Sean Avery is an interesting guy. I say interesting because I don't have another word to describe him. Back in his playing days, I absolutely despised this guy with everything I had. He was a scumbag on the ice and was involved in a number of bizarre incidents over the years. I HATED watching the Pens play this guy because he was a wild card, even more so than some of the wild cards we had on our own teams over the years. When he retired I couldn't have been happier. But in the years since he retired, I actually found myself pretty entertained by some of the things he would post about. He did a couple of interviews with the incredible Spittin' Chiclets podcast, and it really gave some perspective inside the mind of the guy most of us considered an actual lunatic. He made it known that all of the antics we knew so well were just a huge part of his game, and ultimately it was his job to create that chaos. Doesn't mean I like him any more for it, but perspective in any situation helps. Admittedly he is also pretty entertaining on social media. He often posts videos where he doesn't hold back on opinions of current NHL stars, or even people on the street that he comes across that bother the hell out of him. Isn't it the worst feeling when you actually agree with something that someone you hated says? That's exactly how I feel about Sean Avery.
I'm not sure if this is a publicity stunt by an ECHL team to drive some interest/ticket sales, or if Avery wants a legit shot at making a comeback. He talked a few times about using the rest of this season to get prepared and ready for a run at an actual NHL training camp, but I guess we will have to wait and see if he still has the ability and the mojo to be as effective as he used to be. Love him or hate him, we can all admit that his presence was always known, regardless of what team he played for.
And in case you forgot all of the ridiculous antics I was referring to, here's a refresher for ya:
And here's those post career social media videos that I told you were pretty entertaining. Definitely NSFW: