Where Will Avery Sign?

[The Comish]

It\'s been mentioned that the Rangers and Avery are far apart on a new contract. In fact they have already signed someone (Andreas Jämtin) who could potentially take over Avery\'s role with the club.

I thought I\'d start this thread to see Avery\'s possible destinations. Let\'s start with where he can\'t or won\'t go:

New Jersey - Think Marty could let bygones be bygones? Me neither.
Atlanta - Not likely. Kovy does not like Sean.
Toronto - Blake and Tucker. You would need refs at the scrimmages!
Edmonton - Although he could come out with a new line of fashionable winter clothing.

There are about 10-15 teams that either can\'t afford or have no interest in Avery.

Possible destinations I see include:

Vancouver - Imagine a line of Burrows-Avery-Kesler?
Minnesota - With Demitra all but gone, the cash is there.
Dallas - Norstrom\'s retirement means there\'s $4.25M available.
Ottawa - Redden\'s impending departure frees up $6.5M and Lapointe was making $2.4M, more than enough to sign both Avery and a depth defenseman.
NY Isles - This would allow Avery to stay in New York AND stick it to Sather 8 times a year!

Any teams that I\'ve missed that would maybe take a shot with one of the top agitators in the league?

[mister_mcgoo]

-Tucker won\'t be in a Leafs jersey next year so that might actually make sense
-Ottawa just signed Chris Neil who is basically Avery-lite, I don\'t see them going after Avery
-the Wild I don\'t see either, I don\'t think Lemaire would put up with his antics for more than a shift or two
-I heard a rumor somewhere that he might be going back to LA now that Crawford is gone...this makes sense because I think Avery is the type of douchebag that needs a big metropolitan city like NY or LA where he can go to the hip clubs and pick up whores

[lanky522]

mister_mcgoo wrote:

-I heard a rumor somewhere that he might be going back to LA now that Crawford is gone...this makes sense because I think Avery is the type of douchebag that needs a big metropolitan city like NY or LA where he can go to the hip clubs and pick up whores

:laugh:

[flycaster]

After the way he has complained about the Canadian Press and how Canadians take hockey tpoo seriously, I doubt he will sign with a Canadian team.

[Khanadian]

He\'d fit right in with my Flyers! :P

[lanky522]

Khanadian wrote:

He\'d fit right in with my Flyers! :P

which young star would you prefer they keep in the minors to make roster space for him?

Downie is just as skilled as avery and has become quite the little prick...

The flyers don\'t need avery... and they certainly don\'t have room for him.

[The Comish]

Khanadian wrote:

He\'d fit right in with my Flyers! :P

Believe me, I agree with you. It would be fun watching Avery and Downie driving Crosby and Malkin absolutely bonkers!

Unfortunately the Flyers have a little cap problem and Avery is looking for some serious coin. I don\'t see a match here, but it sure would be fun if Holmgren could make it work!

[ericdaoust]

I could really see him return to the Red Wings. I remember that they were very upset when they first traded him to pick up Schneider. The Wings seem to be able to get the best out of every player so I think it would be a good fit.

In any event, I think he\'ll have to wait a few days after July 1st because he\'s not part of the high end group of FAs. Once the big names are signed, teams that missed out will be more willing to put forward a few extra dollars for 2nd tier players.

[The Comish]

Wouldn\'t Avery be the fantasy darling if the Red Wings could sign him? 20 goals, 50 points, 225 penalty minutes and a PLUS 20!!!

[duballstar014]

lanky/comish/khanadian,

I considered avery to go to Philly for a second also...but like lanky points out, there\'s just not enough room. To sign Avery, the one person that would for sure have to be traded is Hartnell. Realistically, that just wont happen. Downie will do just fine.

Where do I think Sean Avery will skate next season? I think John Davidson could make a pitch for him (STL). That\'s possible..
Kariya-McDonald-Boyes
Avery-Tkachuk-Stempniak?

Or what if the Jackets wanted to start getting crazy? They have a lot of players that are free agents this year..signing Umberger would leave them with the following forwards under contract for next season, which is why there could be some major player additions up front next year.
Nash
Modin
Zherdev
Umberger
Chimera
Brule
Malholtra
Novotny
Boll

That leaves Peca, Vyborny, and Fritsche out...I think Fritsche comes back, but Peca and Vyborny could be gone, which frees up some big mins.

[Ogie_Oglethorpe]

I can\'t see him going to Vancouver. If Mike Gillis didn\'t want any part of Olli Jokinen because of perceived character issues... well, you can extrapolate the rest.

[Khanadian]

lanky522 wrote:

Khanadian wrote:

He\'d fit right in with my Flyers! :P

which young star would you prefer they keep in the minors to make roster space for him?

Downie is just as skilled as avery and has become quite the little prick...

The flyers don\'t need avery... and they certainly don\'t have room for him.

I was actually kidding...I know the Flyers don\'t need him. I was refering to the fact that according to perception, he would be a good fit

[NYR9394]

He\'s gonna sign with Vogue magazine. :laugh: Seriously, i think he could sign with a team like the sharks. I think he\'s definitely going out west to California.

P.s. As a Rangers fan im not bitter that he\'s gonna leave. He\'s played great for the team and any team who gets him is gonna be very lucky. Too bad he played himself out of the Rangers price range and Sather is too big of an idiot to be flexible.

[angus]

Ogie_Oglethorpe wrote:

I can\'t see him going to Vancouver. If Mike Gillis didn\'t want any part of Olli Jokinen because of perceived character issues... well, you can extrapolate the rest.

from a few sources, Jokinen\'s issues were beyond character. Involved a little off-ice substance, and lets just say it wasn\'t one known to enhance performance.

[DeathAndTaxes]

There\'s no denying Avery\'s skill and how effective he can be but he\'s a liability because of the negative press he attracts and how that can become a distraction for a team. Apparently word has gotten around that he\'s not very popular in the Rangers\' dressing room - nor was he in the Kings dressing room either so that is going to limit where he can sign and for how much. I can\'t think of any coaches for the six canadian markets that would have patience for him so I don\'t see him going to a canadian team - particularly Ottawa after putting up with Emery last year.