Sean Avery has found his way into the NHL rule book, the odd penalty box, the gossip pages, opposing players' heads and opposing coach's most wanted lists.

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New York Rangers Sean Avery (L) celebrates his goal on the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period in Game 1.

Photograph by : Reuters

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That may or may not make the New York Rangers superpest "in vogue," but there definitely are reports out there that claim he has applied for an unpaid intern's position this coming off-season with Vogue, the fashion magazine.

He already has his own line of T-shirts, or least one bearing his name. The tops are inscribed with "Avery Rules" over the wording of the NHL rule that was amended due to his bizarre harassment of New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur in the opening round of the playoffs, described in The New Yorker as "akin, maybe, to doing pushups over the twelfth hole at Augusta while an opponent is putting for par." The NHL considered endorsing a similar product but wisely rejected it (can you spell hypocritical?).

Avery was maintaining a media silence heading into today's Game 2 of Round 2 vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that hasn't prevented him from being one of the major topics of conversation.

Wherever he goes, off or on the ice, Avery attracts attention. There are goons and there are goofs - and we mean that in a good way, sort of. What team wouldn't want him, the way he has been playing, mixing agitation with aggression and the odd goal? The Maple Leafs could do worse in the summer free agent market.

The Penguins have their own version of the pest in the form of Jarkko Ruutu. "Both are agitators," says Georges Laraque of the Pens, "but both can play and both can score." (In fact, both did score in the Penguins' 5-4 comeback win in Game 1).

The Penguins fell behind 3-0, prompting Laraque to try his own brand of inspiration, challenging Rangers counterpart Colton Orr to fight.

"I wanted to change the momentum," he said. Orr declined. "He just said, `C'mon, Georges, it's 3-0. I can't,'" Laraque said. "He was smart.

"He was doing what any coach would tell him to do. Why would you want to fight when your team is up 3-0?"

Such calculation. So polite. Goonery as chess.

AND, FURTHERMORE: The Saskatchewan Roughriders, Grey Cup champions, made a franchise-record profit last season - $1,737,377. The year before they showed a profit of $455. ... Hey, David Boston: Welcome to the Home For Wayward Souls And Second Chances, a.k.a. the Toronto Argonauts, where the motto is: "NFL rejects welcome, no questions asked." ... If they burn police cruisers after a first-round Canadiens playoff victory, what will the yahoos in Montreal do if the Habs go all the way? ... If anyone deserved to be rewarded for his season it was Washington coach Bruce Boudreau. Good on you, Gabby. ... The long-standing relationship between J.P. Ricciardi of the Jays and his mentor, Billy Beane of the Athletics, has resulted in a number of deals through the years. It might not classify as a "deal," but Frank Thomas landing in Oakland after being dumped by the Jays amounts round-about to Ricciardi gifting Beane with a DH headed for the hall of fame, salary already paid. Sweet.