In this 2008 feature from The Hockey News Archive, former senior writer Mike Brophy talked to the legendary super-pest Sean Avery mere months before he received career-changing blowback.

As part of our job as curator of The Hockey News Archive – and remember, you can have full access to the entire archive when you subscribe to the magazine – we’re going back 15 years today to discuss one of the most colorful cover images, and one of the most infamously colorful players in NHL history, legendary super-pest Sean Avery.

In the May 13, 2008 edition of the magazine – which featured Avery’s face and a devilish animation of him, as well as the cover story words “The NHL’s Evil Genius” – we published a story on Avery and his pending status as a UFA looking to cash in big-time that summer. 

The story itself – written by longtime THN senior writer Mike Brophy – was titled “Sean Avery’s Broadway Bonanza” and took a balanced look at a player and personality that often rubbed people the wrong way. But there was a method to Avery’s madness, as evidenced by the positive comments many hockey lifetime observers made about him.

“He’s a very effective player in the short term, but he’s also sometimes a little tough for some fans to take, the way he demeans other players,” one NHL GM told Brophy regarding Avery. “He’s effective, if he’d just shut his mouth. I think he should work out a deal with the Rangers. They seem to love him in New York.”

“He agitates, but he backs it up with strong play,” added Avery’s agent, Pat Morris. “He’s got a heart and he’s got some character and he’s gotten better every year. You watch what teams need to win in the playoffs and those teams that don’t get that are missing that to begin with and those teams that don’t carry on are missing it. I think he provides that ingredient where he can score, he can agitate, he can hit, he’ll fight. He’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

At the time the story was published, Avery was coming off an eventful 2008 post-season in which he and the Rangers took on the New Jersey Devils. Avery particularly drew the ire of star Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, to the point that, in the post-series handshake line, Brodeur chose not to shake hands with Avery. And Avery did not let that pass without a caustic comment.

“Fatso there just forgot to shake my hand, I guess,” Avery said about Brodeur. However, while Avery earned the love of Rangers fans, his monetary demands that summer sent him to a new destination – the Dallas Stars, who signed Avery to a four-year, $15.5-million contract. Avery told THN before the new contract that having financial security wasn’t going to change him as a competitor.

“If anything it brings more comfort to your game,” Avery told THN regarding a long-term contract. “I don’t have it in me to not go out and compete. That would never be the case. I think, if anything, it gives you stability and makes you want to play even harder for a team to prove they didn’t make a mistake in signing you. Why would you not want to play hard for a team that put its faith in you? I have always had to prove myself and that won’t change.”

Unfortunately for Avery, his time in Dallas was extremely short-lived. His untoward comments about players who had dated his former girlfriends landed him a six-game suspension, and Stars players revolted at the thought of bringing back Avery once his suspension was up, so he was waived after just 23 games, and the Rangers picked him up. He went on to play the final 178 regular-season games of his NHL career with the Blueshirts before he retired in 2012.

Since he left the NHL behind, Avery has made a name for himself as a budding actor, landing a small role in the 2020 action-drama film Tenet, then getting a slightly bigger role in the 2023 smash hit Oppenheimer. Avery also published a memoir in 2017 titled Ice Capades: A Memoir of Fast Living and Tough Hockey. 

That said, he made it clear he had designs on a book deal when this writer interviewed him for a “Two Minutes In The Box” feature early in his NHL career. For more than one question in the "Two Minutes" feature, Avery chose not to answer, telling us, “I’m saving that (answer) for the book.” He knew very early on he was a magnet for attention, and that never changed, either before, during or after his NHL career. And although he earned the hatred of the opposition and their fans, he also earned the praise of people who were on the same team as him.

“Sean is a really good guy when, (A) you take the time to get to know him, and (B) he gives you that time,” then-Rangers coach Tom Renney told Brophy for the 2008 story. “And that’s the trick. He’s a busy guy who is always on the go, looking for what is going to excite him next. And I like the diversity he has in his life. He’s not consumed by the sport, or sports in general. He has other interests and I think that is important.

“Having said that, I find him to be very open and honest and frank with me in our conversations and he expects the same from me. And to top it off, he is an explosive player and a courageous guy who knows where the net is and the quickest way to get there. He’s also a guy who has intelligence away from the puck and he’s a conscientious guy defensively.”

Over the course of his NHL days, Avery did what he wanted to do, for better or worse, and he left a significant imprint on the NHL and the sport in his time as an active player. Indeed, former NHL coach and commentator Don Cherry once summed Avery up perfectly.

