Sean Avery

A fan-favorite at Madison Square Garden is making a comeback, as the Rangers have called up Sean Avery from the Hartford Whale.  Avery has been a fan-favorite because of his playing style.  He does everything possible to annoy the other team, and it seems to work.  The NHL even imposed the "Avery rule"after he interfered with goalie Martin Brodeur during a game by standing in front of him and waving his stick in his face, distracting him, which led to a Rangers goal.  The ESPN "Cross Checks" blog is saying that Avery's return to the Rangers won't be very significant.  Avery's play has deteriorated with his age, but I still think that he'll be a spark plug for the Rangers. The author of ESPN's blog thinks that Avery won't appear in many games for the Rangers, even though tons of fans will be chanting his name.  He's a character, and the fans love him.  John Tortorella, the head coach of the Rangers, does not view Avery as an impact player, even though many of the fans do.  It will be interesting to see how much playing time Sean Avery gets, and if the fans chanting will affect Coach Tortorella's decision to play him.