The former Ranger was discussing the series on his podcast. He took a rather outlandish take in the segment, saying that Rangers rookie Matt Rempe should deliberately try to injure Sam Bennett early in the series, going so far as to say that he should just accept a major penalty, saying, "we'll kill off the five minute major."
Of course, this kind of discourse is not entirely unexpected from a player of Avery's caliber. The former Ranger played in 580 career NHL games and scored at a reasonable rate with 90 career goals and 247 points. However, he also had over 1500 career penalty minutes, including eight seasons with over 100 PIMs and two with over 200 PIMs. Fellow former NHLer turned analyst Paul Bissonnette also think Rempe should be a big factor in the series.
Rempe has become highly controversial since his NHL debut earlier this season. He clearly can be effective in causing chaos, but he often hurts his own team by taking undisciplined penalties, feeding into the other team's energy. He certainly does not score much, with just three points in 24 games regular season and playoffs combined.
That being said, scoring is not the only thing about playoff hockey. Hopefully Rempe will remain an effective player for the Rangers going into the Eastern Conference final without crossing the line.
POLL | ||
Who do you think will win the Eastern Conference final matchup between the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers | ||
Rangers | 125 | 49 % |
Panthers | 130 | 51 % |
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