Sean Avery Voted Off NHL's Dirtiest Player Poll

The new and improved Sean Avery, after anger management, is no longer the NHL's dirtiest player, according to a new poll by Sports Illustrated.

The Canadian Press and The Hockey News report that Chris Pronger, Steve Ott, and Jarkko Ruutu all finished ahead of Avery in the latest survey of NHL players.

Pronger and Ott were named the dirtiest players in the NHL, in a tie for first place, with Ruutu following them. Avery and Scott Hartnell were the next two in line.
 
No mention was made of Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals, currently suspended from the Stanley Cup playoffs for re-arranging the orbital bones in the face of Blair Betts of the New York Rangers. Brashear was recently reported to be jumping to the KHL but denied the reports.

Sports Illustrated polled 324 NHL players.

Pronger, now playing for the Anaheim Ducks, was the Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player in 1999-2000. He has been suspended eight times in his career.

Last year Pronger was suspended by the NHL for eight games after he stomped on the leg of Ryan Kesler during a game against the Vancouver Canucks. During the playoffs the year before, he was suspended twice for different incidents.

Ott, playing for the Dallas Stars, was the most penalized player, on a percentage basis, this year. He got a one game suspension this year for eye gouging. 

Ruutu was suspended two games for biting this year, and another two for elbowing another enforcer in the head.

Avery dominated the poll last year with close to one quarter of the votes. He was suspended for trash-talking on TV this year and then dumped by the Dallas Stars. But he went to anger management and played his way back into the NHL, via the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL.

When he rejoined the Rangers, he was called "Deepak Chopra on skates" and reporters said he played with a "Zen-like" mind.

This year, Avery was called the Rangers' best forward, especially in their final games of the regular season and the playoffs, but he was suspended one game by his coach, John Tortorella, for taking too many penalties.

Tortorella then got suspended by the NHL for fighting with fans in Washington.