Hey folks,
I'ts late, I've got an early flight to Edmonton, so I'm going to keep this short (sort of). Just as far as everything that happened tonight, it seems like a little quote turned into a big mess. But after listening to players and GMs and everything else, I'm sensing this: As far as the Stars' reaction, this goes way beyond one quote on one morning. Co-GM Les Jackson's quote is what sticks out most for me:
"Sean hasn’t respected the league, the game, the Stars, Mr. Hicks. He hasn’t represented anyone professionally."
To me, that speaks volumes. Jackson is a very calm man, one that does not overreact to things. And I have a hard time believing that Avery's Tuesday rant was the only thing bothering him. Just my read, of course, but it seems odd. You never know what's been going on behind the scenes, and this incident may have been the final straw for some folks.
Question is, what do you do with a guy you've signed for 4 years and $15.5 million? I don't know if there are clauses in Avery's contract regarding behavior (I'm not a lawyer kids, so I'm not even going to try and break down someone's contract).
I don't know about it all. I do know that there are a lot of long-standing Stars who are unhappy with all of this. We'll see what shakes out of it.
The comments from Stars players, Jackson and Hull got me to thinking also. Just this one comment seemed to be a little overreaction. Guess there was more things finally rising to the surface. Glad I'm not the one dealing with the contract. It's like Avery didn't care except about himself. Maybe he was a disruption on the team in ways people outside didn't see. Who knows. Stars won. Yippeeee.
Posted by: Dwain | December 03, 2008 at 07:06 AM
What is the situation with a team having to buy out a player's contract, how much money are the obligated to pay? The entire cap hit for the remainder of a contract? What about releasing a player? ... just wishful thinking...
Depending on how successful we rate the Richards deal (which I'm inclined to support approx. 8 out of 10 times), I think the Avery signing makes the tenure so far of Hully and Jackson a wash. I wonder how much more chemistry there is between the guys in the locker room with Avery not there? Game one without Avery: success.
Posted by: rev0lver19 | December 03, 2008 at 09:15 AM
Oh just one more thought:
Isn't it nice that the Stars have enough class to require a certain level on conduct from their players?
If this happens with the Cowboys, (perhaps in the variety of a plagued corner fighting his own bodyguard at a night club and being suspended by the league multiple times, and yet still allowing him a roster spot?!) ... well... I think we can determine how the cowboys would treat this situation...
Posted by: rev0lver19 | December 03, 2008 at 09:32 AM
Oh just one more thought:
Isn't it nice that the Stars have enough class to require a certain level on conduct from their players?
If this happens with the Cowboys, (perhaps in the variety of a plagued corner fighting his own bodyguard at a night club and being suspended by the league multiple times, and yet still allowing him a roster spot?!) ... well... I think we can determine how the cowboys would treat this situation...
Posted by: rev0lver19 | December 03, 2008 at 09:36 AM
Most definitely, this is the tip of the iceberg. There must be more going on that is not being mentioned for what amounts to a bit of trash talk from an agitator. Looks like we will have to wait and see what Les and Brett wish to divulge as they deal with the Avery issue.
Posted by: Dan Stormes | December 03, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Guess we should remember what they say about an injured player, "out with an upper body injury". The rest of the iceberg is "his foot fell completely off".
Posted by: Dwain | December 03, 2008 at 11:56 AM