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Adam Friedland
Ever stop and think, should I really be asking AI this? Between work stuff, personal questions, and random late night thoughts, a lot of us share way more with AI than we probably realize. AI without trade off. AI is incredibly useful, but it shouldn't cover the cost of your privacy. If you ever hesitated before typing something into AI chat, you're not alone. I caught myself the other day typing something private into an AI chat and thinking, do I really want this saved somewhere forever? Hesitation is exactly why DuckDuckGo built Duck AI. You'll go to Duck AI and you can chat privately with the same AIs that you might already be using, like ChatGPT or Claude. All your data stays yours, not theirs. A win win. Plus, it's from DuckDuckGo, the company known for protecting your data, not collecting it. Duck AI from DuckDuckGo lets you chat privately with ChatGPT and other popular AIs all in one place. Your chats aren't used for tracking, training, or profiling you. There's no account required, and it's completely free. And you can use it directly at Duck AI or inside the Duck Duck Go app, where AI is always optional. Privacy first. AI Duck AI is built for data protection, not data collection. It's designed to help stop your information from being stored, tracked, or misused. Chat privately with chat GPT, Claude, and other popular AIs all in one place. No signups, no subscriptions required, no learning curve. Just visit Duck AI and start chatting. DuckDuckGo has been protecting online privacy since 2008, raising the standard for trust on the Internet. Duck AI lets you use popular AI chat tools privately, and it's free. If you want to use AI without giving up your privacy, visit Duck AI AdamFreedland today. That's Duck AI SL. Adam Friedland. A private way to chat with AI from DuckDuckGo, where AI is always optional and private. Do you think you fought more guys or had sex with more girls in your life?
Sean Avery
Individual wild question.
Adam Friedland
I don't know. Just think about it. Or are you not. Are you not a notch on the bedpost kind of guy? I think just. Just.
Sean Avery
I mean, I. I. Listen, I. We all had fun.
Adam Friedland
All had fun.
Sean Avery
I did a lot of. And a lot of fighting.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. So cool.
Sean Avery
If I could be honest with you. Yes.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. I wonder what the number is. I wonder what the number is on the spreadsheet.
Sean Avery
Oh, God.
Adam Friedland
Hey, all. Welcome back to the Adam Friedland Show. I'm Adam Friedland. My guest this week is former NHL player Sean Avery. Hockey puck is My favorite. Think I like the way they skate up and down the rink. He's here to promote his new book, Summer Skate, which came out in September of 2025. As always, I'm Adam Friedland signing off. I love Thomas Eisenman.
Sean Avery
No pressure. Friedman, shut the fuck up.
Adam Friedland
It's Freed Land.
Sean Avery
Okay.
Adam Friedland
Anti Semitism, welcome to the stage. Coming up Next, Sean Avery, 13 year veteran of the NHL. Actor, model. Oh, fuck. Sex man.
Sean Avery
Jesus.
Adam Friedland
We're off to a hot start.
Sean Avery
First of all, I'm not, I'm not a model and I've never modeled.
Adam Friedland
You're a top model.
Sean Avery
No, I'm not.
Adam Friedland
I. I modeled once. Yeah, I modeled once. Yeah, For a French brand, the Kooples.
Sean Avery
Oh, I love the Kooples.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, I was, I was like in the store on Mercer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I took a picture in front of it, of course. Yeah, yeah. I don't know why. I think it was some sort of prank.
Sean Avery
Oh.
Adam Friedland
I don't know why. Why did they ask me?
Sean Avery
No, they were using. They used regular people, like the Gap.
Adam Friedland
I would say regular. I say, you know, public, intellectual, celebrity. I've been watching too many highlights.
Sean Avery
Really? Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I'm like catching up on NHL from like, I'd say probably 11th grade and I'm 38 and now I'm like locked in 11th grade. I. I want to catch our audience up on like kind of what your profile was because it's, it's fascinating to me. And if I was good at fighting and sports and ice skating.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I would be you.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Tell me if I'm describing this correctly. Your position was basically to wind up kind of the best player on the other team and make him lose his focus and lose his head, essentially.
Sean Avery
Yes. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
That's what I found fascinating about it because, like, it's a sport unlike any other sport. There's an aspect of. Of violence which is be woked out of the league right now. And. But there is this aspect of like kind of the mental chess game and in a team sport like that, it's like you kind of don't see that in other. Like you see a pitching duel maybe, but like, you don't really see someone like you who's like a guy in the depth chart who you bring out and he's like, he's going to make C.D. crosby cry. Yeah, basically.
Sean Avery
Yeah. I think it's funny, I've never really thought about it like this, but like, think about it as like an organized crime family, so. And I'll use Jaromir Jagger as An example. He's the Godfather. Right. And at some point during a game, the Godfather's gonna look down at the end of the bench and at me.
Adam Friedland
So it's not coming from Tori Rail. It's not coming from the coach?
Sean Avery
No, no, no.
Adam Friedland
And.
Sean Avery
And really, what? It. It always came from me because I was uncontrollable.
Adam Friedland
But did you guys pool the. The fine?
Sean Avery
Yeah, sometimes.
Adam Friedland
That's so sick.
Sean Avery
That's. That's illegal for me to tell you that. That we would say actively in the dressing room, like, okay, somebody go and fucking kill Matt Cook. Yeah. And the boys will put the money on the board.
Adam Friedland
He had it coming.
Sean Avery
He did, yeah.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Fuck it. You know, he married. This is interesting. In junior, when we're younger, like 15 to 20, we play in this. The Canadian Hockey League. Yeah. You move away from home.
Adam Friedland
You cooked.
Sean Avery
You move away from home. I was good.
Adam Friedland
You were good?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I was watching highlights.
Sean Avery
Oh, really?
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Avery
You move away from home and you live with a local family.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Matt Cook married the mom. The mom. The family that he moved in with. Wait, he stole the mob? Well, yeah. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
So.
Sean Avery
So. All right. Essentially, basically my role was to shift the momentum if we were going in and playing a team on the road. And it was a tough building to play in. Usually, like, you know, collectively, guys were like, montreal on a Saturday night is a tough building to play in. Yeah. And I always knew that. And I would go in and I would basically try and put a fucking giant target on my back by spewing vulgar at everyone that I could, from warm up till the start of the puck drop. And then, because my idea was the guys are a little. We gotta weather the storm in Montreal. The first five minutes, 10 minutes, they come hard. I gotta make sure that bring it all on me. Bring it all on me and let everybody be comfortable. And I want Yoggs to have space and whoever else so that. And then at some point during the game, maybe we're going to be in a tight game, maybe we're going to be losing, and we need a little. You know what I mean? And then you send me out there and so sick. I'm going to try and change the momentum. I'm going to hopefully draw a penalty, which is going to put our team on the power play, or I'm going to fucking make somebody go crazy, and the goalie's going to leave the net and whatever.
Adam Friedland
So your parents were teachers?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
So why are you bad?
