From the for what it's worth file...

 

Sean Avery antics rate in the big picture

Thursday, April 17th 2008, 8:37 PM

 

 

McIsaac/Getty

 

Sean Avery can only help NHL in ratings game.

 

The same question has exited the mouths of inquiring minds for countless years: When is the National Hockey League going to to consistently generate TV ratings higher than those produced by the Emergency Broadcast System?

 

Don't expect any answers here. Far greater minds, employed for the express purpose of extricating the NHL from the ratings toilet, are working to figure all this out.

 

Still, in a snapshot kind of way, there comes evidence of a difference-making factor, albeit one Gary Bettman & Co. cannot mass produce and probably don't like. Hockey, mostly because fighting is part of the game, has always had freak-show appeal.

 

But judging by hockey's anemic TV ratings, guys pounding on each other has never really corraled and held casual fans, the key element in determining whether a sport is going to get higher ratings than a Billy Mays HandySwitch infomercial.

 

Live sporting events were the original reality TV. Yet "reality" was confined to what's happening on a playing field. What would happen if a team had a particular player whose personality was aligned with the "stars" of current reality TV programs? A player whose life, publicly played out, became a viable and entertaining subplot to the game he plays.

 

Enter Sean Avery.

 

The gossip columns often reveal what Celebrahoney he's dating. He landed on the front page of the Daily News (Mark Messier was the last hockey player to be seen there, when he retired) when his name and cell phone number showed up in the records of Maison de L'Amour, a "midrange" prostitution service.

 

When Avery is talking - which he isn't right now - he does not hold back an opinion. (When asked why he had not signed a new Rangers contract, he said: "It's the moo-lah, doo-lah.") Even when Avery's in Greta Garbo mode he still "speaks" his mind. Like the other day, when he flipped off a Ch.4 camera.

 

In the arena, not only is Avery a major irritant to the opposition, but a creative one. That "faceguarding" maneuver on Martin Brodeur inspired hours of sports talk. Much of it from talkies who are allergic to ice.

 

Avery created a buzz. That's good for the sport, especially in this town where, for the masses and media decision-makers, hockey is not even a blip on the radar.

 

Avery can play. Nonetheless, there's always an undercurrent about his teammates not liking him because he's a distraction.

 

That's part of his mystique, too. All this stuff, capped off by his stick-waving antics with Brodeur, has people outside of hockey's hard-core fan base tuning in just to see what Avery might do next. The attention Avery has drawn can't hurt from a ratings standpoint. (The Rangers' playoff ratings are up over last year's first round.)

 

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"In a perverse sort of way, Avery is good for TV ratings," said Neil Smith, the former Rangers GM who presided over the team when it won the Stanley Cup and was a legit ratings magnet. "But I'm sure if somebody stood in front of the goalie and pulled his pants down that would attract attention, too."

 

This is why, when they discuss their ratings problem and strategies to deal with it, NHL suits are not likely proposing any marketing campaigns featuring Avery. Smith described the NHL's culture as "pretty conservative." He said it is populated by "rule followers." That's why stars such as Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby or Washington's Alexander Ovechkin are designated standard-bearers.

 

"Avery is an oddity. He really is," said Smith, who is working as an analyst for Versus during the playoffs. "He's been this way, way back to when he played junior hockey. This is not an act. He's done outrageous things and said outrageous things his entire career."

 

While not being as freaky or distracting, Avery is reminiscent of another sports "oddity" - Dennis Rodman. While David Stern did not make The Worm the centerpiece of any NBA marketing campaigns, the commissioner did not discourage any local marketing of Rodman. A giant Rodman billboard in Chicago, where the color of his hair regularly changed (on the billboard, too), still comes to mind.

 

Rodman contributed to five NBA title teams (twice with Detroit, three times with Chicago). If the Rangers go deep into the playoffs, even win the Stanley Cup, Avery's "reputation" will be further magnified and enhanced.

