Avery permitted to speak to other teams

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

THIS is either a ploy by Glen Sather to allow the competition to es tablish a dollar value for Sean Avery that he will match, or it is evidence that the GM simply doesn’t understand what the New York Rangers have in this impending-free-agent difference-maker.

Slap Shots has learned that Sather late last week granted permission to Avery’s agent, Pat Morris, to negotiate with any interested NHL team in advance of Tuesday’s official opening of the free-agent market.

Read more about the Avery situation here.

Larry Brooks might as well be Avery’s agent. No one loves Avery likes Brooks does, and as part of his love for the feisty winger, he overstates his importance to the Rangers cause. While Avery is better than most give him credit for, his loss won’t be as awful as Brooks makes it seem. He is an energetic player with a fair amount of talent; however, if he was that good, then why would the Kings and Wings have given up on him beforehand? The Rangers would be better off spending that $4 million that Avery will probably get on a defenseman.