Sean Avery
So the first time my mom got called by the school, and it was in grade one. And I have a five year old who's going into kindergarten next year. So I have an idea of what, like, grade one is now. She got a call from the principal saying, so Sean. We have a deaf kid in Sean's class and he doesn't believe he's deaf. So he's been yelling in his ear all afternoon. That's early for a grade. For grade one. That's early to kind of go in that hard.
Adam Friedland
It's kind of. You had a hypothesis and you did. It's an experiment. Yeah.
Sean Avery
Problem solving.
Adam Friedland
And the kid was lying for attention. No, but like, hockey is, like, for us, when we think Canada, then we
Sean Avery
think that's your national sport. Yes.
Adam Friedland
And. And it is the opposite of what the stereotype is of a Canadian. Right. Of like a nice guy.
Sean Avery
Right.
Adam Friedland
Like, and. And it is something that Canada could up America at. Right. Until the recent tournament. We almost had your asses.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
The. What is it, the Tri wizard tournament or whatever.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah. The Three nations or the Four Nations Cup. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I feel like that brought hockey back a little bit.
Sean Avery
Yeah. I mean, my idea of that was because essentially the Tkachuk boys.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Whose dad, they call him Big Walt. Keith Tkachuk, great American player. But he played with so many Canadians.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
That I think by default the boys are almost more Canadian than they are American. But what they're doing is now they're changing the culture of American hockey.
Adam Friedland
So, like, what's that. What's the. What's the hang? Right. So you're like in the m. In the mlb. Right. You have like, you have like MAGA farm boys. And then you have like passionate Latin men. And I guess now you have like Japanese guys with gambling debt. But, like, you guys have Russians, you have like Scandinavians. And then you have like, also you guys have like French Canadians.
Sean Avery
And then Canadians, which are two different
Adam Friedland
things, are Americans and Anglo Canadians. Is that kind of more of a group or is it like in a locker room?
Sean Avery
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Adam Friedland
You see someone as American in a locker room.
Sean Avery
Yeah. No, well, no, we see guys as Western leaguers, because Western leaguers, they don't like the hard stuff. They'll just drink like 80 beers.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And guys from the Ontario League, they like to mix in. They like to get the fireballs and the. So it's sort of like a region where. And American guys mostly went to college.
Adam Friedland
Oh, they.
Sean Avery
Yeah, they get drunk and none of us went to college.
Adam Friedland
Did you. The last school you went to was like 16 before that.
Sean Avery
I think it might have even a little bit earlier. Yeah. Yeah. 16. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And then you started playing juniors, and
Sean Avery
that's when I started playing juniors. And that's. You know, when you move away from home, you move in with this family. Some guys fall in love. Some guys, I just.
Adam Friedland
Some guys fuck them up.
Sean Avery
I just went to work. I shot Pucks. I didn't want to go to school. The rink was open. I said, what do you mean? This is our arena, and the ice is there, and you're not renting it. And I. So I think, like, early on, I was one of the. I was just like, I'm not. I'm gonna go shoot Pucks.
Adam Friedland
You wanted to work.
Sean Avery
I wanted to work, yeah.
Adam Friedland
So what. What are the Russian guys like?
Sean Avery
Russian guys are incredible.
Adam Friedland
Do you guys hang with them?
Sean Avery
New money, baby.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Yeah. It's so fun.
Adam Friedland
Louis Vuitton.
Sean Avery
It's so fun. Yes. And I played with sort of both generations, because when I got to Detroit, Fedorov, we had Sergey, we had Fedorov, Larianoff, we had Datsuk, we had a lot of great Russians. Sergey was first generation and second generation because he played for so long. And he kind of. He's the epitome of, like, American. A Russian coming to America. He's the original Miami Russian. Okay. He went to Miami. He falls in love with Anna Kournikova. He goes on that run. But that. That. So Russians, we like Eastern Europeans, we like Swedes, because Swedes are the most similar to Canadians.
Adam Friedland
Finns don't fuck with each other.
Sean Avery
They don't like each other. And the Finns are the worst drinkers ever.
Adam Friedland
What's the. What's the stereotype of the Finns? Are they, like, just like monsters?
Sean Avery
Yeah, you're like dumb monsters. Look at UC over there. What's he thinking about? And then he gets drunk and, you know, everything that he's ever thought.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
In a matter of an hour.
Adam Friedland
And the Swedes are like handsome legends.
Sean Avery
They're just like.
Adam Friedland
They're good lads.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think that's why Canadians are drawn to them, because they are very similar to us.
Adam Friedland
What about America, dude? We're more like.
Sean Avery
You know, I didn't meet a Jew until I came to America.
Adam Friedland
Right. Montreal is very Jewish city.
Sean Avery
Right. But I grew up in Toronto, has one part now. All my closest friends are from there.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
But growing up, I didn't know. But when I got to Detroit. Yeah. Michigan. University of Michigan, Bloomfield Hills. Bloomfield Hills. Okay.
Adam Friedland
I know all the Jew cities.
Sean Avery
Right. So that's how list. I, I. Yeah, yeah. So that's kind of. That was. That was my introduction to that. But as far as the Scotty Bowman. Scotty.
Adam Friedland
Two days on Jewish.
Sean Avery
He. He could be. I could see him.
Adam Friedland
Can we start that rumor?
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah. I could see it. Like, he's got that little. He's kind of like, hello, boy. Yes. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
So you were playing juniors. You cooked, right?
Sean Avery
I was good, yeah.
Adam Friedland
And your profile. Was your profile similar to what it. Like your game was similar to what it became in NHL or did you emphasize certain elements to make it into the league? Cause you were undrafted, Correct?
Sean Avery
I was undrafted. So part of the reason was because of how I was acting. Because you're a prick playing. Yes. And I still have a little bit of resentment towards Canadian hockey, who they have their own whole mess that they've been doing some things that they shouldn't have or whatever because they kept me off our national teams because they thought I was a bad teammate. Yeah. And I was just misunderstood.
Adam Friedland
Wouldn't it have felt amazing, like, oh,
Sean Avery
Canada, to put that thing on. Would you have cried the crest?
Adam Friedland
So you get signed to the Wings right in the middle of a dynasty.
Sean Avery
Yep.
Adam Friedland
I mean, that was like a fucking. And you're about to go to Detroit right now.
Sean Avery
I'm leaving here, going to Detroit for our centennial alumni weekend celebration. I haven't seen some of these guys probably. I haven't seen Dominic Hasek in 15 years.
Adam Friedland
Would you consider him the goat or your old friend Fatso?
Sean Avery
You go. Patrick Waugh Brodeur, and I think Hasek. But then, like, I could say Terry Sawchuck, but, like, I don't. That was.
Adam Friedland
That's olden.
Sean Avery
80 years ago. I don't know.
Adam Friedland
From what I understand, it's just a completely different game at this point. The skill level is much higher.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And like, it's sick.
Sean Avery
It's so good.
