Tortorella Sounds Off On Sharks Thornton For Postgame Comments

Following the New York Rangers 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks Monday night, Sharks captain Joe Thornton described New York as  the softest team they played against on their six-game road trip and that they should have beaten them.  There are a lot of terms used to describe the New York Rangers, but soft is rarely if ever one of them with the style of play they use.

Thornton tried to pull back from those remarks today, but after initially brushing the comments off last night Rangers' coach John Tortorella is now sounding off according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News.  

“Yeah it caught me off-guard when it was brought up after the game,” Tortorella said at the team’s Greenburgh practice facility Tuesday morning. “It surprised me, and I’ve never heard a player say that. Joe’s a heck of a player, but here’s a player popping off about our team, and Joe hasn’t won a g--damn thing in this league. He could go down as a player, being one of the better players in our league never to win anything. So what he should do is just shut up. It was uncalled for, it was classless, and I’ve never had it happen like that before.”

Tortorella is absolutely right here to bash Thornton for calling another team soft when he has yet to win a Stanley Cup and his team has been seen as a chronic underachiever in the playoffs because they haven't been tough enough.  However, it is also pretty clear from the video that Thornton was frustrated with his team's effort and seemed to be reaching for another word to describe their lackluster effort against a team that had been struggling.  In trying to tell his team that they have to get up for every game no matter how the opposing team is playing coming in Thornton stuck his foot in his mouth and now Tortorella is jumping on it.

Video of Thornton's comments via The Score:  

Sean Avery Clears Re-Entry Waivers, Recalled By Rangers

According to Bob McKenzie New York Rangers forward Sean Avery has cleared waivers.  Clearing waivers sets the stage for the Rangers to recall Avery before Thursday's game against Anaheim, but as coach John Tortorella hinted after last night's game that is no guarantee Avery will be in the lineup.  It is true amazing that a fourth line player, at this stage of his career, could create such controversy over whether he is in the NHL or not and now will only start the real fireworks waiting to see if and how he is used.  Avery is nothing if not entertaining.

Update (12:15 pm): The New York Rangers announced via their official twitter that Sean Avery has indeed been recalled by the team.  Now we wait to see if he will dress Thursday.

Would Islanders Actually Claim Sean Avery?

There only a few more hours until the New York Rangers find out whether or not Sean Avery has been claimed by another team on re-entry waivers.  While it has been generally assumed that Avery would go unclaimed, Larry Brooks at the New York Post reports that Islanders' general manager Garth Snow has been quiet concerning his intentions in regards to Avery and whether he will place a claim. 

This is mainly speculation that was fueled to some extent by the Islanders putting  Trevor Gillies on waivers yesterday and the fact the Islanders could just look to stick it to the Rangers on the ice and in wasting salary cap space, but I don't see Snow actually pulling the trigger on the move.  The move would sell some tickets to Islanders games, but it would be seen as petty to hurt the Rangers instead of genuinely trying to help his own club.