Published: December 5, 2008
The N.H.L. has suspended Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery for six games for the inflammatory comments he made Tuesday before a game against Calgary, an unusually long suspension for off-ice comments.
Commissioner Gary Bettman said the length of the suspension was due to the offensive nature of Avery’s comments and his history of disciplinary problems.
“I wanted to be very clear to the fans that this isn’t something we tolerate,” Bettman said Friday in a conference call. “Sean has been warned in the past year that he was getting close to crossing the line.”
Avery, 28, crossed it when he spoke to reporters after a morning skate Tuesday in Calgary, making derogatory comments about former girlfriends who have dated other N.H.L. players. Bettman suspended him immediately, pending a hearing, which was held Thursday in New York. Avery has already missed two games, so he will become eligible to play again Dec. 16, when the Stars host Phoenix.
There is doubt, however, that Avery will return to the Stars after his suspension.
Dallas Coach Dave Tippett has made strong comments about the team’s unwillingness to take Avery back. The team refused to issue Avery’s apology on Wednesday; his own publicist had to do it. General Manager Brett Hull, who was instrumental in the team’s signing of Avery and who attended the hearing Thursday, said the team would consider its options.
Avery joined Dallas as a free agent in July, signing a four-year, $15.5 million contract. He had been with the Rangers since February 2007.
Avery has also been ordered to have an evaluation and counseling for anger management, something Bettman said Avery had requested at the hearing. Despite Avery’s reputation as an agitator, this is the first time he has been suspended by the league.
“It’s a process,” Hull said. “You don’t go to a retreat for a weekend and it’s fixed. Once the suspension is over, and once we find out the process he’s trying to go through, as an organization we’re going to decide as a group what direction we’re going to go. The players will have a chance to give their input.”
The N.H.L. Players’ Association expressed alarm at the suspension and the Stars’ handling of the situation in a statement Friday from Paul Kelly, the executive director.
“While the N.H.L.P.A. does not condone Sean’s comments, which were clearly inappropriate, the discipline imposed by the Commissioner is unprecedented both in its severity, as well as the process by which it was handed down,” the statement said. “We have also seen signals from the Dallas Stars that Sean’s contractual rights might be challenged. We are monitoring the situation as it develops, and we will evaluate all legal options as the circumstances warrant.”
Bettman said Avery had received several warnings from league officials, including from him directly, about his behavior in the past.
Avery has a history of on-ice provocations, including several in his stint with the Rangers, who acquired him in a trade. In November 2007, he was fined $2,500 for sparking what nearly became a brawl while the Rangers and the Maple Leafs warmed up before a game in Toronto. During the playoffs in April, the league instituted a rule after Avery attempted to distract Devils goalie Martin Brodeur by facing him, then waving his stick in Brodeur’s face.
As a member of the Stars, he was involved in a screaming match with a television broadcaster in October, between periods of a game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden; and he was accused of verbal abuse by fans during at least two games. Bettman said the league had tried to investigate those incidents but did not find enough independent corroboration.