Adam Friedland
They're so good at. They're so good at ball. It's.
Sean Avery
It's a very interesting. The evolution of, like the last four years. Well, it's the McDavid kid.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Avery
He's nasty. McJesus, Mick.
Adam Friedland
Jesus.
Sean Avery
He's so good.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, well, he's not good at the press like you were.
Sean Avery
No, but he's gonna have to be because he's gonna sign with the Rangers in two years.
Adam Friedland
Really? He's gonna have to start talking shit like you. Are you gonna, like, kind of bring him in, baby? Bruh style?
Sean Avery
You know, I've always thought that that would be the perfect job for Me.
Adam Friedland
Should we write for.
Sean Avery
For McDavid and. And. Or just everything? Yeah. Should we be like, everything? What he wears, how he. You know, we got to help the transition.
Adam Friedland
When you do fashion, I'll do. I'll do bits.
Sean Avery
Okay.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, I'm good.
Sean Avery
I got good bits.
Adam Friedland
Oh, no, you're better, actually, for a hockey context, you're better when you're in, like, a minor league team for, you know, the best team in the world.
Sean Avery
So. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
How do you work your way up?
Sean Avery
So, okay, Detroit, 2002. I think the greatest hockey team ever, on paper, probably. And they actually. We actually won the Stanley Cup. I say we hesitantly, because they didn't
Adam Friedland
put in your name.
Sean Avery
I was. I didn't play in the playoffs, but I was on the team during the year, and I didn't play. I think I. If I had played two more games during the regular season, I would have had my name on the cup, but whatever.
Adam Friedland
This weekend, sneak in and just get a tape and just write your name.
Sean Avery
Well, we rewrite history everywhere else. I know, right?
Adam Friedland
Lord Stanley wouldn't care.
Sean Avery
No. So, Detroit, 2002. I play one year in the minors in Cincinnati, but I'm lucky enough to play for a coach who's now essentially banned from the NHL. This guy Mike Babcock was my minor coach, and he's a lunatic. He got kicked off. I love him. He's one of my favorite people of all time. He got fired a couple of years ago before the season started, because he made all the guys on the team come in and he said, open your phone books, your camera. I want to see all the pictures you have in your phone. Leave your phone with me, and I'll give it back to you.
Adam Friedland
Is he Joseph Stalin?
Sean Avery
And they fired him.
Adam Friedland
He's running the kgb, which.
Sean Avery
Who would. I mean, of all the sports. Okay, here's what I'm gonna say. The hockey players would have the most fucked up pictures in their phones. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
What would. Like what?
Sean Avery
It would just be so diverse. You know, it would be like a hand up a cow's ass, like, actually working and milking the cows in Saskatchewan. And then it might be somebody having. He might have a hand in his ass. I mean, hockey players are wild. They are the wildest.
Adam Friedland
I like the parallel. The parallel reference.
Sean Avery
Why would you want to see that?
Adam Friedland
So, locker room talk. How many micros have you seen in an NHL locker room?
Sean Avery
Oh, God. So. So, I mean, it just wore off, like. But I know who the big.
Adam Friedland
Have you seen Migros in a professional sports league?
Sean Avery
Yeah, there's a couple dude.
Adam Friedland
Good for them.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Honestly, what's he gonna do?
Adam Friedland
Busted their asses.
Sean Avery
Usually give it up for them, actually. Yeah. Slovakians.
Adam Friedland
Slovakia. Teeny tiny.
Sean Avery
Teeny tiny, dude.
Adam Friedland
That's what they say. Really?
Sean Avery
No. Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Yeah. You would walk into the sauna or the steam room after practice, and my left winger would be shaving my right wingers back.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
So, you know, that's a love of brotherhood. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And it just kind of wears off after a certain amount of time.
Adam Friedland
Did you get rookie treatment? Like, who. Did you have a vet? Like, how did those guys, like, who are, like, literally on, technically, the best hockey team?
Sean Avery
I learned from the best. How do they.
Adam Friedland
How do they treat you?
Sean Avery
I learned from, like, the OGS guy, like, Brendan Shanahan told me a couple of things. He said, never take a yellow taxi and always have more than 400 in your pot, in your pocket.
Adam Friedland
Was he a pimp now?
Sean Avery
Just. Just ready.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, he's just ready.
Sean Avery
And also, you know, the appearance of, like.
Adam Friedland
Sounds cool, though.
Sean Avery
You don't take a yellow taxi.
Adam Friedland
You don't take it.
Sean Avery
No.
Adam Friedland
Sounds about broken. Yeah.
Sean Avery
And it could sound cool, but we're going the other way. We're just going. We're going up here. A guy like Chris Chelios, I'll tell this story. What a legend. The first time I ever went out with Chelli, and I was staying with him, I think, during training camp. And we went out and it was Detroit, you know, there's not that much to do.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Anyways, I think we were pulling onto his street, and it was like 2:30, 2:30am and he pulls onto the street, and then he just pulls the car over to the side of the road. He used to drive, like, a 68 Cadillac. Like an old school that sometimes wouldn't start. Yeah. So long. So he puts it in park, and when you crank those seats back, it's like, Delta One. You like Delta?
Adam Friedland
Lay flat.
Sean Avery
Yeah, Lay flat.
Adam Friedland
Of course I'm a Delta boy.
Sean Avery
And I looked over, I was like. I didn't know what was going on. And he said, listen, life is all about setting precedence, okay? If I go home now, before 3:00am, the wife's gonna think something's going on. If I come home after 3am, like I always do, there's no questions asked. You don't disrupt the system. So isn't that. Isn't that an. Like, that's. The level of commitment is off the charts.
Adam Friedland
Think that he's getting pussy. I don't understand.
Sean Avery
No, no, no, it wasn't about that. It wasn't. No, no, no. It was about.
Adam Friedland
I'm sorry.
Sean Avery
It was about wives hassle husbands. Like, what the hell are you doing out?
Adam Friedland
Right.
Sean Avery
And then you come home earlier. You've now set the precedent back. You could do that. Like you should be home earlier if you came home at 2:30 instead of three like you've been doing for.
Adam Friedland
And that's what she gets.
Sean Avery
Years. So that was sort of. I'm telling that because in all the different situations, different archetypes of guys on that team, they all had their own high level operation that they were running.
Adam Friedland
What are goalies like? They're weird.
Sean Avery
Crazy. So crazy.
Adam Friedland
Like they're like. They're like baseball pitchers are like sociopaths.
Sean Avery
Break down the. Break down the position. So they wake up in the morning.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Right. Practices at 10:30. By 10:40 they've probably had 700 hockey pucks shot off of them.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Off of their body. Every day. Every day. Every game. Twice a day on game days.
Adam Friedland
Masochists.
Sean Avery
They're. Yeah, maybe. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And are they superstitious too?
Sean Avery
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
They're like weird. Yeah, weirdos.
Sean Avery
Left skate on. Don't touch that. Don't walk through that door. Don't look at that person. I put sour cream on my spaghetti. All kinds of weird shit. Yeah. Sour cream and ketchup.
