twice thought that they were done with him, but somehow, some way, he keeps finding his way back.
“A lot of fans appreciate the style of play he has and he’s a good hockey player,” said Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who’s also one of Avery’s partners in Tiny’s and the Bar Upstairs (135 West Broadway) in Manhattan. “I know a lot of people appreciate what he brings.”
That’s a good thing for Avery, because the Pickering, Ont., native loves the Big Apple as much as it loves him.
“I love every game that I’ve ever played for this team.” Avery said after his practice on Nov. 2, his first practice after being recalled. “I love walking into the building. I just want to help these guys win. I just want to play my game as hard as I can and help them win.”
As for where things go from here, it’s difficult to say. In the end, we may be best off taking a cue from the man himself.
“I don’t deal in hypotheticals,” Avery said. “I’ve never been good with them.”
Elliot Olshansky can be reached at feedback@nyhockeyjournal.com.
RANGERS NOTES
The Rangers’ seven-game win streak from Oct. 31 to Nov. 15 was the team’s longest since winning seven straight in October 2009. An eighth straight win would have been the team’s longest streak since 1974, but the Canadiens dashed those hopes with a 4-0 win on Nov. 19….Rangers blueliner Dan Girardi has been the subject of a write-in campaign for the 2012 All-Star Game after he was not included on the league’s fan voting ballot. Asked about the snub, Tortorella said, “It’s because he’s not pedigreed. Our league is so a** backwards when it comes to that. It’s not just this year that he’s been underrated. This guy has been a really good player. But if you don’t have the pedigree in this league, they don’t look at you.” Four Rangers are included on the ballot: Goalie Henrik Lundqvist, forwards Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik, and defenseman Marc Staal. … Staal remained on injured as of press time due to post-concussion symptoms resulting from a hit from his brother Eric last season, but was cleared for light physical activity on Nov. 17….The Rangers signed Swedish defenseman Anton Stralman on Nov. 5. The 25-year-old played with Columbus last year, but failed to claim a spot on the Devils this fall after being invited to training camp.
-- ELLIOT OLSHANSKY
