Viewpoint

Would something like this have continued for more than a few ticks against a team like the Wild, Ducks, Flyer, Caps, etc, without Avery getting creamed? Probably not. It's ironic how the instigator rule has only helped the instigator........

Ok, please pay attention kids, the is a rule which already exists: its called a gross misconduct, making a mockery of the game. Too bad these new sissy referees can not call anything but sissy hooking penalty or delay of game when the puck goes over the boards. With this said, lets just play rough and tough in your face hockey.

It was't very sportmanlike when Esa Tikkanen kissed Keith Jones on the nose but no rules were changed after that. Anyone calling this unsportsmanlike must be a new hockey fan because players being irritating has been around since the games been played on ice. The only reason this is even news is because every one hates Sean Avery for being the best at what he does and this time he did it to Marty Brodeur, the leagues favorite goale. If this were Johan Franzen on Dan Ellis this would hardly make the press outside Detroit and Nashville.

hate or love him he didnt do anything wrong until today. all u people saying he's a disgrace to the game and has no dignity have u seen other players with the likes of esa tikkenen, claude lemuix, tie domi ect ect play and aggitate any way possible. only dif is that avery actually thought of it. he gets underneath ur skin and he plays the game of hockey actually not too bad. he didnt go up to broduer and check him from behind like what happened to tergueon with the isles back in days or hit someone dirty with intent to injure. he plays with the intent to get underneath your skin and play with heart and he does both roles well.
what i was suprised is that none of the BIG bad devil basher Dmen didnt clear his head off while doing that stunt or afterwards. then again in the old world of hockey u wouldve seen it.

Bottom line..this fool has no respect for his team mates,opponents,the game of hockey or himself.It's all about Sean Avery all the time.

This solidifies it! There is absolutely no respect anymore in the game of hockey!! If they're not cross-checking each other from behind, they're taking a cheap shot at each other or they're busy acting like an ass and waving a stick around in someones face. These players have absolutely no respect for each other. Whatever happen to the gentleman's code?? This is just ridiculous!

I hear a lot of old politician type people complaining about what he is doing "for the game".

Well, he made all us blue collar hockey fans laugh and applaud, as we watched the replay over and over, and he also made all you white collar rule guru's all upset complaining, as you also watch the replay over and over.

Sounds to me like he is good for the game.

What should have happened though, is a NJ defenceman coming through and clearing him from the front of the net.. But that can't happen anymore because of the politicians who have ruined the game, complaining about how the players regulate the pace of the game themselves without referee interference.

He's the type of teammate that I would want on my team. He'll do anything to win. All you self-righteous critics just don't have the guts to do what he does. He doesn't run from anyone, he can back up his actions and words.

integrity? dignity? of the game. give me a break, it's all about winning, baby!

I just don't agree. Avery was standing outside the blue paint trying to screen and distract the goaltender. The reason no one has ever done this before is it would not be long before he got hurt by a shot hitting him in the back where he has no equipment. That would solve the problem in a hurry.

We pay to watch millionaires play hockey. As such, it should be entertaining - which Avery's play most certainly was.

Look on the bright side: At least he's not a talentless, knuckle-dragging goon like Tie Domi.

It's bizarre that someone like Avery gets paid millions of dollars in their lifetime, to act like a jackass. Great role model for all the kids watching, moron.

Love him or hate him, you have to give him credit for thinking up something like that. Whether you want to chop his head off for doing what he did, he's a lot smarter than most people give him credit for.

His job is to get under the skin of the opposing team, while doing that he's also killing you on the scoreboard too. There's only one other man I see doing that job as well as Avery and that's Carcillo out of Phoenix...

It's no secrit that Brodeur and Avery hate each other, but this takes it to the next level...the "I'm not touching you" Antics Avery showed were a bit childish, but they did the job, got under Brodeur's skin just enough to throw him off his game.

I like people that push the envolpe personally I think people are making too big of a deal out of this...it's not like you two handed anyone to the face, or tried to stomp on someone's leg, or heck even throw a dirty elbow to an openents face yet only get one game for it...but that's a debate for a different place, fact is, Avery's move might have been childish at the very most, but isn't anything to cry wolfe over. By you complaining, you're falling right into his plan...

