Sorry folks but this blog entry is going to ruffle a few feathers.
You put in a claim if you are Garth Snow and help improve your team on the ice.
I know that goes against the grain for this blog but sometimes you have to take chances, this is not Jason Blake for nineteen million.
" Sean's a good player and he can help anybody he plays with. There's no question about that, This is a guy who is a great teammate and was always there for his teammates. He laid it on the line every single night."
-Rangers head coach Tom Renney."I don't know Sean Avery personally, I played against him quite a bit when he was with the Rangers. But I tell ya, when he was in the lineup, and when he wasn't in the lineup with that team, there was a difference," said winger Jason Blake, who played for six season with the New York Islanders. "He's a great hockey player. I think he brings a lot to the table."
On re-entry waivers and another team claiming him."That's a possibility that could exist, Some team could have lost five games in a row or doesn't have their building filled and need some pizzazz added to their team. But you better like the player and you better know the player because you've just added 50 cents on the dollar for this year and $6 million to your budget over the next three years for a player you're not certain of. That's where the difficulty rises. You better mean it.-Avery agent Pat Morris.
The New York Islanders in 30th place, last in attendance should put in a claim on re-entry waivers at only two million a year if it comes to this, it's that simple.
I don't care that Mr Botta wrote he almost fought with Garth Snow after the
DiPietro-Montoya preseason game. I'm well aware he has problems behind the scenes and this could be a potential disaster.
Garth Snow is not running courtesy class here, as a player Snow was a guy who used to take on players/executives in print. His job as general manager is to produce a winning hockey team and add elements his team lacks.
This is not a job about hiring friends.
His team lacks scoring, size and he needs a agitator. Nate Thompson is never going to be that player, neither is Tim Jackman.
Two million is not a lot of money for someone who could score fifteen goals and provide a physical element in games badly lacking here. Sure he will miss his games with injury so he would fit right in.
Off the ice this team needs exposure badly, this forces coverage that Chris Dey would not get if he spent fifty million dollars on advertising. It will get even more people talking Lighthouse.
You want people to stop questioning the Islanders relevance, this is how it starts.
That's the sad reality of things for hockey in NYC, he was obviously the most talked about Ranger.
I doubt the Islander gm will take a chance because for this franchise they can announce preseason games in KC to get reaction/send a message but on the ice will do nothing to alter a mix that is in 30th place or generate similar reaction.
What's Avery going to do besides generate a ton of publicity (a lot negative) for the Islanders besides Cablevision media dumping all over the move because the Rangers did not get the chance to claim him first?
Too bad.
Are they going to put more games on Msg+2 or cut print space in the paper?
Let him annoy other teams in New York as an Islander. The first time he knocks down Lundqvist or Brodeur and scores Islander fans will start cheering him while Mark Herrmann will start ripping him and the Islanders viability.
Larry Brooks sounds like a man who would elope with him if he could right now to get him back on team Cablevision.
If Brendan Witt does not like it he does not have to stay on a club in 30th place as tough as that reads here. I love Witt's game but the team is not winning which is beyond his control, if the Islanders cannot get it done in free agency as Garth Snow has helped create that perception himself he better have another answer.
This team needs physical players who can annoy the other team to turn games around by drawing powerplays and it's frankly sad watching Bill Guerin have to fight while Tim Jackman is no enforcer as hard as he tries to be.
Not like Jon Sim or Jeff Tambellini are going to get a chance.
Three years, six million later Avery's likely gone anyway if not sooner with the Islanders always having a buyout option to cut the salary even more. I loved Asham on this team but for the three games his scoring won with his fights it was not enough nor did it turn out to be enough for New Jersey.
I know likely this could become a very tough deal in the lockeroom for Scott Gordon and these kids if his conduct becomes a problem but that's where the Islanders are, they brought back Chris Simon and took the hits for his on-ice conduct even if he was reportedly good in the room.
No one fights Okposo's battles or stands up for these young players. Avery would be the first in there to stand up for his teammates regardless of whatever is reported in the room.
Granted Avery this time will not have Ranger media to help fight his perception battles with other media, those same outlets that protected him as a Ranger (like Jagr) will dump all over him as an Islander because he no longer wears Ranger laundry.
What's the worst that can happen, a few outlets in Canada stop talking about Robert Luongo, Mike Milbury and the late 90's when they rarely write about the Islanders and start talking about the current team?
Espn even starts talking Islanders on television while Versus decides it wants to show more games?
I understand it's a little frightening talking about Avery hanging around Okposo and Bailey and maybe a top pick this summer, I get it. I could speculate the reaction from Weight and Guerin also who woulld have to take on the Shanahan role in protecting him or dealing with him daily.
I also read a lot about the Islanders needing to generate publicity (even if negative) and get people talking. It sure will draw plenty of media to the Coliseum from Manhattan and Canada.
I'm afraid to say more than Ryan Smyth did when he debuted against St Louis.
For two million it's money well spent on a team that may only have one twenty goal scorer and has no one talking about them. If he helps the Islanders land an outdoor game the revenue from that alone pays his salary.
I would be shocked if another team does not take the same chance, he entered a league program for behavorial issues, is he not entitled to benefit of the doubt like any other player?
Either that or Garth Snow better have someone else who can do the same thing, that three year deal to Joel Rechlicz is not looking good right now and I'm tired of reading no one will sign here in July. Garth Snow either fills his holes with prospects or does things in the market, other teams have players like this, the Islanders do not.
Folks, I understand as a fan of Bill Torrey and Al Arbour and the dynasty Islanders this is a very unconventional move and does not put the Islanders in the best light for what their classy brand represents. That is where the Islanders are at this time with their brand taking a beating on all fronts or worse being ignored.
Eventually Garth Snow if Avery goes on re-entry waivers will have the first call here unless Cablevision (or someone else) claims him outright now and has to start moving salary.
I would not touch Avery on waivers at his full salary. If the Rangers or another team want him that bad, good luck to them.
For two million Snow has to take a chance and claim Avery, his job is to improve his team.
I'm not sure I like it, but it's what I would do.
Flame away. Avery mentioned the Islanders when he signed with Dallas, he wanted to stay in this market.
