Just when you thought he was out, Sean Avery might be back in.
That’s the word from Larry Brooks, who provides details of how the Rangers might throw Avery a bone by recalling him from AHL Connecticut, thus allowing another NHL team to claim him off waivers.
According to NHL By-laws 12 and 28, players claimed on re-entry following the trade deadline are not eligible to play in either the remainder of the regular season or in the playoffs.
With the NHL trade deadline Monday at 3 p.m., and the weekend waiver period lasting for 48 hours, the Rangers would thus have to make their decision regarding Avery no later than Saturday morning so he would be eligible for claim by noon Monday.
If another team claims Avery, the Rangers would be dinged with a cap charge slightly over $200,000 -- but if Avery goes unclaimed, they’ll just put him back on waivers and re-assign him to the Whale.
This move (well, potential move) sounds like a last-ditch effort for Avery to salvage something from this season. He hasn’t played since an ugly incident on Jan. 27 when he scored a goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, jumped a Penguins defenseman and racked up 14 penalty minutes.