Larry Brooks at the New York Post has a feature on this year's version of Sean Avery..."The Avery that New York has come to know and embrace has been missing, replaced by a low-profile imposter who could be just about anyone but isn't someone the Rangers particularly need."
Brooks then wonders if it's John Tortorella's fault...
"The overriding question regarding Avery's loss of identity has been whether Tortorella, who memorably trashed No. 16 when working for TSN last winter, has stolen it from him."
Tortorella defends himself by saying...
"It's very important for the club for Sean to show his personality," Tortorella told The Post. "I think there are a lot of people around the club and who follow the club who think that the coaching staff is holding Sean back from being who he is.
"That is not the case. I want and we want Sean to be who he is. And he knows that, I guarantee you that he knows that. We've talked to Sean. It's not only the coaches. Everyone in the organization has told Sean that he needs to show his personality out there."
...the Rangers tailspin has coincided, not shockingly, with the struggles of Avery. I don't care that the Rangers now have a legitimate sniper or one of the best goalies in the league. If Avery isn't playing his game, for some reason, the Rangers do not play well.
...i hate to blame Tortorella, but I see no other reason why Avery would be playing as conservative as he is. Tortorella needs to take the reins off and live with the consequences. If not, there's really no reason to even have him in the line-up at this point.
4 comments:
couldn't agree with you more. Avery needs to come back, i don't even notice him...they need to keep p.a. also hes been playing better than most rangers
Of Course its Tortorella's fault, he neuters his players to play the way HE wants to see them play, regardless of whether its best for the team.
sad.
Avery played a huge role on this team for the past few years, and now he's reduced to a 4th line role player.
c'mon you guys can't seriously blame the rangers lack of offensive production on the fact that Avery isn't as much of a thorn in the opponent's side. sure he needs to step up his game and be "the grate one" but the team needs to produce offense not just 1 or 2 goals a game. we can't just wait for Gaborik to score and Henrik to make fantastic saves every game - it's not enough and it's not Avery's fault
Yeup, it is Tortorella for sure. Even if Torts goes back on his words, Avery's psyche has changed...even lobotomized.
Post a Comment