Deepak Chopra on Skates: A Dozen Quotable Quotes from the New Sean Avery

Sean Avery—the old Sean Avery—was known for colourful, controversial, quoteable quotes. Now that he has graduated from an anger management course, the new Sean Avery sounds more like Deepak Chopra or the author of a self-help book.

Arthur Staple, writing for Newsday and Newsday.com, was the first to call Sean Avery "Deepak Chopra on skates." He said he's talking like a man who's just written a self-help book.

Deepak Chopra is an Indian-American medical doctor and writer who made a guest appearance in the hockey movie called The Love Guru.

He is the author of many books which have been on the New York Times best-seller list, including Quantum Healing, Uncoditional Life: Mastering the Forces that Shape Personal Reality, The Seven Siritual Laws of Success, The Way of the Wizard: Twenty Spiritual Lessons in Creating the Life You Want, The Return of Merlin, Everyday Immortality: A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation, and Manifesting Good Luck Cards and Golf for Enlightenment: The Seven Lessons for the Game of Life.

Avery's change is remarkable and it's reminiscent of that scene in Bull Durham when Kevin Costner as Crash Davis coaches a hot new pitcher how to use sports cliches when talking to reporters.

Crash Davis: It's time to work on your interviews.
Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: My interviews? What do I gotta do?
Crash Davis: You're gonna have to learn your clichés. You're gonna have to study them, you're gonna have to know them. They're your friends. Write this down: "We gotta play it one day at a time."

Speaking to Newsday, a Winnipeg radio station, and Canada's Sportsnet, when he joined the AHL, Avery said: "What I'm worried about right now is today and I'm concentrating on myself today, and the game of hockey. That's all I can think about at this point."

Here's a dozen quotable quotes from the new Avery, which hockey pundits say make him sound like Deepak Chopra on skates.

1. "I just feel happy to be back."

2. "Just feeling like I'm a better person and feeling better about myself is the most important thing."

3. "What I'm worried about right now is today and I'm concentrating on myself today, and the game of hockey. That's all I can think about at this point."

4. "It was just a real important time in my life."

5. "Just one of those things where I took some time to sit back and help myself become a better person. It was amazing. It was something that was important for me as a person, as a man."

6. "Guidelines and timelines aren't really in my plans right now."

7. "Dallas has given me a great opportunity to come and play here right now, and I'm just worrying about today....I missed the game a lot. I like to play."

8. "I felt good. It felt great to be back on the ice, first and foremost."

9. "Actions speak louder than words."

10. "I've been playing hockey for a long time, and my on-ice game has never been an issue," he said. "It's other things I was working on. But I'm sure there's still going to be an element of Sean Avery hockey that's exciting to watch."

11. "It feels nice," Avery said when asked about wearing the Rangers' red, white and blue again. "It's certainly something that brings back good memories. I had some really amazing times there. It's the same colors, just a different team right now."

12. "I would like to sincerely apologize for my off-color remarks to the press yesterday from Calgary. I should not have made those comments and I recognize that they were inappropriate.

"It was a bad attempt to build excitement for the game, but I am now acutely aware of how hurtful my actions were.  I caused unnecessary embarrassment to my peers as well as people I have been close with in the past.

"I apologize for offending the great fans of NHL, the commissioner, my teammates, my coaching staff and the Dallas Stars management and ownership.  As many of you know, I like to mix it up on and off the ice from time to time, but understand that this time I took it too far.”