NY Rangers Claim Avery Off Waivers from Stars

Sean Avery is back in the NHL. The New York Rangers announced on Tuesday that they have claimed the always controversial left wing off re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars. The Rangers will be responsible for half of his remaining salary, which equals out to an annual cap hit of $3.875 million over the next three years. The Stars will be responsible for the other half. Avery had been playing with the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford in an effort to return to the NHL. Rumors had swirled for weeks that if the Stars placed Avery on re-entry waivers, the Rangers would claim him. In 23 games so far this season, he has three goals and seven assists for 10 points and 77 penalty minutes. This will be his second stint with the Rangers. I guess I was wrong about the Rangers not claiming Avery off waivers after claiming Mark Bell from Toronto last week. This move comes as no surprise given the recent speculation the Rangers wanted him back to bring a spark back to their team. It will be interesting how Avery meshes with new coach John Tortorella given the latter's highly critical comments of the left wing back in December. Avery will bring a lot of toughness and offensive depth to the team as well as be an agitating presence to opposing teams. However, I'm not sure this is the right move for the Rangers to make. They are currently sliding through the standings in the Eastern Conference and could miss the playoffs if they cannot turn things around. Avery's antics caused the Dallas Stars to start the season very poorly and they did not improve until after he was suspended. If Avery brings those same antics to the Rangers, it could do the team more harm than good.