Chris Drury Out, Sean Avery In As New York Rangers Captain

John Tortorella, a.k.a. Torts, the controversial new coach of the New York Rangers, is not the Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton of the NHL.

In a position dominated by white men from Canada, he is an outspoken American from Boston, famous for taking a Florida team to the Stanley Cup, and is more like the Sean Avery of coaches.

Chris Drury be warned: This is the coach who stripped Vincent Lecavalier of his captaincy.

The superstar of the Tampa Bay Lightning was one of the youngest captains in NHL history. Tortorella ripped the C off his chest.

Lecavalier considered leaving the team and taking an offer to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Drury recently took the blame for the decline of the Rangers, who got off to a great start this season but suffered a midseason slump in February. A team with Stanley Cup potential now has to fight hard just to make it into the playoffs.

Drury blamed his own leadership and on-ice performance even though the entire team has been accused of playing in a listless, lacklustre, manner for the past month.
 
Prediction: Tortorella will strip Drury of his captaincy.

But who will he give the big C to?

How about a guy who used to be called cancer in the locker room and who appears to have cured that cancer?

Who did Rangers fans call the spine of their team last year? Who played his spleen out for the club? Who was regarded as the spark-plug of the Rangers when he ignited the team the last time they were talent-rich but underachieving? Who is languishing in AHL hell with the Rangers affiliate team right now?

John Tortorella may be the Sean Avery of NHL coaches, but he hates Sean Avery. On TSN, the Canadian sports network, earlier this season, Tortorella ranted about Avery, saying he didn't even belong in the NHL. More recently, Tortorella told reporters he didn't even want to talk about Sean Avery.

However, Rangers GM Glen Sather has gone on record saying he loves Avery—and Torotella will learn to love him, too, once he realizes the history he has with the team.

Rangers fans and New York media called for Renney's head and the return of Avery. Renney's gone and Avery is languishing in Hartford, not far away, playing himself into game shape, helping the Wolf Pack go on their longest winning streak this year.

From all accounts, after anger management, Avery is a changed man. He has been described as diplomatic, even called Deepak Chopra on hockey skates. But he has demonstrated his old tricks on the ice, chirping and agitating, getting in scuffles and skirmishes, and assisting on a game-winning goal in overtime.

Time is running out for the Rangers to take Avery away from the Dallas Stars, who are still paying him. The March 4 NHL trade deadline looms.

Many would argue that Sean Avery is not all the Rangers need, as their defence has not been strong and their scorers have not been putting the puck in the net. Others say the Rangers are still loaded with talent and they just need a spark plug to get them going again, the way they started the season.

With Avery and Tortorella, the team would have two spark plugs, and the rest of the league would have something to worry about in New York City.