“He’s fearless, he has guts, he’s a good shooter and he’s a good player,” Cherry said of Avery. “He can do everything, but he has no honor and he commands no respect. He acts like a jerk.”

Avery came by all of it honestly. And because of it, THN paid homage to him with one of its most creative covers.

Sean Avery’s Broadway Bonanza

Vol. 61, Issue 27, May 13, 2008

By Mike Brophy

Want to make an NHL GM laugh? Just mention the name Sean Avery, but first preface it by saying you are interested in talking about this summer’s crop of unrestricted free agents, of which Avery is on course to be a member. Guaranteed to make a grown man chuckle.

“He is what he is,” says one NHL GM. “There are no surprises. You may not like everything about him, but you can’t deny his effectiveness.”

Said another: “I think there will be a huge market for Sean Avery. Not us, but there will be lots of interest in him. He is a good player. He’s a very effective player in the short term, but he’s also sometimes a little tough for some fans to take, the way he demeans other players. He’s effective, if he’d just shut his mouth. I think he should work out a deal with the Rangers. They seem to love him in New York.”

Both GMs requested anonymity for fear of being accused of tampering. Avery, after all, is still under contract with the Rangers and may re-sign with them before he becomes a UFA July 1. One thing is certain, if the Rangers don’t re-sign him or insult him with a low-ball offer hoping to get him on the hometown discount, there will be no shortage of suitors for his services.

Yes, they love Avery in New York, so much so that a sold-out Madison Square Garden crowd chanted in unison recently, “Sign Avery! Sign Avery! Sign Avery!”

And as free agent season draws nearer, you can bet his name will be hot on the lips of many GMs. That’s because even though he is one of the most controversial individuals in the league, a chatterbox who likes to stir the pot, he is also a very effective player. And with this year’s UFA class lacking in quality compared to recent crops, some teams will be willing to pay a premium for a player who skates on the third line, but is capable of comfortably sliding up to play on the second or even first if need be. And he’s a player who simply makes his team better when he’s in the lineup.

There is no disputing Avery’s importance to the Rangers. They have a 50-20-16 record in the regular season when he plays and are 9-13-3 when he’s out of the lineup. Avery made an immediate impact on the Rangers upon joining them last season from Los Angeles. At the time, the Rangers were idling in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. With him in the lineup they went 17-8-4 and passed the Islanders, Toronto, Carolina, Tampa Bay and Montreal to finish sixth. In that span, only two Rangers – Jaromir Jagr and Michael Nylander – had more points than Avery.

“I don’t think it’s a fluke,” says Islanders pro scout Ken Morrow. “If you were talking about 10 games, then perhaps it would be. But we’re talking about the course of two years now. It’s not a fluke.”

Adds Rangers coach Tom Renney: “I think he’s an inspiration. He plays on the edge and because of that, he certainly reminds others, especially those that play on his line, they had better be ready, too. He’s an intense competitor who is fiery and deeply engaged in the game.”

To some, Avery is a despicable little pest who has no appreciation for the game that pays him so handsomely. To those people, no matter what good he does, they’ll never acknowledge his contributions. To others, the left winger is simply a high-maintenance, if misguided, individual whose shenanigans are made a little easier to swallow because, bottom line, he’s a very effective player. Avery was eighth in team scoring this season with 15 goals and 33 points in 57 games. He was second in penalty minutes with 154 and although he is often used in a checking role, scored four game-winning goals. In the first round of playoffs, he scored three times (one game-winner) and had five points as the Rangers dusted their bitter rivals, the New Jersey Devils, in five games.

It was also in that series where the latest Avery-ism occurred. It was in Game 3, with the Rangers ahead and enjoying a power play when he turned to face Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and began waving his stick in the goalie’s face in an attempt to distract him. Rangers teammate Chris Drury appeared to tell Avery to cut it out and so did referee Don Van Massenhoven, who looked quite perturbed. Avery was not penalized on the play, but was roasted by many in the hockey world afterwards. The NHL acted quickly, enacting a new interpretation on a rule whereby players who face a goalie and try to distract him from seeing the puck using unconventional methods will be assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct minor. Call it the ‘Sean Avery Rule.’

On his next installment of Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada, Don Cherry ripped the Ranger. “He’s fearless, he has guts, he’s a good shooter and he’s a good player,” Cherry roared. “He can do everything, but he has no honor and he commands no respect. He acts like a jerk.”