Adam Friedland
From what I understand. You. You bounce around. You were in la.
Sean Avery
I didn't bounce around.
Adam Friedland
Well, you were. You were the. You were redwoods.
Sean Avery
I played on three fucking teams. Four Dallas doesn't count.
Adam Friedland
That was a fun one. That was a little detour. That was a little detour.
Sean Avery
Little detour, yeah.
Adam Friedland
You got to throw out the first pitch at the. At the Rangers game.
Sean Avery
At the Rangers game. Yep.
Adam Friedland
And they all applauded. They're like, this is. This is going to work out. This is going to be.
Sean Avery
And by the way.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Brett hall, who I'm gonna see this weekend.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
I mean, the greatest.
Adam Friedland
You guys lived together, right?
Sean Avery
Yeah, but he was the GM in Dallas. That's why I went.
Adam Friedland
Did he cancel your contract?
Sean Avery
Well, no, he. Well, essentially, yes. But his boss did.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
From what I understand, like you got to New York and there's like, you found a home in the NHL.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
But like, the interesting thing about you is like the way you talk about moving to New York is like. Like fucking Carrie Bradshaw.
Sean Avery
Like, it was. I was the. Yeah. The Sex in the City, you know,
Adam Friedland
I like had a Carrie moment.
Sean Avery
Hold on a second.
Adam Friedland
Was that.
Sean Avery
Hold on a second. I Don't even know if you know this. Has anyone ever walked off set while they were doing.
Adam Friedland
Was that a gun?
Sean Avery
No. No. You know that I. That I've written a romance novel that's a best selling hockey romance novel right now and.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Yeah. We're bidding. You know, we're going to option. This thing's so hot. This is about a New York Ranger rookie who spends the summer in the Hamptons with two of his former college teammates. They their way through the entire Hamptons
Adam Friedland
and this is hardcore sex in there.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
Oh, nice, dude. Can I have this?
Sean Avery
Yes. You didn't know that I.
Adam Friedland
Do you want to read a little? Do you want to read, like. Read some. Read some of the steamiest.
Sean Avery
I'll read you the. No. You know what I'll do? You're literally.
Adam Friedland
Carrie.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
You're reading. You're writing fucking books. Yeah.
Sean Avery
Here's the first chapter of my. Of my. It's three pages.
Adam Friedland
Oh my God.
Sean Avery
Do you have a pillow of my romance novel? Durham, New Hampshire two years ago. It's a snowy night in a town that is all activity and cheer, even after a loss. The cobblestone streets are blanketed in white and lined with twinkling Christmas trees. I have my red cheeked girlfriend under my arm as we walk down the street, the tails of her scarf flying in the icy wind. We walk past a bar with its door open. An amateur band is playing Take Me Home, country roads. It's 11:30 on a Saturday night and we're headed back to my apartment off campus. She's got my jacket on. We turn onto a street that's quiet. We hear only the sound of our boots on the sleeted pavement, the crunch of salt under our feet. Three big guys with beards walk towards us. Townies. Oh no, they're drunk. One of them looks at her and asks, how does it feel to be with the biggest bitch on campus? Clearly, they watched me take that bad penalty at the end of the game. It cost my team the win. And while I can't erase the past, I can predict the future. I know exactly what's about to happen. Everything goes into slow motion. I turn to my girlfriend very calmly and say, don't ask any questions. Just turn around and walk home. Okay? Right now. Go. I am clear. I am strategic. This is when I do my best computing in the eye of the storm. If I could choose to live in this space, I would. It's where I feel comfortable, serviceable on the team. This is my role. I cause chaos for distraction, for intimidation. For the win. I've done it since I was a kid. Who did you just call a bitch? I say. Before he can answer. I smack one guy, open hand, slap him across the jaw. He's down. I hit the second guy on the side of his head, on his ear, before his hands even come out of his pockets. He's down. The third guy is six feet away, coming toward me. I take two hard steps and bury my shoulder into his belly button. Wrap my arms around his legs and pick him up off the ground. Slam his head off the curb, bounce his head right off the concrete. He's out cold, bleeding from the ears. I sit down on the curb. I have blood on my hands, but they aren't shaking. At least there were three. It's easier to sell. I take out my phone, put my hand on one guy's chest to see if he's still breathing. I call the cops. Hi, my name is Carter Hughes. I play hockey for the University of New Hampshire. I just got attacked by three men on the corner of Summer street in Maine. One of the guys is hurt badly. Send an ambulance and the police. I'll stick around until you get here.
Adam Friedland
Wow, that's sexy. That's very romantic.
Sean Avery
And then the.
Adam Friedland
I haven't read a book Since Harry Potter 8. I think I'm gonna go back in on books.
Sean Avery
And can I tell you, it's a dual perspective. So your girlfriend. Your girlfriend can read it because they start fucking a lot in the book.
Adam Friedland
No, she can. Yeah, she can.
Sean Avery
Anyways, it's. It's. We have a female protagonist and a male. So the chapters bounce back and forth between Carter and his love interest.
Adam Friedland
I like that narrative device.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
It's like Russia.
Sean Avery
Wait, that was fun, right?
Adam Friedland
Yeah, I love. I'm like, hooked.
Sean Avery
Can we put it on the table, though?
Adam Friedland
Yeah, let's put it on the table.
Sean Avery
Well, just. Oh, yeah.
Adam Friedland
It's fire.
Sean Avery
Great.
Adam Friedland
So what. What's it like to fight you? So you guys are just wearing. You're wearing ice skates and you know. You know how to fight wearing ice skates? Like.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
What a weird thing. What a weird sport. It's a.
Sean Avery
It's.
Adam Friedland
It's the only sport where there's. You're allowed an aspect of fighting, but you're also on ice skates.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
Did you guys fight? Like, were the figure skating guys and the. And the hockey guys, was that like beef growing up and the rig.
Sean Avery
You know what's so funny? There's an old wives tale. Elvis Stoicko was a Canadian Olympian figure skater. I think he was the first man to do the shuffle or the four quad.
Adam Friedland
A quad? Yeah.
Sean Avery
A quad.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
I have been told that he roundhouse kicked Eric Lindross in a bar outside of Toronto in the Muskokas in the summer.
Adam Friedland
It was a good question.
Sean Avery
Okay. Yeah. So that, to me, I. I don't know. That's so sick. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Be careful because they're actually, like, great athletes. They're just wearing sequins. Yeah. That's why it's a distraction. They're also John Wick. Yeah.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Wait, so. So, like, what's your. Like, how many fights in your life have. You think. What's your body count of fights?
Sean Avery
Oh, God. Man. Dude, I fought so many delivery guys in New York City. Am I. Am I adding Is. Is that you get really mad at
Adam Friedland
them on your inst.
Sean Avery
I used to. I used to. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
You're not.
