Sean Avery had a rare chance to take the high road tonight. True to form, he declined.
After another sub-par performance tonight, Martin Brodeur and his New Jersey Devils were eliminated from the playoffs by their hated rivals from New York, losing 5-3. Following a long tradition the two teams lined up at center ice to shake hands. All eyes were on Martin Brodeur and Sean Avery to see what their respective reaction would be when they met in the lineup. Brodeur, most certainly frustrated by the loss, and his own play, not to mention the ongoing distraction of Avery throughout the series, refused to acknowledge Avery, completing snubbing the Ranger forward’s outstretched hand. Avery seemed to pay the snub no mind, continuing down the line to shake hands with Brodeur’s teammates. That should have been that, but this is Sean Avery we’re talking about after all. In a post-game interview, when asked about the incident, instead of shrugging the matter off, Avery instead took one last shot at Brodeur, again showing the juvenile side of his personality by referring to the Devil’s goalie as fatso.
Now I think we can all be certain that fatso was far from the worst thing Avery called Brodeur during the course of this bitter series, but the fact that he was still hurling insults after the game and the series was done, and after his team had won, speaks volumes about Avery’s lack of respect for both the game, and for the other players in the league, regardless of their accomplishments. Brodeur has three Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal on his resume, but Avery cannot see past his own inflated ego to realize he’ll never be half the player Brodeur is. I’m sure this lack of respect by Avery is returned with interest by players around the league. I wonder if even his own teammates have any esteem for this self-aggrandizing blowhard. It makes one wish Mark Messier was still captaining the team. Maybe he could straighten Avery out.
As I’ve written previously, the constant controversy surrounding Avery does have the assumedly positive side effect of drawing attention to the NHL playoffs, and piquing the interest of those who might not usually follow the sport, but if the new fan tuning in equates all hockey players with Avery that might not be such a good thing. Off course, I guess professional wrestling has a large fan base, so such assumptions might just draw a whole new audience to the league. Perhaps the NHL should have Brodeur and Avery square off in a cage match. It wouldn’t be much more ridiculous than what has occurred so far.
Lost in all this is the fact that Avery’s teammates turned in a dominant performance, and will be advancing to round two. New Jersey put up a good fight, but a blown penalty shot by assistant captain, John Madden late in the third period sealed their fate. Thanks a lot John. Now we have to put up with at least another two weeks of Avery’s antics. Oh well, at least it gives us all something to write about.
