It seems as if the Dallas Stars can't rid themselves of their failed Sean Avery experiment no matter how hard they try. After the Stars signed him to a lucrative four year deal yielding a cap hit of $3.875 million a year, they got the New York Rangers to take him back while having to foot the bill for half the salary. Now that the Rangers have waived Avery with no claim, he has reported to Connecticut of the AHL. Citing NHL rules, if a one way player goes to the minors, no team is liable for said player in regards to the salary cap.This scenario would likely benefit most clubs looking to free up space for improvement, however, Dallas is not one of them. With the ownership situation in limbo, Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk has been instructed to operate close to the NHL salary floor. With the Stars responsible for half of Avery's cap hit, that number will come off the books now that he is slated for AHL duty. One would see this as a blessing, however, this places Dallas under the floor which is prohibited by NHL bylaws. Even with defenceman Adam Pardy coming off of injured reserve, the Stars will be approximately $300,000 under the salary cap floor. This means Dallas will have to either trade for a player of higher value or sign a free agent veteran to the veteran minimum plus bonuses to reach the floor. The other option which may prove to be desirable is to trade for a player that is on long term injury reserve to count against the cap with hopes that said player can contribute at some level when deemed healthy.
For the organizations sake, let's hope that a beneficial transaction can occur to improve the roster and finally be the Excedrin that alleviates the ever throbbing migraine that is Sean Avery.
-Dustin Lundberg
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