Sean Avery
Lots of fights. When I was 12, I played in Nova Scotia for a few years. My dad got transferred. He worked for Sears. RIP Sears.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And we had a tournament on Prince Edward Island. You take the ferry? Anyways, we won the tournament and we played against another team from Nova Scotia. When we took the ferry back from pei, they had to put me up in the captain's quarters of the ferry because the parents on the other team wanted to kill me.
Adam Friedland
Parents?
Sean Avery
The parents of the players of the other team. We were 12.
Adam Friedland
So you were a little fucking.
Sean Avery
I was bad.
Adam Friedland
You're a bad boy.
Sean Avery
Bad.
Adam Friedland
Did your mom try to make you be good?
Sean Avery
You know, I once saw her at the bay. You know, the. It's our. It's our. The bay. You know, the blankets, the three stripes, the Canadian heritage, the bay. She once spent four hours in a bay until they took her return. She just wouldn't leave. Yeah, she just stayed there.
Adam Friedland
Oh, so you got your shit from her?
Sean Avery
And that was a. Was one of those, like, trauma tree moments maybe, or for the better.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And that was when I knew. Yeah. So then you just. You dig in.
Adam Friedland
You saw her dealing with customer service.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Is that what you're saying?
Sean Avery
Yeah. She was trying to return something. They. They were refusing to take it, and she said to them, I will never leave.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Are you sure you're not Jewish? I am.
Sean Avery
I am. You can hire me for bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs.
Adam Friedland
Do you think you fought more guys or had sex with more girls in your life?
Sean Avery
Individual wild question.
Adam Friedland
I don't know. Just think about it. Or are you not. Are you not a Notch on the bedpost kind of guy, I think.
Sean Avery
Just, just, I mean, I, I, listen, I. We all had fun.
Adam Friedland
We all had fun.
Sean Avery
I did a lot of. And a lot of fighting.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
So cool. If I could be honest with you. Yes.
Adam Friedland
I wonder what the number is. I wonder what the number is on the spreadsheet.
Sean Avery
Oh, God.
Adam Friedland
You should.
Sean Avery
Oh, God.
Adam Friedland
Like, is it, like, is it nice to fight?
Sean Avery
You know what's so interesting is that
Adam Friedland
you like, like it.
Sean Avery
I became. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm now a martial artist. I took up jiu jitsu three years ago, four years ago maybe. And now I don't want to fight ever. Because if you get too close to me and something pops off, I, I want to embrace you and choke and I want to choke the air out of you. Whereas before I wanted to, like, use my fists. And that was, that was. I was a man trying to find a way to cure his urges.
Adam Friedland
You, you had just a. You had a guy inside of you.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And you had a, you had the.
Sean Avery
And the problem is you get rewarded
Adam Friedland
for it in your game.
Sean Avery
In our game.
Adam Friedland
So cool.
Sean Avery
Yeah. And the crowd goes nuts and you. And then you feel like God when
Adam Friedland
they fight each other.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
It's so cool. And now they're woking it out of the league.
Sean Avery
They're still, they're still fighting.
Adam Friedland
We gotta let the boys fight.
Sean Avery
It's coming back.
Adam Friedland
Is what's more dangerous, like for a player. It's dirty. Hits have to be more dangerous than a, than a mono. E. Mono.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Adam Friedland
You did a move, which I, this is why I'm like, we're kind of the same guy. Which is like the massive. The notion is if a man squares up and you have to, you have to accept the challenge. Yeah, but you did the move because you were a wind up guy where you'd be like, what? You know, you'd be in a guy's ear and be like, you fucking pussy. You fucking bitch. And then, and then he'd like lose it. And then you'd be like, what? What I did? What did I do? You know, which is in front of an entire stadium. Just like the security inside of yourself to be able to be like, to be. It's, it's so Israel of you. Just like, it's so.
Sean Avery
Benny.
Adam Friedland
I mean, I mean, I call him
Sean Avery
Benny for you to, for you to like. Netanyahu.
Adam Friedland
Oh, Net. Nanu.
Sean Avery
I call him Benny.
Adam Friedland
Oh, I call him, I call him a lot of names. Hey, guys. Caleb Pitts here. When hair starts to thin, confidence can too. That's why HIMS makes it simple to feel like yourself again. Inspiring stuff. I plan on taking HIMS and looking like this in one year. For more information, here's my boss and friend, Adam Friedland. Take it away A dog HIMS offers convenient access to a range of prescription hair loss treatments with ingredients that work, including chews, oral medications, serums and sprays. Dr. Trusted ingredients like finasteride and minoxidil can stop further hair loss and regrow hair in as little as three to six months. You shouldn't have to go out of your way to feel like yourself. Hims brings expert care straight to you with 100% online access to personalized treatment plans that puts your goals first. No hidden fees, no surprise costs, just real personalized care on your schedule. Think of HIMS as your digital front door that gets you back to your old self with simple 100% online access to trusted treatments for real health health concerns all in one place. For simple online access to personalized and affordable care for hair loss, weight loss and more, visit hims.com tafs that's hims.com tafs for your free online visit hims.com tafS featured products include compounded drug products with the FDA does not approve. Verify for safety, effectiveness or quality. Prescription required. See website for full details, restrictions and important safety information. Individual results may vary based on studies of topical and oral minoxidil and finasteride. A thoughtfully built wardrobe comes down to pieces that mix well and last, and that's where Quince shines. Premium fabrics considered design and everyday essentials that feel effortless to wear and dependable even as the seasons change. Quince has everyday essentials I love with quality that lasts. More importantly, lightweight cashmere sweaters, for instance, short sleeve Mongolian cashmere polos, linen bottoms and shorts. Tees in 100% Pima cotton and European jersey linen. These are the versatile pieces that make a wardrobe actually work season to season. Quince works directly with top factories and cuts out the middlemen. You're not paying for brand markup or fancy retail stores, just quality clothing. The cashmere is 100% Mongolian, the same stuff luxury brands use. The Peba cotton is long staple, which means it stays soft and doesn't pill. The European jersey linen is breathable and lightweight. Everything is built to hold up to regular wear and still look good. Their clothing is rated between 4.5 and 5 stars by thousands of people wearing it every day. The only partner with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production. Those linen Shorts I've been talking about have become my go to. They don't wrinkle like cheap linen does and they work with everything. Didn't cost a fortune either. So stop over complicating your wardrobe. You don't need a closet full of options, you need a few pieces that actually work. So right now go to quince.comtafs for free shipping and 365 day returns. That's a full year to build your wardrobe and love it. And you will now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling. For clothes that don't last, go to Q U I n c e.com Tafs for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Tafs by this point of the year, routines are real, not aspirational. And choosing the right supplements can be confusing, especially in a low regulation space. Which means a lot of products cut corners, skip testing or don't fully disclose what's inside. And that's why I partnered with Momentous. They built a reputation the high trust brand and low trust category by holding themselves to a higher bar. What they call the Momentous standard. It's their commitment to doing things the right way. Momentous sources their highest quality ingredients. Their whey protein comes from from grass fed European dairy cows. Their creatine uses the purest form of creatine monohydrate. And every formula is made with clinically backed highly bioavailable nutrients with no fillers and no artificial sweeteners. What truly sets Momentous apart is their testing and transparency. Every product is independently certified for NSF formed sport, meaning it's tested for contaminants, heavy metals, banned substances and verified label accuracy. So you always know what you're putting in your body. And if the product doesn't meet their standard, it never hits the shelves. In a space where trust is rare, Momentous is redefining what trust looks like. So if you have a favorite, whether it's protein, creatine or omega 3, you'll feel the difference when quality is intentional. Right now Momentous is offering our listeners up to 35% off your first order. With the promo code TAFS. Head to livemomentous.com and and use promo code TAFS for up to 35% off your first Order. That's livemomentous.com promo code TAFS.
