Sean Avery

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Sean Avery (Born April 10, 1980 in North York, Ontario, Canada) is a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League who has played for the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Personal Life 3 Awards & Achievements 4 Records 5 Career Statistics 6 Media Career 7 External links

[edit] Playing Career

Avery is known around the league for his brash and outspoken nature, sometimes making offensive comments about other players in the NHL. He played for the Owen Sound Platers and the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. Avery is a relatively small player (5 feet-9 inches and 185 pounds) and he was not selected in the NHL entry draft. In 1999, Avery was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and broke into the NHL, playing 36 games, with the Red Wings during the 2001-02 NHL season. The Wings went on to win the Stanley Cup that season. Midway through the 2002-03 NHL season Avery was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and finished the season with 15 points in 51 games. During the 2003-04 NHL season Avery played 76 games for the Kings, scoring 9 goals and 19 assists. Avery also led the NHL in penalty minutes with 261. Because of his style of play and how he carries himself off the ice, Avery has made many enemies in the NHL. Many consider him a pest. He is a very physical player, and while some would say that he is too small to be considered an enforcer, he has acted like one on many occasions, to a certain extent. He considers himself a fiercely loyal player, but has drawn criticism for his aggressive style and excessive penalties.

In the 2005-06 NHL season, Avery accumulated 15 goals, 24 assists and 39 points in 75 games, along with a league-leading 257 penalty minutes (48 above second place, Brendan Witt of the Nashville Predators). During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Avery played in the Finnish SM-liiga for Pelicans. In 2 games he scored 3 goals, but then left Finland unexpectedly and returned to North America. He then played in the UHL alongside Chris Chelios, Kris Draper, Bryan Smolinski, and Derian Hatcher for the Motor City Mechanics. He tallied 26 points in 16 games, 15 goals and 11 assists. Those 15 goals included two hat tricks, allowing Avery to become the first player in MCM history to record two hat tricks in one season. He also had 149 penalty minutes. Avery made news during the 2004-05 lockout, when he was quoted as saying that the management of the National Hockey League Players Association lied to its members about the lockout. He is currently dating actress Elisha Cuthbert. [1]

During the 2005 preseason Denis Gauthier of the Phoenix Coyotes bodychecked Kings forward Jeremy Roenick in a preseason game, giving Roenick a concussion. Avery's response was "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up," giving way to much controversy with the French-Canadian public. Avery also made news during the regular season when Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers, a Black Canadian, claimed that Avery called him a "monkey" during an October 11, 2005 contest between the two teams. Avery was fined $1,000 by the NHL on November 15, 2005 for intentionally diving during a game, then was fined $1,000 more a day later after publicly ripping into the NHL's director of hockey operations Colin Campbell.

Near the end of the 2005-06 NHL season, the Kings decided to suspend Avery, stating that he would not be with the team for the remainder of the year. A source claimed Avery had an argument with assistant coach Mark Hardy after refusing to participate in a practice drill.

On July 24, 2006 the Los Angeles Kings signed Avery to a $1.1-million US, one-year contract. Avery was a restricted free agent, so the Kings avoided going into salary arbitration by signing him to a deal.

[edit] Personal Life

He is dating Elisha Cuthbert.

[edit] Awards & Achievements

• 2002 Stanley Cup Championship (Detroit)

[edit] Records

[edit] Career Statistics

                                  Regular Season            
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A   Pts  PIM   
          
2001-02 Detroit Red Wings       NHL   36   2   2   4    68 
2002-03 Detroit/Los Angeles     NHL   51   6   9   15   153    
2003-04 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   76   9   19  28   261    
2005-06 Los Angeles Kings       NHL   75   15  24  39   257   

                   NHL Totals         238  32  54  86   739

[edit] Media Career

Rogers Sportsnet initially hired him in April 2006 to provide analysis for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but retracted their hiring the next day after serious concerns were raised. Additionally, there is a popular video of Sean Avery doing an interview with the ICE network.

Sean Avery played a small role in the movie "The Rocket" (2005), as Bob Dill. His storyline in the movie was only one scene, and it was to show how Maurice Richard became a target, not only due to his ability to play great hockey, but also due to him being francophone.

[edit] External links

[2] FSN Interview