Avery suspended

[sweetblazer 0]

Well I think "tell the world how i saw this video of your mom getting gangbanged like an animal" is a little worse then "sloppy seconds"...and hey everyone on the internet can see it and its in public. Obviously if you use the way we communicate through words as a way to say words aren't just words its going to be different. I obviously mean it in a sense of insulting someone saying they are this and that is just words. It's completely different then your example. Frankly, I still have yet to see an argument that actually makes sense from anyone. Other than I think its detrimental and thats your own opinion.

[noodle3872 40]

The NFL and NBA have a taunting rule(s) for on court/field conduct. Maybe this is where the NHL needs to begin "fixing" this scenario. If there were rules governing conduct (verbal or otherwise) of players while on the ice, players like Avery would have to play the game using his hockey skills not his mouth. At the end of the day Avery needs to be held accountable for his conduct.

[Hidious 0]

The NFL and NBA have a taunting rule(s) for on court/field conduct. Maybe this is where the NHL needs to begin "fixing" this scenario. If there were rules governing conduct (verbal or otherwise) of players while on the ice, players like Avery would have to play the game using his hockey skills not his mouth. At the end of the day Avery needs to be held accountable for his conduct.

Dont't mix on-ice taunting with this. What happens on the ice stays on the ice. Almost anything is "acceptable" on the ice IMO. Listen to Matthew Barnaby at TSN.ca...

[noodle3872 40]

The NFL and NBA have a taunting rule(s) for on court/field conduct. Maybe this is where the NHL needs to begin "fixing" this scenario. If there were rules governing conduct (verbal or otherwise) of players while on the ice, players like Avery would have to play the game using his hockey skills not his mouth. At the end of the day Avery needs to be held accountable for his conduct.

Dont't mix on-ice taunting with this. What happens on the ice stays on the ice. Almost anything is "acceptable" on the ice IMO. Listen to Matthew Barnaby at TSN.ca...

I think it's time the NHL challenges the idea that "what's said on the ice stays on the ice". Maybe the NHL needs a rule that penalizes a player for on ice trash talking. I bet there are plenty of players in the NHL right now that don't like other players due to things that were said on the ice that were over the top. I bet there's plenty of players that would be in favor of such a rule. I know the refs can hand out a 10 minute misconduct penalty but I think a 2 minute penalty would be more in order. Putting a team a man down would be a good way to reinforce the message that trash talking is not a part of the game. After all, the players are being paid to play hockey and help the team win hockey games. Playing with intensity doesn't mean you cease being a good sportsman and allow yourself to take inappropriate verbal pot shots at your oppenent. A game is won by scoring more goals than your oppenent not by getting in the best shit talk comment.

[psh 25]

Think of it this way. The league had no choice but to suspend Avery. A large part of the NHL's marketing focus is that (1) its players are noble warriors, moreso than in other sports and (2) it is a tradition passed down from parent to child. If players were allowed to summon the media before games and make statements like Avery's, you're losing both of those marketing angles and the NHL is reduced to WWE ridiculousness. Avery makes the league look like its full of 14 year old goons and what parent would want their grade school child watching the NHL news coverage last night?

Imagine if the league did nothing and Avery's antics escalated and other players started emulating him. Imagine Avery having his presser, and then Dion having a follow-up presser where he brings out Cuthbert who claims Avery is impotent. Then Avery shows up at the presser and charges the stage and smashes Dion over the head with a folding chair...blah, blah, blah and on it goes.

I think the NHL did the right thing. The fact that the Stars organization has said it would have suspended him, too, tends to confirm that. The Stars are feeling the need to protect their brand. I do, however, wish Avery had been forced to stand behind his comments on the ice last night.

[interpathway 9]

I do, however, wish Avery had been forced to stand behind his comments on the ice last night.

Not to ignite a fire, but that comment makes it seem like some NHL fans would like to see the NHL turned a little more in the WWE.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Shit, ya'll do realize that the WWE sells out every single show for its big shows every single time they enter an arena don't you?

The NHL should wish to be so fortunate.

