Sean Avery explains why his contract with the ECHL's Solar Bears didn't last
Just two days after signing a contract with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, Sean Avery and the team have parted ways, and he's been released from the deal. This came as a surprise to many, as Avery has been talking about an NHL comeback the past few months, and this was thought to be step one in accomplishing that goal for the 41-year-old.
There's been plenty of speculation over why Avery's contract lasted just 48 hours, with many assuming that bids by guys like Matthew Barnaby and Georges Laraque to sign one-game deals with rival teams just to fight Avery may have turned off the Solar Bears. In a new Instagram story, Avery said that's not the case.
"God bless the Orlando Solar Bears," said Avery. "The boys let me skate for a few days. Three bag skates in a row. Loved every f---in minute of it."
"But I miss my little guy Nash too much," said Avery, referring to his young son. "I gotta get back to California and the little guy."
While there's been nothing said about it by either Avery or the Solar Bears, my guess is this was little more than a publicity stunt for both parties. I sincerely doubt Avery was ever planning to play, nor were the Solar Bears intending to play him. In the end, they both got what they wanted. Avery said he's going back to doing his podcast. There was absolutely no mention of continuing his comeback attempt in the post.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Patrick Maroon | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Lukas Reichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Travis Konecny | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Quinton Byfield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Noah Cates | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Matvei Michkov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Martin Pospisil | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kevin Rooney | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bobby Brink | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kevin Fiala | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tyson Foerster | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Justin Kirkland | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Daniil Miromanov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||