 

Glen Sather, or any other GM for that matter, will not be factoring Avery's quirky marquee value into the equation determining what a team is willing to pay him. His contract expires at the end of the season. Avery is looking for $4.2 million per year. The Rangers are offering $2.5 million per.

 

Smith believes Avery is going to get big money somewhere.

 

"When he gets that money, when he gets that contract, expectations will change. That's when everything will change," Smith said. "Now, Avery is still a novelty."

 

Absolutely made for TV.

 

braissman@nydailynews.com

 

NY Daily News here

Say good night Devils..."Good Night Devils."

Regarding the Brodeur-Avery love-hate relationship - huh, no handshake last night. From February 2007, keep in mind it's a Devils broadcast Doc Emerick and Glenn "Chico" Resch.

 

Uh, oh ... what's wrong with those Habs ... ???

The Wild can't be done

Uh, oh ... what's wrong with those Habs ... ???

 

Well, at least we'll get to see a hard-fought Game 7.

Uh, oh ... what's wrong with those Habs ... ???

 

Its about failing to seize the initiative.

The Wild can't be done

 

Well there's always the (North) Stars...or is that still a sore subject?

The Wild can't be done

 

Well there's always the (North) Stars...or is that still a sore subject?

 

Grumble Grumble

A big sigh of relief from the Bell Center. Phew!

The Montreal-Boston game was interesting to watch, as long as you weren't a Bruin fan. Regarding the Capitals - Flyers game, aside from a Ranger playoff win, there's not much better than a Flyer playoff loss then perhaps an NY "Icelander" playoff loss, but then again how often does that happen anymore (make the playoff's that is).

And two more teams bite the dust .. the field narrows.

Rangers-Penguins,

Goalie - Rangers

Rangers cannot take any senseless penalties, Penguins' powerplay is too effective.

Penguins defense not as good as Devils, Ranger snipers need to step up and score early and often.

Analysis from the supreme emperor of hockey broadcasting, Hockey Night in Canada ...

 

From CBC Sports

 

The Second Round

Hockey Night In Canada analyst Scott Morrison breaks down the second-round matchups in the East

Last Updated Wed., Apr. 23, 2008

Scott Morrison, CBC Sports

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

 

MONTREAL (1) vs. PHILADELPHIA (6)

 

Montreal:

STRENGTHS: In many ways being forced to seven games by the Bruins showed the Canadiens' strength of character. They saw how rookie goaltender Carey Price could deal with pressure and adversity. They saw their big players, such as Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev, lead the way in Game 7. While Price struggled at times, he is the real deal. Canadiens got production from a variety of sources, including their checking line. Mike Komasarik played well at the back end and the penalty killing was solid.

 

WEAKNESSES: The best power play during the regular season became the worst in the playoffs. The Canadiens had gaps in their offence, meaning the likes of Kovalev and the brothers Kostitsyn had a bookend series, good the first and last games. Price proved beatable. As good as he was, he faltered late in a couple of games and they allowed a limited Boston offence to at times put up big numbers, though Price posted two shutouts. For stretches, the Habs were outplayed by the Bruins and had major defensive breakdowns. As coach Guy Carbonneau put it, he had veteran players making big-time mistakes and his best players weren't his best players on some nights.

 

KEY PLAYER: Koivu. He truly is the leader of that team. He provides another dimension, improves their work in the faceoff circle and allows Christopher Higgins to be comfortable back on the wing.

 

Philadelphia:

STRENGTHS: The Flyers, in large part, proved in the Washington series that they can shut down the dangerous snipers. Kimmo Timmonen and Braydon Coburn were really good and goalie Martin Biron erased some doubts about himself, especially playing back-to-back games to finish the series. Mike Richards looks like he deserves every year in his contract and how can the Flyers not find a way to sign Jeff Carter? Coach John Stevens did a nice job of assembling a game plan to best neutralize a very dangerous Washington team and those same plans will be needed against Montreal. More good news for the Flyers is that Daniel Briere had a good series and will be inspired against Montreal and their angry fans.

