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Earlier in the season, Avery was placed on the first line with Marian Gaborik and Erik Christensen for a game against the Islanders. He ended up recording three points on the night and played a big part in Gaborik’s hat trick. The very next game at Madison Square Garden, once again against the Islanders, Avery was pulled off that first line and stuck on the fourth with Derek Boogaard. Why? There is absolutely no logical reason Tortorella could have given for making that move. None at all, it made zero sense.
Before that, Avery was given some time on the third line where he seemed to be making an impact with Ruslan Fedotenko on the opposite wing. In fact, that was the Rangers’ hardest working line at the time until the Dubinsky, Anisimov and Calllahan trio started to emerge. But Avery was quickly separated from Fedotenko and buried on the last line. He only saw about eight minutes of ice time per game while on the fourth line, but Torts still had the nerve to criticize his game.
Now we go back to that home-and-home with the Isles, when Avery was finally given the chance to shine getting top minutes. He made the very most of those minutes and gave a heck of an effort. But despite making an impact getting a lot of ice time, he was returned to the fourth line, again playing less than 10 minutes a game. What is the logic behind that? Does Tortorella not want Avery in the spotlight?
And then last night, in an eleven round shootout, many fans were calling for Avery to be put out there. I would know since I was in attendance among the Garden crowd. But when players like Michal Rozsival were coming over the boards, we all collectively realized that whatever Tortorella has against Avery was getting in the way of him getting a chance, and that there would be no Sean Avery in the shootout.
I am not one to get caught up in all of these conspiracy theories, I’m really not. But all of the evidence is right here, clear as day. I don’t know if I would necessarily call it a hatred as some fans have, but Avery is without a doubt not one of Tortorella’s favorites. Torts was always a coach to pick favorites, too. He never really cared for Vinny Lecavalier during his time coaching the Bolts, which in turn saw Brad Richards out on the ice in key moments much more often than Vinny. That is no lie; go ask any Lightning fan that followed the team when Tortorella was coach.
A player cannot be expected to turn his game around or make more of a difference when he averages eight minutes of ice time per game. It deeply upsets me to see a player treated so unfairly, even if they are as agitating as Sean is. He deserves a little more respect than this, but it doesn’t look like he will ever get it as long as John Tortorella is behind the bench.
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Anger aside, enjoy your Christmas Eve everyone, and stop by tomorrow for a neat little Rangers' holiday video I put together!
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