Category: NHL (Page 31 of 44)

Sean Avery may be ready to come back to the NHL, but his team isn’t ready to have him back. The Dallas Stars are reporting that Avery won’t be back with the team – ever.

“You have to do what’s right for both parties, and that’s what we’re really trying to do,” co-general manager Brett Hull said.

Avery was only 23 games into a four-year, $15.5 million deal when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman suspended him for a crude remark about ex-girlfriends dating other hockey players. Simmering tension between Avery and his teammates and his coach boiled over in the aftermath, with the dressing room united in its stance against him ever wearing a Stars sweater again.

“I thought [Sean] could bring a little bit of a change in our locker room and on the ice which I thought was missing,” Hull said. “Obviously, it went overboard and didn’t work out.”

Details of Avery’s departure still must be worked out. He could be traded, sent to the minors or bought out next summer. The club said it will work with Avery to try making this an amicable divorce. They won’t try voiding his contract on grounds he’s violated the conduct clause.

Yet there’s no telling when Avery will play again.

He’s at an undisclosed location seeking treatment through a program set up by the NHL players association. When he was suspended, Avery told the Stars he needed help dealing with anger issues. Hull said Avery is in a 10-day, voluntary program that could be extended if counselors determine he needs a longer stay.

Avery’s agent and publicist did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

See what happens when you trash Elisha Cuthbert? You get booted from the NHL.

Who’s the sloppy seconds now, Sean?