And whoever thinks they should outlaw trash talking on the ice is crazy. Every single sport played has trash talkers in it, even soccer! No sport has outlawed it completely but most have some type of penalty if the abuse is directed towards an official. Ban trash talking on the ice...hilarious!

[Cove 38]

Why is everyone so up in arms? Avery is a personality, unlike many of the players in the NHL. He puts people in seats to see what he's going to do next. He isn't the best ambassador for the NHL, but he sure as hell sells the game and brings in more viewers than most. If I was a GM I would bring Avery in. He takes people off of their game because they get emotional over what Avery is doing. There seems to be a double standard here. Avery says something about someone’s girlfriend and it’s an indefinite suspension; Broduer is putting his blocker, and stick into the back of Avery’s head, and nothing. The NHL while sport first, is entertainment and I for one disagree with this suspension. The NHL has to cut out the double standards they have when it comes to punishing there players. He made a stupid comment yes, but indefinite suspension? That’s too much.

[lee92 2]

We'll never know if he did in fact say it, but the fact that it is even in question speaks volumes about his character.

I think the only reason people are mentioning it is because of his character.

Whatever happened to sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me?

Everyone is blowing this up more than it is by mentioning family and relatives, but what he said had NO implications toward family or relatives. It's unfair to go out and start extrapolating these comments to make them appear more insulting than they are. It was said about an ex-girlfriend, not a sibling, fiancee, parent, spouse, grandparent, aunt or uncle.

[number21 3]

Avery brings it on himself. He knows his comments are either going to provoke hits/penalties on the ice or provoke action from the league. He's made his bed with stupid comments, now he has to deal with it. I do agree that a fine from the league would have been more appropriate here and then let Avery and whoever deal with it on the ice.

He has a history of this garbage and now he needs to put up or shut up IMO.

[Cove 38]

Number21, your AV proves my earlier comments about double standards for actions vs. suspensions in the NHL

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

Totally agree but Avery is the type of person who wont back up his words or actions on the ice...Don Cherry showed a great point a few weeks ago on Coach's Corner about Avery, he'll pick on someone smaller than him but when someone bigger goes after him he looks to the refs being the coward that he is...he's complete chicken crap

[Law Goalie 147]

Of course there's a double standard. Brodeur is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who may well be the most successful (if not the best) goalie ever to play the game. Sean Avery is a moderately gifted pest who has never scored 20 goals in a season, and has a history of suspensions and idiotic behaviour ranging from racial slurs to dresscode violations and on-ice infractions. Both have had somewhat troubled personal lives: the difference is that Brodeur keeps it private, and Avery seems physically incapable of doing anything discretely.

Likewise, there is a double-standard when Riley Cote hits someone from behind; Steven Stamkos would not get the same suspension to the same degree for the same hit. Cote has a history; Stamkos is clean. This should not be confusing to anyone.

Avery didn't get suspended 'saying something about someone's girlfirend' - that's a total mischaracterisation. What he did was rehearse a little 'scene' beforehand, gather the cameras around him on the day of the game, and THEN make a comment that isn't terribly vulgar by hockey standards but completely unacceptable by any standard of social decency. If he just says that to Phaneuf on the ice, there's no problem - even if a mic catches it, it's still part of the game. Avery was fool enough to make it public record with painfully obvious forethought. Now, as MacKenzie noted, it's partly a liability issue. If Avery got hurt in that game - even accidentally - there could be Bertuzzi-esque complications.

[Cove 38]

THAT is the only thing I disliek about Avery

[Law Goalie 147]

Exactly - he's an idiot. It's not what he said (I have no problem with that AT ALL), but how utterly braindead his choice of venue and delivery was. He had a pretty good chirp saved up, and like a 12-year old with his first Penthouse inside his desk at school, he blew his load too soon.

[chilaxin12 2]

I can't believe some of you guys support this kind of personal attacks.

Granted it could make people watch more hockey but do you really want to market the NHL with such idiots? This is not the WWE.

I for one am certainly not supporting it. I just feel that is really not a very big deal, and the NHL is hurting itself by acting in this manner.

