Following a trade from the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 5, forward Sean Avery seamlessly blended with his new Rangers teammates while providing a much-needed spark to a club whose waves of inconsistency were more consistent than any NHL team last season.
Avery produced eight goals and 12 assists to help the Rangers to a 17-6-6 record in their stretch run to the playoffs, as well as their first playoff-series win since 1997. Before the trade, the Rangers were 25-24-4.
Entering this season with a full training camp and preseason with his teammates, Avery said he expects to see an increase in chemistry that will contribute to superseding last season’s success.
“This is the time of year that you build a little bit of cohesion amongst each other. I’ve organized a couple of team dinners, late nights,” Avery said at training camp yesterday. “Usually those are the best times you can get to know the new guys, and guys that you do know, you talk about old times, talk about last year, talk about the summer, and talk about how good we feel about the upcoming season.”
Though Avery’s efforts were lauded by coaches and teammates last season, he was criticized by Rangers management in his arbitration hearing this summer, described as “a detriment to the team” and “not a mature player” who “plays, at times, like an individual rather than a member of the team.”
“If anything, it’s a positive motivation for me,” Avery said. “It’s certainly not something that’s been talked about. It’s done with and it’s swept under the rug, but I dealt with it. You’re not gonna forget about it, and you just try and go out and prove everyone wrong.”
Avery, 27, wanted to secure a long-term deal in New York, but he was re-signed only to a one-year contract after he was awarded $1.9 million in arbitration.
If Avery can be the spark, the Rangers have the potential to light a fire that will burn bright through the NHL.
“We’re gonna win a lot of games. We’re gonna be a very difficult team to beat on a nightly basis and we’re gonna win the Stanley Cup as far as I’m concerned,” Avery said. “I think that, and I feel that right now this team is ready to make a 10-month commitment with each other and it’s gonna be something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”