Sean Avery
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Adam Friedland
And this. Let's go back. Okay.
Sean Avery
I said terrible. I said terrible. Shit. I did research.
Adam Friedland
You did. That's what I was going to say. Did you have compromise?
Sean Avery
Yes. Yes. I had a dossier.
Adam Friedland
What depths did you go to to find out?
Sean Avery
Anywhere.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Anywhere.
Adam Friedland
You were like Roy Co.
Sean Avery
I. I was. I. God love RIP Roy.
Adam Friedland
One of the most.
Sean Avery
What a man.
Adam Friedland
Insane. American.
Sean Avery
What a man. American. Yes.
Adam Friedland
American.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Like, not like you. What a. Come on, bro. By the way, is not a costume.
Sean Avery
By the way. Yeah. This is the hat. I wear it. I only wear it. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Converted.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Because Canada lost their identity. I don't even want to talk about.
Adam Friedland
We don't. Let's not even.
Sean Avery
Anyways, yes. I did my research. Okay. So I would line up with so and so. Yeah. Who. You know, I played junior against him. We're the same age. Okay. So we've been playing against each other since we were 12.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And his sister Sarah works at the Keg in Toronto. And I know that two Saturdays ago
Adam Friedland
she got double seated.
Sean Avery
She didn't get double teamed, but, you know, she took down possibly the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.
Adam Friedland
Okay.
Sean Avery
All right.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And I know that because I've got feelers out. I got people, and everyone wants to provide information and share information.
Adam Friedland
You had like a secret police.
Sean Avery
I had a fucking dossier.
Adam Friedland
He was Stalin. You did have like a KGB working for you.
Sean Avery
What was I gonna do? I mean, if you're gonna do that job, then, like, be the best at it and be prepared.
Adam Friedland
Do you think because you were undersized, you were conceived to be undersized, that this was, like a marginal advantage that you could, like, exploit and, like, have a career for 13 years in the like.
Sean Avery
Absolutely. It was a survival skill. It was also scarring from being the smallest on my team since I was a kid.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
You know. Cause standing beside you, you might. People might go, oh, he's pretty. What a big guy.
Adam Friedland
5, 10 is good, but we're the same height.
Sean Avery
Dude, I looked.
Adam Friedland
Same birthday.
Sean Avery
I know. Yeah, that's true. But when I was playing, it was a big game and guys were. I mean, I took a video with your. It's. No, it's not. I've heard that it's not as big, but, like, guys were six. The guys were like, you know, huge.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
60 pounds, 70 pounds. Like, I. Yaramir Yaga, I saw him for the first time, 10 years. Yoggs would just. He's such a big man. He would crush me.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
So how do you fight a guy
Adam Friedland
that big, a bigger guy?
Sean Avery
Fighting. Fighting's a different mechanism because it's all about levers and pushing and pulling. So if you know and understand, like,
Adam Friedland
how do you fight in general?
Sean Avery
Yeah, I fought to not get hit. I fought to not get hit, to make it, to sell the fight, to not hurt my hand, and to make sure that I landed on top of that fucking guy. Yeah. So that if we were on the road, the building went quiet, and now I've just neutralized one of their energy. There's no energy. And if we're at home, the place goes fucking crazy.
Adam Friedland
And you're a legend in the Garden.
Sean Avery
Pretty good.
Adam Friedland
I mean, like, they. Your profile of player, I would imagine that that just amps the fucking stadium up, like. Yeah, like, to a thousand.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Especially in New York. Like, you know, these, you know, New Yorkers, they used to be hard, hardened people.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
You know, blue collar. Well, it. It feels like it's coming back. It's about, I think, us kind of guys. Yeah, Right. Doing shit, working. So in New York, the fans appreciated it. I played in LA and, like, they didn't like me in la.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
The fans. Like, I have more people come up to me in LA that go, I didn't like you. You were a king. I didn't like you as the king. You took too many bad penalties. Whatever was different in la. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Bullying.
Sean Avery
Oh, oh, oh. With. Oh, God.
Adam Friedland
You made fun of your. Your teammate's lisp.
Sean Avery
I guess that a real jerk. Oh, I've heard that. That. You know, I concede post league. Maybe I did.
Adam Friedland
Did you make amends with certain people? Like, were you. Like, I was a fucking dickhead to you?
Sean Avery
Definitely. What do you mean? Anytime that I switched teams, I had to.
Adam Friedland
But that's political.
Sean Avery
You want to talk about awkward?
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
You know, get traded from the rain to. From LA to New York, and you said despicable things, some bad things to some of the guys.
Adam Friedland
Terrible guys. But they realize. They realize.
Sean Avery
Yeah, you got to have an awkward sidebar.
Adam Friedland
They're like, he's our guy now.
Sean Avery
Wow. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like you could handle that awkwardness.
Adam Friedland
I. It's.
Sean Avery
You go in and it's the only
Adam Friedland
way I've been able to survive. And I think, like, the other thing is this is, like, going back to the original question of you being the smartest guy.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Like, you've been around these guys since you were 8, probably.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You know their psychology, right?
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
And like, for me, getting funny. But it was also just. I could confuse bros to the point where some of my friends even kind of realized I was making fun of them.
Sean Avery
Right.
Adam Friedland
But it wouldn't escalate to them see red.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I would. I would do it the opposite, where they'd just be like, walking away. They'd be like, what the fuck did he say?
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
That was like, my mechanism. So it's just like two sides.
Sean Avery
The mechanics of. Of. Of what we do are the same.
Adam Friedland
Who's the dumbest guy?
Sean Avery
Like, are they like Donald Brashear
Adam Friedland
and, you know, like Martin Brashear from the Michael Jackson documentary?
Sean Avery
Donald Brashear. He had a Great Dane or some sort of giant dog and he used to shower with it at the arena.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, at the arena.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Like, and hockey players, we don't have our showers. Yeah, we don't. Hockey players have this weird culture. We don't have individual stalls.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Who cares?
Sean Avery
It's one big shower family dude. Yeah. And I want. And he was in there showering with his dog. Whatever. I don't like him for sure. Was not cool.
