At the age of 42, former NHLer Sean Avery says he wants back in. Avery appeared on the "Blackballed w/ James di Fiore." podcast this week where he told the host he has a plan to get back to the NHL that has already been set in motion.
"Here's the plan. I've got 7 months to be physically ready to walk on to an NHL training camp. That is a lot of time," said Avery. "Based on how I feel right now physically and how I feel on the ice after skating 6 times after not skating for 10 years. My timing is coming back and it's getting sharper every single time. I can feel it happening."
Avery also said he has a specific team he wants to play for, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"That's the team I want to play for. That's the best team. It's the best state to live in, and I can wear my f---ing Make America Great hats in interviews"
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For now, Avery said he plans on taking his family to either Canada or a northern US state like Minnesota where NHLers are skating over the summer in order to be ready for training camps in September.
Avery was known for his brash personality and trash-talking during his NHL career. That's something he said he wouldn't change.
"Definitely no regretsmy shit talking was part of my arsenal. I was a small player in a big physical league where size dominates. For me that was part survival and part of my tool kit."
While there have been comebacks after some seasons away from the NHL before, I can find no evidence of any player successfully making a comeback after 10 years out of the league. If Avery is really serious about this (and I'm still not sure he is), he has a major uphill climb ahead of him. The increase in the speed of the game alone over the last decade puts him at a big disadvantage. Avery's last game in the NHL was with the New York Rangers during the 2010-11 season.
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