Stars wrong to oust Avery

TORONTO ,ONT – Is it me or am I the only person to think that the whole Sean Avery incident is blown way out of proportion. Let’s face it, Avery is no stranger to controversy and the media thrive on it. Yeah, he did say something bad about an ex-girlfriend, but let’s not get too carried away by the whole incident, no one died. Avery was suspended for six games, fair enough I suppose. Sacked by the Dallas Stars, wrong.

 
Avery is a danger only to himself.   The gritty forward doesn’t exactly have opponents quivering but could talk the legs off a donkey. If that is a threat to the league or other players, then Avery should have been shown the door years ago. Remember last year when it was alleged Avery spoke out of turn about Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake causing a scuffle in the warm-up.
 
League suspension? No!
 
Sacked by the Rangers? No!
 
It was dealt with on the ice.
 
Ok, I do understand that this latest incident was self-inflicted when Avery called reporters over for his statement.
But to be sacked from his job and a date with an anger program is a bit extreme. (Editor’s note: Avery reportedly asked for the program when meeting with the Stars and the NHL) My feeling is the league was waiting for the next Avery incident to take action against the player. And while it is not public, you can’t help feel the league swayed the Dallas Stars decision to sack the player.   Hopefully, for Avery, the gritty agitator finds work in the NHL again. I’m sure some people, while not many will make their feelings known publicly, will agree with me that Sean Avery will be missed. Contact the author at Kevin.oconnor@prohockeynews.com
 
Kevin O’Connor is based in London, England and is Pro Hockey News’ Editor-in-Chief in the United Kingdom.