You mean all we had to do was ask Avery???

Yes hockey fans, I know that we are all so very thrilled the sport we love gets underway for real tonight. And what would hockey season be without controversial comments from Sean Avery? The newest Dallas Stars forward is giving Marty Turco a run for the job of official team crackpot, based on his recent interview with ESPN:

"Our commissioner hasn't realized that he needs to probably do a better job of marketing the game and certainly some of the players in it," said Avery in an ESPN radio interview. "Nobody cares about Jarome Iginla and guys like that. They're just not exciting enough. They don't bring enough to the game.

"They haven't figured it out that villains and heroes are what sells, but I don't think that's ever going to change unless they hire me to run their marketing stuff."

We all know that hockey is in trouble in a number of markets in the U.S., but if anyone thinks that Avery knows what is best for hockey, let alone even cares about what is best for anyone but Sean Avery, you're as deluded as Avery is obnoxious. Yeah I know any reference to Avery is just giving him what he wants. But the sad reality is, he is more like Bettman than he realizes. He is self-centered, stubborn, and does things without regard of what the consequences are. And wouldn't you know he has just given everyone a reason to watch the first time Dallas comes rolling into Calgary.