The Rangers yesterday informed Sean Avery he will not be on the AHL Whale’s postseason roster while also instructing the winger to no longer report to the rink for club practices or games.
The dictate followed myriad incidents between Avery and the staffs in Connecticut and New York that could be classified as “related to discipline,” all of which occurred after general manager Glen Sather declined to place the winger on re-entry waivers the second week of January when requested to do so by another NHL club.
The GM explained he refused to do so because he did not want to hamper the Rangers’ maneuverability going into the Feb. 27 NHL trade deadline by carrying what would have been approximately $445,000 of dead salary-cap space upon a claim.
Avery, assigned to the Whale after clearing waivers Dec. 31, apparently believed he could force his way out of the AHL by confronting management rather than wait for Sather to oblige as it grew nearer to the deadline.
Avery has not played in a game for the Whale since Jan. 27 and has not practiced with the team for approximately three weeks, instead skating on his own under management orders.
The 31-year-old, who scored three goals in 15 games for the Rangers from Nov. 5 through Dec. 10 following a recall from the AHL after first clearing waivers before the season commenced, has been getting paid, his $4 million salary split between the Blueshirts and Dallas.
He will become a free agent on July 1 when the four-year, $15.5 contract he signed with the Stars during the summer of 2008, expires.
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Ryan Callahan returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a bruised right foot . . . Steve Eminger, scratched the previous six games, replaced Anton Stralman on defense. Stralman, who had played 40 straight since Dec. 8, had been benched for the entire third period of Sunday’s game against the Bruins . . . Dan Girardi, who has been banged up to diminishing returns and had a difficult game last night, did not get on the ice the final 6:35.
Blueshirts are in Ottawa tomorrow and Chicago on Friday before meeting the Islanders at the Garden on Sunday in the first of a seven-game homestand during which the club will play every other day.