Dr.Phil would have a blast with this one. In years gone by, each team had a "nutbar", whose sole purpose was to "stir the pot a little bit". I was a bit embarrassed for poor old Seany though, I just hope his mother didn't see his actions. I live & die for hockey, it is, and always will be the greatest game on earth, but in a game you do what it takes to win within the rules (as much as possible). Does any of the old hockey crowd out there remember the likes of Teo Fleury, Kenny "the rat" Linsmen, Claude Lemieux, or Bobby Clarke? Gordie was a pretty good s--- disturber as was Nesterenko and Wensink, Milbury was no choir boy, etc,etc. name your favourite. But I do think young Mr.Avery did cross the line. It was, however, a pretty good imitation of a mime hailing a cab. Poor Marty must have been concerned that maybe Sean had one too many Red Bulls before the game. Play on, it's playoff time.

Like him or not, like his antics or not, he did exactly what he is supposed to do....agitate (and as a bonus he screened Brodeur). Somebody please show me where in the rulebook it spells out how you can and cannot screen the goalie?

My guess is that if this was, I don't know, let's say Darcy Tucker or Michael Peca, or maybe Wendel Clark back in the day, they would be lauded by the entire province of Ontario. Also, if "Sid the Kid" did this same thing, we'd have everybody from Pierre MaGuire to Mike Milbury proclaiming it as being ingenious.

And finally, the league 'amending' a rule in the middle of the playoffs is bush league, if not downright dangerous. Can you say, WWE?

By the way, did anyone else see Montreal goalie Carey Price punching a Boston player parked in front of his net Saturday ? I could not believe it - he repeatedly struck the player in the back and neck area with his trapper hand. Absolutely, Sean Avery is a jerk and you have to protect game integrity and goalies, but let's not allow the goalies to be as goonish as the actions they typically criticize. It's now Monday night and I can't believe this hasn't been brought up anywhere...

I believe there should be a 2 minute penalty for unsportsmanlike plus a 10 minute misconduct for his embarassing conduct. He has demonstrated that he does not respect the game, his peers,coaches and most of all an original six team that has an abundance of class and a rich history.
Glenn Sather and the Ranger organization should think long and hard about re-signing Avery, but It's obvious,no matter what NHL team he plays for,this guy will never change.
Embarrassing for the league, don't ya think??

Every team needs a "pest", the guy who gets under your opponent's skin. But doing it by making clean hits, not grandstanding like a buffoon. Not only should Avery have gotten a misconduct, based on the rule Ron McClean quoted, but the Ranger's coach, Tom Renney should have been penalized or suspended for allowing it to happen.
I coached minor and high school hockey for quite a few years. If one of my players had ever pulled a stunt like that, he would not just have been benched, I would have kicked him off the team.
Such actions are a disgrace to the game and cannot be tolerated. 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct is not enough. The penalty has to be at least a 10 minute misconduct, if not a gross misconduct for actions detrimental to the game.

ridiculous and then some....He is mocking our game and embarrasses us all..Can you imagine someone tuning in on TV and seeing that.????

Well I'm going to play the devil's advocate here.As a goaltender myself and from a long line of them, I really think the NHL has done it again.Hey..we don't like this..let's change the rules in the middle of the season!!

While what Avery did was stupid looking, it was NOT illegal until this morning.

Would you want to play any game where the rules were changed on the fly to benifit the other competitors("Lets play poker!..oh wait you have a better hand than I do..I don't like your shirt..no yellow shirts..you lose!!")

I think that we need people who are creative and change the way the game is played..remember when players spent the whole 2 minutes of a minor penalty in the box..before Gretzky?..how about Jacques Plante and the goalie mask?..it may be weird and different..but its new and progress.

Ok..I know I'm gonna get it now..but my Grampa was an innovator in hockey Lorne Chabot invented the gauntlet glove for goalies in the 1920's and like my father said it was viewed as weird and strange..now they all use it.

I was trained to block out all other things..just stop the puck..Brodeur needs to invent a way around this tactic and overcome it.

What a fool. It was like something out of a Will Farrell movie. They should have called a penalty right then and there. Not for unsportsmanlike conduct, but for baby-like conduct, and for embarrassing my seven year-old son, who's got way more sense of the dignity of the game than Avery. That guy is ruining the game more than fighting and he should be tossed out on his silly arse.

I agree with Ron McCleans idea that such actions should be given a 10-minute misconduct. This would prevent other "creative" efforts similar to this Avery's.