Adam Friedland
Who do you still have smoke with? Do you. Is there a guy that you're like, fuck that guy.
Sean Avery
There's a guy named Matthew Barnaby who actually played for the Rangers.
Adam Friedland
Oh, I remember that guy.
Sean Avery
And Barnaby was. I mean, I love Matthew Barnaby as a player. Matthew Bartleby now on. On. On X. He doesn't even use Instagram, which is like, such a boomer move. He's only an ex guy. Could be a cool move. Maybe. Actually. Could be the Move is a great Instagram account, by the way.
Adam Friedland
What is. Could be the move.
Sean Avery
It's. Could be the move.
Adam Friedland
What is it?
Sean Avery
Could be the move is during the World Series because you're a team player, you wear your batting glove to work.
Adam Friedland
Oh, shit. For your boys.
Sean Avery
For the boys.
Adam Friedland
Maybe send it to them.
Sean Avery
And then everybody does it.
Adam Friedland
And everyone does it.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Could be the move.
Adam Friedland
Could be the move. I got in. I lost $200 million in gambling for Shohei.
Sean Avery
Oh, you're the guy.
Adam Friedland
I'm the bagman. No, I'm not the translator.
Sean Avery
No. You kind of could look like him.
Adam Friedland
I do. I look Japanese.
Sean Avery
If we shaved your head. And.
Adam Friedland
And that's respect. Are rude. That's respect. Wait, so like, obviously you had compromise. You knew the things that would Trigger them. But, like, you knew that they're also bros. Like, was there an aspect of the fact that you're interning a Vogue? You were, like, kind of a dandy off. Off ice.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Was there an aspect where you, like. There was an entrenched baby. Like, I'm getting chirped by, like, a fucking. Like, what? This guy's like.
Sean Avery
So they.
Adam Friedland
I was a fancy boy.
Sean Avery
Yeah. I was like. There's a great clip of Wayne Simmons, who was a great player. He was a black hockey player.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Not many. Yeah. There's an incredible clip of him. He's on the Philadelphia bench, and I'm in the penalty box, and he screams. And you can see it. He calls me a faggot. He screams. Yeah. So I did intern at Vogue, and I did it because I've always been curious, but I also think subconsciously and now, you know, being able to analyze, like, your life.
Adam Friedland
You were fucking with.
Sean Avery
I was with. I was the troll. I was the alt.
Adam Friedland
You're a genius.
Sean Avery
I was so deep in the troll
Adam Friedland
game because there is, amongst bros, like, an entrenched homophobic. And you were also early entrenched.
Sean Avery
I mean. No. Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
You were early. You were, like, well ahead of the curve. And you, like, advocated for gay rights, like, in the league.
Sean Avery
I was the first professional athlete to really. On the record. Yeah. In my Ranger jersey, which is credit to Jim Dolan.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Oh, by the way, can I tell you something? I do jiu jitsu at Clockwork. Jiu Jitsu in soho. You should start doing it. A man that can't grapple, like, mid to late 30s.
Adam Friedland
You learn how to fight.
Sean Avery
Absolutely. Right now, I could turn you into it. They could turn you into a fucking machine. Machine? Yeah, an assassin.
Adam Friedland
Would I fight like, girls at first?
Sean Avery
I mean, like, you roll with girls.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You ever pop one?
Sean Avery
No, no, no. But you roll with girls.
Adam Friedland
But what if I lose to a girl? Like the NHL?
Sean Avery
That's the point.
Adam Friedland
It's embarrassing.
Sean Avery
That's the point. It's an ego killer. What were we talking about?
Adam Friedland
You do jiu jitsu at clockwork. Jiu Jitsu.
Sean Avery
No, no, I know, but I was going into it for some reason.
Adam Friedland
We both are. Idiots.
Sean Avery
We were talking about Dolan. You know, here's what's funny, and I will say this right now, because Dan Carcillo, who played for the Rangers, played for Philly, won a Stanley cup in Chicago. He's now one of the leaders in psilocybin therapy. Yeah, Okay. I have ct. There's no Question. I have CTE because my short term memory is not good.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
All right. It's getting better because of what I do now for work. And I'm like, I've been working that muscle. My fucking long term memory. I've had numerous people on this New York trip tell me stories. I hadn't seen them in a while. Like, wild stories that I had no recollection of.
Adam Friedland
I think you're probably just fucked up.
Sean Avery
I was moving fast and I was fucked up. But also a little bit of the CTE is starting to.
Adam Friedland
The short goes first. No.
Sean Avery
Well. Well, my shorts. Not. Like, it's not the best.
Adam Friedland
My mom had. My mom had.
Sean Avery
Look what just happened.
Adam Friedland
My mom had brain brain cancer. So she explained experience, like dementia. And like, the cool thing was, like, when she started the short term went, I would talk to her and I'd have her tell stories from before. And so she tells. She would remember things from like. Like 1981, like, in. And that. That was like a way I could like, interesting chill with her.
Sean Avery
Like, she's still here.
Adam Friedland
No, she. She passed away. Yeah. She's my best dude. She's my twin.
Sean Avery
You know, I've been reading a lot of research papers on LSD and Alzheimer's prevention. She.
Adam Friedland
Well, yeah, she had brain cancer.
Sean Avery
No, I understand. But. But the brain and.
Adam Friedland
And so sad. But for you. So, like, I want to talk about torturella and like, that situation because, like, you had.
Sean Avery
Did you just say. Yeah. Your mom dying was obviously terribly sad. Right?
Adam Friedland
Of course, yeah.
Sean Avery
Was it recently?
Adam Friedland
No, it was like five years ago.
Sean Avery
But you're still in the trenches on it.
Adam Friedland
No, it's just like. It's kind of a nice thing. You realize that it's just. It never gets better, but in a way that's nice where it just becomes part of you now. You just understand life in a deeper way.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Yes.
Adam Friedland
And so it's just like you could get used to someone not being there.
Sean Avery
I got it.
Adam Friedland
I got that aspect. And it's so. It's just like. Yeah, it's like a defining moment.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I don't think I ever, like, believed in God or anything, but, like at the end of the. My family being together, I was like, oh, this is kind of the point. Like, you're just like, like, you know,
Sean Avery
sharing and it was more of a spiritual thing versus.
Adam Friedland
No, it wasn't even spiritual. It was like, you know, like, if you live on earth and you have love and you give love to.
Sean Avery
You have to have blood. Blood. You have each Other's back.
Adam Friedland
Oh, blood.
Sean Avery
Like you go down with the ship.
Adam Friedland
I learned to appreciate like family a lot more because we had, we have family members that have like literally sociopaths, like stolen money, bad people. Right. And we had close family friends that wanted to like be around and helpful. And we, we asked them like just like not to like they were like trying to like let us meals to the house. And then like the. Our family that are like just like. Or gypsies. Like we. Those were the ones we wanted there.
Sean Avery
Right?
