Sean Avery Sean Avery ( born April 10 , 1980 in Pickering , Ontario , Canada ) was a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League . He had formerly played for the New York Rangers , Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings . Prior to the NHL , Avery played for the Owen Sound Platers and the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League . Playing career . Detroit Red Wings ( 1999 – 2003 ) . Avery is a relatively small player ( 5 feet - 9 inches and 185 pounds ) and he was not selected in the NHL Entry Draft . In 1999 , Avery was signed by the Detroit Red Wings and broke into the NHL , playing 36 games , with the Red Wings during the 2001 - 02 season . The Red Wings went on to win the Stanley Cup that season though Avery did not partake in the playoffs . Midway through the 2002 - 03 season , the Los Angeles Kings traded Mathieu Schneider to the Detroit Red Wings for Avery , Maxim Kuznetsov , a first round selection ( Jeff Tambellini ) in 2003 and a second round selection in 2004 . Sean finished the season with 15 points in 51 games . Los Angeles Kings ( 2003 – 2007 ) . During the 2003 - 04 NHL season Avery played 76 games for the Kings , scoring nine goals and 19 assists . Avery also led the NHL in penalty minutes with 261 . During the 2004 - 05 NHL lockout , Avery played in the Finnish SM - liiga for Pelicans Lahti . In 2 games he scored 3 goals , but then left Finland unexpectedly and returned to North America . He then played in the United Hockey League alongside Chris Chelios , Bryan Smolinski , and Derian Hatcher for the Motor City Mechanics . He tallied 26 points in 16 games , 15 goals and 11 assists . Those 15 goals included two hat tricks , allowing Avery to become the first player in Mechanics history to record two hat tricks in one season . He also had 149 penalty minutes . Avery made news during the 2004 - 05 lockout , when he was quoted as saying that the management of the National Hockey League Players Association lied to its members about the lockout . During the 2005 preseason , Denis Gauthier of the Phoenix Coyotes bodychecked Kings forward Jeremy Roenick in a preseason game , giving Roenick a concussion . Avery ' s response was " I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on , running around and playing tough and not back anything up , " giving way to much controversy with the French - Canadian public . Avery also made news during the regular season when Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers , a Black Canadian , claimed that Avery called him a " monkey " during an October 11 , 2005 contest between the two teams . The incident was never proven and Avery adamantly denies it ever occurred . Avery was fined $ 1 , 000 by the NHL on November 15 , 2005 for intentionally diving during a game , then was fined $ 1 , 000 more a day later after publicly ripping into the NHL ' s director of hockey operations Colin Campbell . On April 7 , 2006 tempers flared as Avery and Anaheim Mighty Ducks broadcaster and former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Brian Hayward had a heated discussion in the Kings dressing room . This was the result of Hayward ' s commentary on the April 4 , 2006 Kings vs Ducks game , where he accused Avery of avoiding a fight with the Ducks ' forward ( and large enforcer , about 50 pounds heavier than Avery ) Todd Fedoruk . Avery began the argument by uttering that Hayward was an " embarrassment " , a " ( terrible ) announcer " , and was a " ( terrible ) player " . Hayward responded by saying " How would you know ? When I played , you were in your third year of eighth grade . " Near the end of the 2005 - 06 NHL season , the Kings decided to suspend Avery , stating that he would not be with the team for the remainder of the year . A source claimed Avery had an argument with assistant coach Mark Hardy after refusing to participate in a practice drill . On July 24 , 2006 the Los Angeles Kings signed Avery to a $ 1 . 1 million , one - year contract . Avery was a restricted free agent , so the Kings avoided going into salary arbitration by signing him to a deal . New York Rangers ( 2007 – present ) . On February 5 , 2007 the Kings traded Avery to the New York Rangers along with John Seymour for Jason Ward , Jan Marek and Marc - Andre Cliche . On March 17 , 2007 , Avery recorded a career - high four points in a game against the Boston Bruins . He notched one goal and added three assists to help the Rangers beat the Bruins 7 - 0 . On April 12 , 2007 , Avery played in his first career playoff game when the Rangers played the Atlanta Thrashers . He recorded his first playoff points with a goal and an assist on April 14 , 2007 against the Thrashers . Because of his style of play , Avery has made many enemies in the NHL . In a 2007 poll of 283 NHL players , 66 . 4 % said that Sean Avery was the most hated player in the league . Many consider him a pest . He is a very physical player , and while some would say that he is too small to be considered an enforcer , he has acted like one on many occasions , to a certain extent . He considers himself a fiercely loyal player , but has drawn criticism for his aggressive style and excessive penalties , however he cut down on penalty minutes by about 65 % in 06 - 07 compared to seasons past . On August 1 , 2007 , Avery , as a restricted free agent , earned an arbitration award of $ 1 . 9 - million for the 2007 - 08 season , which the Rangers accepted thus keeping him with the team for at least another year . On November 13 , Colin Campbell and the NHL fined Avery , Tucker , the Rangers , and the Maple Leafs for their pre - game actions . Howard Berger of The Fan 590 reported that the reason for the altercation was a remark made by Avery concerning Jason Blake ' s diagnosis with a rare form of Leukemia , however Avery denied making such comments , and is preparing to file a libel charge against Berger . Off the ice . Sean Avery played a small role in the movie " The Rocket " ( 2005 ) , as Bob Dill . His storyline in the movie was only one scene , and it was to show how Maurice Richard became a target , not only due to his ability to play great hockey , but also due to him being francophone . Avery appeared in a December 2006 episode of " MADt ] " with Los Angeles Kings teammates Tom Kostopoulos and Scott Thornton . He has been linked romantically to Rachel Hunter but they ended their year - long relationship in June 2005 . He dated Elisha Cuthbert until she broke up with him in August 2007 . Sean Avery can be seen in the episode of " Punk ' d " when Elisha Cuthbert gets punk ' d . He has also been featured on an episode of " MTV Cribs " . He can also be seen in an episode of TRL . It is rumored that Sean is the other man in Justin Timberlake ' s " What Goes Around . . . / . . . Comes Around . " Avery has more recently been linked to Mary - Kate Olsen as they have been seen " squiring all over the Big Apple . "