Sean Avery Makes All-Time New York Rangers Fantasy Team

Steve Held, writing in BR, put Sean Avery on the third line of his all-time New York Rangers fantasy team, saying, "I want some more grit, so I'm taking Sean Avery. Although he was let go after a year and half on Broadway, his point production, especially in the playoffs, and deft ability to throw opponents off their games nestled him deep into the hearts of Rangers fans."

I think Avery was right: New York Ranger money was placed in the wrong places.  The New York Rangers let Avery go and the Dallas Stars jumped at the opportunity.  Rather than bite the bullet and give Sean more money, money that he surely earned during his time on Broadway, the Rangers sought out a "better" player.

Instead of spending $3.5 million on Avery, whose presence was felt every time he skated for the Rangers (especially in the playoffs), Glen Sather decided to throw $5 million at Markus Naslund, not to mention Wade Redden.

According to the Sporting News, Avery said the the Rangers "spent (money) on guys they shouldn't have spent it on." He continued, "New York is a tough place to play. Markus Naslund is going to have a tough time, so is Wade Redden."

In 88 regular-season games for New York, Avery put up 53 points, along with 12 in 18 playoff games. All the while he played on the second or third line. Avery is young, decently talented, hard working, responsible and, unlike many players near his age, actually wanted to play in New York.

Naslund produced an admirable 60 and 55 points in each of the last two seasons playing on a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin (possibly the best puck-possession duo in the league). He was also at home on the top power play unit.

In 64 games, he has 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points. In 23 games with the Dallas Stars, Avery had three goals and seven assists for 10 points. It's easy to imagine Avery as a 20-goal scorer this year with the Rangers, if they hadn't lost him to Dallas. And he always got more assists than goals.

Avery has made more than one all-time fantasy roster.

There are plenty of great players to choose from—Shanahan, Lindros, Bure, Jagr, Marcel Dionne, Gretzky, the list goes on. Jean Ratelle, Don Maloney, Andy Bathgate, Adam Graves...

My first line is Wayne Gretzky at centre with Mark Messier and Adam Graves on the wings.

What else needs to be said? Mess is a rugged competitor. Graves held the Rangers single season goal scoring record for over a decade and Rod is has the most goals in Rangers history and the second most assists.

My second line has Rod Gilbert and Jaromir Jagr playing with Sean Avery.

My third line: Jean Ratelle centring Brad Park and Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion.

My top four defensemen are Brian Leetch, Jeff Beukeboom, Sergei Zubov, and Mattias Norstrom.

Goaltenders: Eddie Giacomin and Terry Sawchuk.