Rumour has it that, after anger management, Sean Avery plans to begin skating solo—and the Dallas Stars are revisiting their options on what to do with him.
The Stars banished Avery shortly after his six-game suspension by the NHL, but it appears the gritty winger has not given up on playing this season, and perhaps the Stars have not given up on him either.
Sportsnet reports that Avery plans to begin skating on his own, without his team in the next week or so while he continues to receive counseling.
Avery hasn''t stepped onto the ice since December when the league suspended him six games for making inappropriate comments to the media just before a game in Calgary against the Flames.
The Stars were in last place at the time Avery was suspended, but have climbed back into play-off contention.
Avery, like the Stars, was off to a sluggish start. Dallas has gone 15-7-3 without Avery. Although some have made Avery the scapegoat, others put the blame on illness and inexperience in the first half of the season.
Avery's performance largely mirrored the Stars' sluggish early performance. In 23 games, he scored three goals, had seven assists, plus 49 shots on goal, and a league-leading 77 minutes in penalties before he and the team parted ways due to controversial remarks about fellow NHL players.
During a morning skate in Calgary, Avery approached a camera and reporters to make a comment about Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf dating actress Elisha Cuthbert, Avery's former girlfriend.
Avery released a written apology, saying he recognized his comments were inappropriate.
In his defence, he said it was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game.
He apologized for offending the fans of the NHL, the commissioner, his teammates, the coaching staff, and the Dallas Stars management and ownership.
At the time, Stars coach Dave Tippett didn't want Avery to return to the club.
Before joining the Stars, Avery was a hit in New York with the Rangers, causing controversy that led to "The Avery Rule". Before that, he led the league in penalties for a couple of years with the L.A. Kings.
Prior to playing for the Kings, Avery earned a walk-on job with the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, after going undrafted after playing for the Kingston Frontenacs and the Owen Sound Platers in the Ontario Hockey League.
Avery's success in the role of agent provocateur, distracting other players, made him one of the most reviled players in the league. Hockey hell-raiser Sean Avery became the league's most notorious agitator. NHL players voted him the most hated player around the same time People magazine included him in their list for "Sexiest Man Alive".
After his second season with the New York Rangers, Avery spent a summer as an intern with Vogue. He wound up as guest editor for Men's Vogue, where he wrote about his love of fashion, contributed to a magazine piece criticising the worst uniforms in sports history, and was photographed in the closet surrounded by designer clothing.
After all that, there were reports of Avery not fitting in when he joined the Stars in Dallas, for some reason.
While in New York and L.A., Avery was romantically linked to Elisha Cuthbert, who plays Jack Bauer's daughter on 24, and to Playboy and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Rachel Hunter.
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