Monday, August 1, 2011

Frolov Refutes Russian Story Claiming He Said Avery Made Racial Slurs


According to Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News, Alex Frolov has refuted the claims made by Sports Express in their interview with Frolov.
The notion of Avery getting into trouble with his mouth was hardly groundbreaking, but the interview with Frolov on sport.ru quoted the former Rangers left wing as saying that Avery “called opponents ‘black monkeys.’” Frolov vehemently denied having said that.

“I didn’t say anything about Aves calling someone bad language – I was saying he’s really emotional and that in the past he could say the wrong thing,” Frolov told The News. “It wasn’t particularly about black people. He doesn’t have anything against black people. I mean, he’s a nice person, and he wouldn’t say something bad about black people or Asian people or any kind of people. It’s some kind of misunderstanding.”

“I never heard him call anyone anything like that,” Frolov told The News. “Russian journalists, they were asking about him, and sometimes he could say something stupid, especially in the past. He’s not a bad person. He’s a good guy. … I didn’t try to say anything bad about Aves or say that he was trying to say something bad about anyone else.”
This only reinforces the notion that if the event ever did happen it was in the past when they were together in Los Angeles, but the denial by Frolov of even having it happen then should quell whatever negative was going to be lashed on Avery this time.

Alex Frolov Accuses Sean Avery of Using Racial Slurs During Russian Interview

Update: Frolov Refutes Story, Claims Was Misquoted

To see an accusation made about Sean Avery is not all that surprising.  To see Alex Frolov who was teammates with Avery in New York and Los Angeles make the accusation about the man who is supposedly his friend is a little more so.  Frolov, in an interview with sports.ru, was asked about playing with Avery and why he is such a lightning rod for controversy around the NHL.  The answer Frolov gave and the accusations that Avery used racial slurs against opponent’s will only add to the controversy that surrounds Avery. 

Did Staal, Callahan, Dubinsky Really Take Less To Stay Rangers?


In his column yesterday, Larry Brooks of the New York Post contended that both Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan this year and Marc Staal last season took less to return to the New York Rangers this summer.

Callahan took less to stay, there is no doubt about that. Dubinsky probably took less to stay. Marc Staal (five years at $3.975M per) probably took less to stay under the contract he signed last summer.
These are the Bluebloods. This is what you want from your core. These are the character people you want at your core.
More after the jump...