Avery Goes Way Offside

Note to Sean Avery; keep your mouth shut! On Tuesday before the Dallas Stars were to face-off against the Calgary Flames, controversial center Sean Avery lived up to the billing with some off-color comments directed at Flames defensemen Dion Phaneuf. In the locker room Avery sought out the media and said “I just want to comment on how it’s become like a common thing in the NHL for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds. I don’t know what that’s about. Enjoy the game tonight.” For those who do not know, Phaneuf is dating Avery’s former girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman promptly suspended Avery indefinitely prior to a meeting that will be held later on to determine his ultimate punishment. Avery has a history of being an antagonist on the ice, and although he has walked the razor’s edge in the past, he went way overboard with this comment. Hopefully Avery is taught a valuable lesson by this and maybe he will realize that if he only keeps his mouth shut, and uses his skills on the ice, he will be much more of an asset to his team. Despite his reputation, Avery is actually a very skilled hockey player who most think would be valuable to any team with what he brings to the ice. Depending on what Avery’s punishment is, he should probably be very careful the next time Dallas and Calgary lockup.

There Are Limits to Your Expansion NHL

I am very much in favor of marketing the NHL and the game of hockey in general to as many places as possible. On the other hand, I think it is important to know the limits of the NHL’s potential. In my opinion it is not necessarily about trying to make the game compete with other professional sports in North America but about trying to maximize the potential of the league in and of itself. That said I understand the desire to place teams in the southern tier of the United States. Testing the waters is always a good thing and in the case of the Dallas Stars it has been quite successful. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Atlanta (for the second time), Miami, Phoenix, Nashville and Carolina. Miami and Phoenix are terrible sports markets where not even football does all that well. The people seem to either have other interests or have moved from cold weather cities that have teams to which people keep their allegiances with. The time has come to again consider and ultimately place teams in old NHL markets like Winnipeg and Quebec City or exploring new options in places like Kansas City, Milwaukee, Halifax, Hamilton or perhaps putting another team in Toronto proper. I know Gary Bettman and company have a lot on their plates but in this day of expansive cable/satellite TV, the internet, and various other media outlets that can help grow the game it is time to rethink their strategy.