 

WEAKNESSES: The power play produced at times, but not often enough, especially if the Canadiens find a way to solve their issues. Holding leads proved a problem in the first and sixth games against the Capitals and could have cost them a chance of advancing. The loss of Mike Knuble to injury will continue to hurt the team. They also relied on a small handful of players to provide the bulk of their offence.

 

KEY PLAYER: Carter. He has the opportunity to slide in the door and be effective in a shutdown role, but also contribute to the offence. This is the chance for him to attach zeroes to his next contract.

 

PITTSBURGH (2) vs. NEW YORK (5)

 

Pittsburgh:

STRENGTHS: They are obviously well-balanced offensively with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Peter Sykora among others. Like we've said before, not too many teams have two great offensive lines. And they have lots of sandpaper beyond that. Sergei Gonchar has been a rock on defence and Marc-Andre Fleury was terrific in net, giving up just five goals. Special teams were also outstanding and when they had the Senators down, they put them out of their misery, another good sign. They showed plenty of poise against Ottawa and a willingness to rough it up when necessary.

 

WEAKNESSES: There weren't many against the Senators, though at times they proved vulnerable in their own end. The biggest factor looking ahead is that because they took care of business so quickly in the first round, sweeping Ottawa, they will have an extended layoff and may lose the edge, at least to start their series. On the plus side, of course, Crosby has had more time to heal, as has Gary Roberts.

 

KEY PLAYER: Roberts. He is very much the leader of this team and established the physical presence early in the Ottawa series.

 

New York :

STRENGTHS: Their overall defensive play is tremendous and Henrik Lundqvist was great in goal against New Jersey. When the Rangers struggled early, coughing up the puck and being uncharacteristically sloppy in their own end, Lundqvist gave them a chance and the Rangers proved opportunistic. Jaromir Jagr looked like his old self, as did Scott Gomez, whose speed was a difference maker. Sean Avery, love him or not, makes an impact on games and makes big-time plays. He is a key to this team's success. They also showed they have great depth, can play it tight if necessary, but have a better attack than what we saw during the regular season. The layoff is just about right.

 

WEAKNESSES: They had moments when they were sloppy in their own end far too often against the Devils, but beyond that there wasn't too much to dislike about their game.

 

KEY PLAYER: Avery. He scores key goals, bugs the opposition and influences games. If he doesn't cross the line he is a very effective player, whose finger prints are usually all over a series.

 

And from CBC Sports

 

The Second Round

Hockey Night In Canada analyst Scott Morrison breaks down the second-round matchups in the West

Last Updated Wed., Apr. 23, 2008

Scott Morrison, CBC Sports

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

 

DETROIT (1) vs. COLORADO (6)

 

Detroit:

STRENGTHS: The Red Wings pretty much played to form in the first round, pushed by Nashville, but finding a way to prevail. They looked good, not great and battled through terrific Nashville goaltending. In the end the likes of Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski fueled the offence, but their depth proved to be significant, too. Their penalty killing was excellent and while Dominik Hasek struggled, they still had a Stanley Cup winner to turn to in Chris Osgood to get the job done. Again, good depth. Niklas Kronwall had a good series and was a physical presence.

 

WEAKNESSES: The power play, which was third-best during the regular season, struggled mightily against the Predators. Hasek was very average in goal, but like we said, Osgood is a good alternative. They may have to ride two goaltenders this spring, but it's still early. Losing twice in Nashville allowed for some element of doubt to creep in, but for whatever reason the Red Wings are a team that is always doubted, or under appreciated. The question still remains about how they will fare against an opponent that has better offence, though again they were great defensively during the regular season.

 

KEY PLAYER: Osgood. If we have seen the last of Hasek, then Osgood is going to have to be consistently very good for the Red Wings to go deep.