Others expressed similar sentiments and when the series concluded, Brodeur ignored Avery in the traditional post-series handshake ceremony. Skated right past him.

When asked about it, Avery could not contain himself.

“Fatso there just forgot to shake my hand, I guess,” Avery said. Some were outraged at his comment, others laughed.

Avery has never been suspended by the NHL, but he was fined once after making derogatory comments about the league’s competition committee. He has also been warned by NHL vice-president Colin Campbell to tone things down a few times, although Campbell admits he has had bigger headaches over the years to contend with than Avery.

“If he wants to be remembered as a character and not a player with character, that’s fine,” Campbell says. “That’s his prerogative.”

Avery clearly is a New York kind of guy. He loves the limelight, just as he did in L.A. Avery had a long relationship with Hollywood starlet Elisha Cuthbert and has also been linked to actress Mary-Kate Olsen, among others. He loves fashion and has plans to serve as an unpaid intern at Vogue magazine this summer. It’s hard to imagine him leaving Broadway for a smaller market, something the Rangers will surely take into account when they begin negotiations with him. That said, the Rangers would be naïve to think he’ll take the hometown discount to remain in New York if other teams are offering big bucks. He may be crass, but he’s not dumb.

Avery, who has played the past three seasons on one-year deals, is looking for four to five years in the neighborhood of $4 million-plus per year, a jump from the $2 million he made this season. Some suggest giving a loose cannon big money and term could be dangerous. Avery disagrees.

Although he was not speaking with the media during the playoffs, he made an exception and told The Hockey News: “If anything it brings more comfort to your game. I don’t have it in me to not go out and compete. That would never be the case. I think, if anything, it gives you stability and makes you want to play even harder for a team to prove they didn’t make a mistake in signing you. Why would you not want to play hard for a team that put its faith in you? I have always had to prove myself and that won’t change.”

Avery’s agent, Pat Morris, believes his client brings a lot to the table, and that is what he’ll contend in contract negotiations.

“He agitates, but he backs it up with strong play,” Morris says. “He’s got a heart and he’s got some character and he’s gotten better every year. You watch what teams need to win in the playoffs and those teams that don’t get that are missing that to begin with and those teams that don’t carry on are missing it. I think he provides that ingredient where he can score, he can agitate, he can hit, he’ll fight. He’ll do whatever it takes to win, even trying to be creative.

“Because somebody speaks openly rather than the normal clichés that you usually get, he tells the truth, that’s refreshing to me. It’s unique. He’s very lively, colorful, imaginative and creative.”

Adds Morrow: “I watched him coming up through the minor leagues and he is a player. The guy can play and that was always the enticing thing with him. He skates well, he has the ability to more than chip in offensively, it was just always the antics and the crazy stuff that scared some teams away. On pure hockey ability alone, he’s valuable as a secondary scorer.”

Avery, it has been proven, can change the dynamic of your team; he can change the fan draw. There are some teams that need extra incentive for fans and he’s colorful enough to keep them interested.

In the old days, the free-spending Rangers likely would have inked Avery to a big-money, long-term deal by now. But there is this little thing called the salary cap to contend with and Avery isn’t the only player they need to re-sign. Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, Martin Straka, Michal Rozsival, Marek Malik and Paul Mara are also slated to be unrestricted. New York probably won’t re-sign Mara or Malik and Straka could retire or play out his career back home in the Czech Republic.

Shanahan represents an interesting dilemma because the veteran is one player who can keep Avery in check. But, at 39, he’s getting long in the tooth and should he wish to continue playing, it could be in a reduced role at less money.

One man who would love to see Avery back with the Rangers is coach Renney. He feels the two have a solid understanding of one another.

“Sean is a really good guy when, (A) you take the time to get to know him, and (B) he gives you that time,” Renney says. “And that’s the trick. He’s a busy guy who is always on the go, looking for what is going to excite him next. And I like the diversity he has in his life. He’s not consumed by the sport, or sports in general. He has other interests and I think that is important.

“Having said that, I find him to be very open and honest and frank with me in our conversations and he expects the same from me. And to top it off, he is an explosive player and a courageous guy who knows where the net is and the quickest way to get there. He’s also a guy who has intelligence away from the puck and he’s a conscientious guy defensively.”

Oh, and let’s not forget he’s a guy who is not always easy to defend, but is worth the effort.

The Hockey News Archive is a vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com