Can We Please Kill This Stupid Regulation Tie Nonsense?

Keeping a close eye on Larry Brooks, like I always do I came across this Sean Avery arbitration whining...er...article. I have to take issue with this 17-6-6 record that the Rangers had after acquiring Avery from the Kings.

Under the old rules, that 17-6-6 record would mean 17 wins, 6 losses, and 6 ties so the Rangers would be 11 games over .500 with Avery. However, it is actually, 17 wins and 12 losses with six of those losses occurring after three full periods of hockey. So I'm supposed to believe that a player is that inspirational that he can lead them to 5 games over .500? Now when you look at the Rangers "Bettmanized" record of 25-23-4 on the day of the trade, you see that the Rangers were two games under (they would lose that night in regulation 4-3 to Detroit) .500 and finished off the season a staggering 42-30-10 good for 2 games over .500 once you adjust for Gary Bettman.

But of course that is what the "Overtime Loss" is all about, point and record inflation. Fact of the matter is, despite glowing reviews from his coaches, Sean Avery didn't have that large of an impact on the team. The entire season before the Rangers were 44-38 (44-26-12 for you Bettman disciples) without Sean Avery. It should be interesting to see what the Rangers do with a full season of Sean Avery on their roster.

How much of an impact Sean Avery can have is debatable but to sit there and argue that he's the sole reason the Rangers "turned things around" from 3 games under .500 to 2 games over .500 is laughable especially when Brendan Shanahan, Jaromir Jagr, and Henrik Lundquivst are on the same team. Though when it comes to hating Gary Bettman, I thought Larry Brooks had no equal. I guess that's only when it suits his purposes...