 

Colorado:

STRENGTHS: This certainly wouldn't have been said a year ago, but goaltender Jose Theodore is a definitive strength. He was nothing short of brilliant in the first round against Minnesota and had to be. The likes of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk up front, along with Andrew Brunette and Wojtek Wolski were stellar against the Wild. Adam Foote and Ruslan Salei and Kurt Sauer were great at the back end. Foote, especially, was the shutdown guy, consistently frustrating Marian Gaborik. Even though they gave up a lot of shots and chances, the fact that the Avalanche were able to shut down the Wild's big gunners was encouraging. The penalty killing was also good.

 

WEAKNESSES: The Avs had a terrible time protecting leads, though for the longest time they didn't allow the Wild to score until the third period or overtime. But blowing leads is troubling. They also gave up far too many shots and relied too heavily on Theodore. The power play wasn't good and allowed two shorthanded goals. For much of the series young Paul Stastny struggled. They need him to be better.

 

KEY PLAYER: Theodore. As good as Foote was especially, the real shutdown guy was Theodore. Anything less than he delivered in the first round and the Avs are done.

 

SAN JOSE (2) vs. DALLAS (5)

 

San Jose :

STRENGTHS: Just like the Stars, the team they will face, the Sharks are playing monkey-free. Well, sort of. A second-round loss is probably only slightly better than a first-round exit, but being pushed by the Flames to the limit should help. In the end, the Sharks responded in the seventh game with Evgeni Nabokov solid in goal, Joe Thornton showing the grit everyone has wondered about and Patrick Marleau good from start to finish. We all know how good this team can be, so maybe now they can relax and be that good, although Dallas will be a difficult opponent. And if you think it won't be nasty, rewind the tapes of the final meeting of the season. But if Thornton chimes in with timely points, Marleau continues to shine and they get production from deep in the lineup from the likes of Ryan Clowe, the Sharks will be happy.

 

WEAKNESSES: Well, that psyche we talked about as a potential strength is still probably quite fragile. Nabokov was good in the Calgary series, but seemed a tad wobbly in the final game, but he did get the job done. If Kyle McLaren is gone, that hurts the blue-line. Despite out shooting the Flames by a wide margin, they were hard pressed to get that wide margin on the scoreboard and Marty Turco will be every bit as tough to beat. Ron Wilson will also have to resist the temptation to tinker with a winning lineup, as he did in the Calgary series.

 

KEY PLAYER: Marleau. This kid sucks it up and plays hard. He has endured criticism, he has been the poster boy for their failures, but he had a great first round and this is his playoff to shine.

 

Dallas :

STRENGTHS: They are no longer playing with a monkey on their backs. Remember, the Stars hadn't won a playoff round since 2003 and had taken on the reputation of being post-season underachievers. But that is now behind them, along with the defending champions. Against Anaheim, the Stars played with discipline and good defence, their power play punished the undisciplined Ducks. All facets of their game were good, with the Stars looking more like they did in February than in March. Brad Richards proved again he is a big-time playoff performer. Brendan Morrow had a strong series, as did defenceman Stephane Robidas, who really stepped up and played well despite taking a puck in the face. Indeed, the Stars survived quite nicely despite missing defencemen Sergei Zubov and Phillippe Boucher, though you don't want that to be a long-term proposition.

 

WEAKNESSES: Not a lot of weaknesses showed up against the Ducks, though you could argue the penalty killing could still improve slightly, it was working at 79 per cent efficiency. The injuries on the blue-line could eventually become a factor. And we wonder if there is enough scoring to prevail, though that only becomes an issue if the defensive play goes south, and there are no signs of that happening. Meantime, they got production from a lot of different sources.

 

KEY PLAYER: Richards. He is the guy who has gone the distance in the playoffs and played well in the first round. He earned points, but even more significant is he was a plus two, this on the heels of being minus 27 during the regular season.

Habs 4 Flyers 3 in OT. Nerve wrackingly close, but we'll take it.