Stars @ Oilers & Avery Quotable Quotes

Garon starts. Robbie Schremp plays for Nilsson. The legend continues.

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Proof that readers and writers of our OilersNation have more common sense than TSN

By Jeanshorts:

"I have always hated Sean Avery and the fact that most, if not all of his team, and his GM hate him just as much as everyone else in the league makes me giddy.
And lets be honest, the only reason he’s still in the league is because he’s good at pissing off every single person around him. Because the dude doesn’t hit, doesn’t fight, he can barely handle the puck and he’s a career third liner at best.

But I think it’s ridiculous that the league suspended him for making fun of no one in particular. Sure you know it was aimed at Shrek, but he didn’t come right out and trash him personally. If that kind of thing warrents a suspension then god forbid the league gets anywhere within hearing distance of the ice during a game, because you know that the stuff that comes out in the coarse of a game is 20 times worse. Let the players police themselves, and you won’t get Sean Avery’s running their mouths without fear of retaliation."

"Someone made a really good point on Off The Record yesterday. Basically, if he would have said it on the ice, like you said, no one would have known and it would have been taken care of by the players. But since he did say it in a media scrum and it got all this immediate attention, now Double Dion has to deal with it with his wooms, and now she is involved personally.

I still don’t agree he should have had that thick NHL rule book hurled at him by the Munchkin King in New York, but leave it to the NHL to have knee jerk reactions about everything."

By ThoughtPolice:

"I can’t believe that they suspended Avery over this of all things. Everyone is applauding this decision but it was made at completely the wrong time IMO. Why not punish him for his racial slurs against Georges and Gauthier? things he said to Tucker? And numerous other altercations?

His comment today was harmless only meant to rile up Phaneuf and his ex. I agree it wasn’t smart to say or kind but since when do we censor people for speaking their mind when the speech is clean?….since today in the NHL i guess."

By oilboy76:

"I see what your saying, and I think if this was an isolated incident(ie:not someone like Avery who’s always running on like a soup sandwich) it would of been dismissed as being an ignorant and rude remark."

By Travis Dakin:

"What Avery said was true, plain and simple. At the end of the day, we don’t know what has been said and done in their personal lives that may have contributed to Avery saying what he said. Fact is he may have been over the line with the comments, but he was ready to back it up on the ice. I admire that. Now go back to your bible and pay for the power of christ to compel Avery of his wicked ways. Do you see that black thing on your coffee table with all the buttons? Use it to change the channel or turn the TV off. I’m sure you are capable of making your own decisions as to what you would like to watch or not. Ridiculous."

"You cheer for a game where fighting is allowed and attempts to injure players go pretty much un-punished because that’s “rough and tough hockey” and yet when a player says something to anger another player and is ready to back it up, you get your panties all bunched up in a knot because some moral code was broken? If you want to play moral police, go preach to some sunday school kids. Otherwise, let the grown men playing a game for a living be themselves. And like I said, He was ready to back it up on the ice that same night. Had he said it from across the continent with no fear of retribution, I’d say he was a pussy. But no, just a damn fine showman and funny as hell."

And finally, Scott Gallof, a blogger from Hockeybuzz.com:

"When the NHL decided to suspend Sean Avery for meaningless comments he made in an interview, a big opportunity was lost to actually generate some interest and buzz about a game. The very second Sean Avery was moved from the line up for last night's game against Dion Phanenuf and the Calgary Flames all national interest in said game was gone. The casual American public needs story lines and drama to be interested. Now I wish I could sit here and state that the public should watch for the beauty of the game, and gosh darn it they should, but this is reality.

You need to know your buyers when you try to sell something. Gary Bettman and the rest of the NHL brass seem to have no idea to what the typical American audience is actually genuinely looking for. Sometimes you need to have that Reggie Dunlop ideology and make the people crazy and clamor for something.

If the league really feels the need to punish Sean Avery for those oh-so not nice, hurtful, callous comments, then slap him with a huge fine and go after his Gucci wallet, but let the conflict resolve where it needs to, right on the ice in the game of the week. Instead, Gary Bettman wants to coddle the public and keep them safe, to me it's like he's saying, "What would the public think with such crass comments coming from a hockey player!" Well, Gary I got news for you, right now Joe Public isn't thinking much of anything concerning hockey."