Well it is Official, and finally over. Sean Avery will put on a Rangers Jersey once again, as he was claimed by the New York Rangers off of re-entry waivers earlier today. This was a great move by the organization, and I totally agree with it. Sean will provide a great spark to the team. Welcome Back Aves!
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UPDATE:
Here are some player and coach reactions about Avery returning, as per Zippay's Blue Notes(
http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/hockey/rangers/blog/):
Chris Drury: "I think it’ll be great. The only two things I need to know and I think the other guys in this room need to know are: One, that he wants to be here, that he wants to be a Ranger, he loves wearing the jersey, he loves living in New York and second, he wants to win a Stanley cup. What more could you ask for of a teammate?
How will he fit in the Tortorella system?"I think he's gonna love it, no question, he's an in-your-face, uptempo player, always moving his feet, finishing checks, I think he's gonna thrive in it."
Henrik Lundqvist: "It's not gonna be so much focused on Sean. It more about we already turned the page here with the new coaching staff and we played a lot better the last three games. He's gonna be one of 20 guys and have to bring something to the table. We'll see, it's hard to say now. He brings a lot of energy, he plays with passion every night. He's a really good hockey player when he focuses on the game...Whoever comes into this room is going to have to adjust to the people who are here and to the system. I met him a couple weeks ago and had a good time. Sometimes he can be aggressive off-ice too, but most of the time he's a regular guy."
Brandon Dubinsky: "I can't speak for everyone....Whatever happened, happened. He's my teammate again...each of our teammates are part of the family. He's part of our team. I'm immediately excited for him and looking forward to have his on-ice capabilities help us win games."
Steve Valiquette: "Right now, we're very businesslike. We're gonna be winning regardless of who's in the lineup. It'll be different for him here because there are some different faces. But we're all in the same thing together---except for the goalies."
John Tortorella: "We feel, especially in the division, we need a little more jam on our team. Hopefully he can kick in a couple of goals. I haven’t coached Sean, I want to see what he’s all about. I’ve seen him play. When he’s concentrating on playing under a team concept, he’s an effective player. That’s what we’re looking for. He’s really tried to help himself and Glen believes in second chances. I think he’s done his homework here and we’ll see where it goes."
"I believe in personalities...If you have conflict, you must be hitting a problem head on. I had major conflicts with a lot of players in Tampa Bay. Now we respect one another, and understand why we went through it."
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It has also been confirmed that forward Aaron Voros and D Erik Reitz have been placed on waivers. If they pass through waivers, they will play in Hartford, if otherwise, they will be playing for another NHL team. This move relieves us of around $330,000, which leads me to believe that Sather might have something up his sleeve with the trade deadline coming tomorrow at 3pm.
(Photo taken by Getty Images)