Not a big deal?! Go to work tomorrow, tell your boss that you banged his wife before they got together, call your boss's wife "sloppy seconds" and see what happens. I bet you'll be jobless and out the door!!!

It's not a big deal, it wasn't like he told Brett Hull or the Stars President "oh whats it like being in love with my sloppy seconds" he told someone who he gets paid money to play against, to try and gain a competitive edge and take one of Calgary's top 3 players off his mental game. The NHL was wrong to suspend him, a hefty fine would have done the trick not a $5,000 but perhaps $50,000 or something that actually will sting him a little bit but only because his comment can be viewed as degrading to women, but then again if you have been with Avery, then Mike, and now Dion maybe you deserve a jab or two headed your way.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I can't believe some of you guys support this kind of personal attacks.

Granted it could make people watch more hockey but do you really want to market the NHL with such idiots? This is not the WWE.

I for one am certainly not supporting it. I just feel that is really not a very big deal, and the NHL is hurting itself by acting in this manner.

Not a big deal?! Go to work tomorrow, tell your boss that you banged his wife before they got together, call your boss's wife "sloppy seconds" and see what happens. I bet you'll be jobless and out the door!!!

It's not a big deal, it wasn't like he told Brett Hull or the Stars President "oh whats it like being in love with my sloppy seconds" he told someone who he gets paid money to play against, to try and gain a competitive edge and take one of Calgary's top 3 players off his mental game. The NHL was wrong to suspend him, a hefty fine would have done the trick not a $5,000 but perhaps $50,000 or something that actually will sting him a little bit but only because his comment can be viewed as degrading to women, but then again if you have been with Avery, then Mike, and now Dion maybe you deserve a jab or two headed your way.

"Daddy, what are sloppy seconds"

Is another reason he was likely suspended.

You can't have that kind of douchebaggery off the ice becoming an influence for kids playing the sport

[Cove 38]

Exactly - he's an idiot. It's not what he said (I have no problem with that AT ALL), but how utterly braindead his choice of venue and delivery was. He had a pretty good chirp saved up, and like a 12-year old with his first Penthouse inside his desk at school, he blew his load too soon.

Where he said it shouldn't matter, what he said should be the major factor in wether to punish him or not.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

So if he said it on the ice you'd still be up in arms?

Your completely backwards on that. This whole thing concerns him saying it on National TV to an audience. If he says it to Dion after a whistle or across the bench as he usually chirps he gets nothing.

[Rustpot 1]

Where he said it shouldn't matter, what he said should be the major factor in wether to punish him or not.

If I say "fuck" to a friend of mine in my home then go on live TV and say it, should the same thing happen in both cases? Where has everything to do with it.

[number21 3]

Number21, your AV proves my earlier comments about double standards for actions vs. suspensions in the NHL

Oh i know, but that's the best picture of Avery they'll ever be. :P There are doubles standards, not every call that should get made does. IMO though, Avery goes out of his way to ask for it. So I say let him have it.

[Cove 38]

It shouldn't be that way. What said should be more important than how.

[number21 3]

I personally don't like avery, (given i know) regardless, he (and everyone) should just keep the chirps on the ice where they belong.

I don't condone what Brodeur did in my AV. I think the pic is funny, like some people think Avery is funny.

[Cove 38]

Where he said it shouldn't matter, what he said should be the major factor in wether to punish him or not.

If I say "fuck" to a friend of mine in my home then go on live TV and say it, should the same thing happen in both cases? Where has everything to do with it.

so people can be lude and vulgar as long as they hide it from people? What are we really teaching kids than? Say it on the ice, it's ok?

[selke71 0]

Someone already mentioned it, but it needs repeating: Avery was almost certainly suspended for his own well-being. You go out and say something like that, and then he gets hurt in the game -- it's hard not to say that's a retaliatory situation. We do know from experience that the legal system, particularly in Canada, has no problem getting involved in an on-ice incident. So unless you think it'd be good for the NHL to have Dion Phaneuf hauled before a jury, or to have Avery file a lawsuit (and don't tell me you don't think he would do that), I think it's pretty clear the NHL did the right thing by removing this distraction and potential liability.