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
I mean just like people we've. We've had falling outs with for 20 years. Like, those are the people they're still like at the end of meeting there.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And in a really cool way because those are your guys. Yeah, those are your fucking guys.
Sean Avery
Yep. I agree. I agree. And I think a little bit of that. I don't know, I'm like, trauma is kind of good now because it's, it's helpful to kind of like. I feel like I never did ketamine. I did a ketamine drip once.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And it. And it felt like I was in a video game. Like I was kind of like stepping in jello. That's how I feel now. Like just sort of more open and like people have tough times and like I, I'm okay with. And part of that is becoming a martial artist. I want to feel shit now.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
But also our job. You can't have highs and lows when you're a professional athlete. Like, you're not paid to. You're paid to be emotional but also unemotional and actually more, more. Less emotions is better.
Adam Friedland
Were there guys that were robots that you just couldn't, you couldn't fucking wind up?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Did it drive you nuts?
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
There was like Joe Sakic. Joe Zaki has like just. He's like a. Yeah. He's the Terminator.
Sean Avery
He can't. You, you know, he's the term. Yeah. You couldn't. You couldn't.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Avery
So yeah, the, the, the high level GS. Those are like the samurais. Those were the guys that like just Buddha, Buddhas.
Adam Friedland
They can.
Sean Avery
It's like clear the mechanism and they're just. They're on a different wavelength. Yeah, there's not many of those guys,
Adam Friedland
but yeah, I think in all professional sports those guys are always just the.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah. Yamamoto, Shohei. I love the Japanese players.
Adam Friedland
The Kobe, like when Matt Barnes is like faking the inbound and Kobe doesn't flinch.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
It's just like there he wants that.
Sean Avery
It's.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. There's something about it where he's just like. It does not. He did.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
It's a human reflex to be like this. And he's just. He's the Terminator.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
He's like shed his humanity.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
He's a killing machine.
Sean Avery
No, I understand it.
Adam Friedland
I. I want to talk about the road.
Sean Avery
Well, Avery rule. Let's.
Adam Friedland
This is like. This is the most me thing. This is what really got me fired up. Because, like, you figured out. Do you know what a paneka is?
Sean Avery
No. Is it a palindrome?
Adam Friedland
No. A pinneck is so in soccer, right? Uh huh. There they've been shooting like penalty kicks for 100 years of the sport. And then this guy. I'll show you putting that.
Sean Avery
Wait, wait.
Adam Friedland
This guy, like, realized he's like, what if I just.
Sean Avery
Is this recently?
Adam Friedland
No, this is like in the 80s. He's a Czechoslovakia guy.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
So. It's just this Czechoslovakia guy. He's like, what if I don't go left or right? What if I just like, chip it down the middle?
Sean Avery
Oh, I remember the.
Adam Friedland
Right.
Sean Avery
Yeah, of course. Right.
Adam Friedland
So like.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
The thing about the Brodeur moment. Right.
Sean Avery
Great, great. Great correlation too, by the way, is
Adam Friedland
that you just did something. You. Was it. What was the thought process? It was it. You say it's not calculated. You say you just. You skated towards.
Sean Avery
So.
Adam Friedland
So it was like 15 seconds.
Sean Avery
It wasn't premeditated. I'll say that.
Adam Friedland
So explain for the audience, like, what it was.
Sean Avery
So. So Brodeur is a goalie. Marty. One of the greatest goalies of all time.
Adam Friedland
Fatso.
Sean Avery
Fatso forgot to shake my hand.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
I'm a forward. Our job is to basically get in front of his face and cause some sort of obstruction, kill his line of sight. That's really what you want to do as a player. You don't want to be one on one with a goalie because he has sight on the puck. You want to shoot through a screen. All the great goal scorers, they shoot through screens. So it's like a seeing eye puck. Okay. My job was to not touch really, the puck because I'm on the ice with Scott Gomez, legendary Gomer, Gomer Alaskan born Chris Drury, who's now the general manager of the Rangers, Brendan Shanahan and Jeremiah Jagr. In my opinion, the greatest European player of all time. So my job is to make sure that I can break that sight line so that one of these superstars can get a puck into the net. Okay? When I go to the front of the net and Martin Brodeur, the goalie, who is a wily veteran, like a G. An og.
Adam Friedland
He was a shithouser, too.
Sean Avery
He was a shithouser. He knew how to play the game. And I would go to the front of the net. And in hockey skates, if you poke a guy behind his knees because our blades are rockered, you can use the momentum, and the guy will just go ass over tea kettle. Yeah. So Brodeur would do that.
Adam Friedland
Back of the knee.
Sean Avery
Yes. Boom, you're gone. And he wanted me to fall into him because then he would sell it, and I would take a penalty. So it's this chess game between, you know, two diabolical guys that are trying to help their team win. Yes. Now, the moment that I made the decision, it was a power play. I knew that I had to go to the front of the net. Okay. I had, like, 15 seconds notice. Like, okay, I'm going out there, and I know where I need to go. I jump over the boards. This is Madison Square Garden during the fucking playoffs.
Adam Friedland
Like, cathedral of the game.
Sean Avery
Right, Right. Pre renovation. So the building even moved a little bit different back there. I take two strides, and I can remember, like, having an inner debate with myself for the next, like, six to eight strides, which is probably two seconds. Yeah. From the time I jump over the boards to get in front of the net, we're talking, like, six seconds total. Maybe it's like a eureka moment. I said, you know, I love Risky Business. It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Sometimes you gotta just say, what the fuck?
Adam Friedland
So good.
Sean Avery
And I said, yeah, I'm gonna do it. And I just went directly in front of him, and I have the luxury of seeing his eyes that no one else could see. And this guy, multiple Stanley Cups. And I just said, if I put my hand in front of his face, and every time he moves somewhere, my hand moves with it. I've just solved the riddle of a hundred years of this game, which is trying to break a goalie's eye line
Adam Friedland
so effectively, you're gonna turn your back to the game of hockey happening, and you're gonna just be annoying.
Sean Avery
You're gonna be like, yeah, I'd be like this. Like, if you. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
And he's gonna be like, get the fuck out of my way. Right, Right.
Sean Avery
Look how quick that happens.
Adam Friedland
Like you're being annoying. Right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the dopest part of that sequence was that you fucking dunked.
Sean Avery
I scored. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
How did that feel. Is that your favorite goal?
Sean Avery
Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Do you feel like God, I think so.
Adam Friedland
That must the way the building fucking rock.
Sean Avery
I think so. Yeah. Yeah. Fuck yeah.
Adam Friedland
Is that better than sex? Sex? Yeah. Has to be.
Sean Avery
It's the one thing.
Adam Friedland
It's the goals.
Sean Avery
I've never chased the dragon, but goals@ MSG. Goals and Nashville or.
Adam Friedland
And you also know Andy Cohen.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You have the best life ever.
Sean Avery
People magazine said we were once engaged. Really? Yeah. Me and Andy used to do these Miami trips at the end of the season. So we go to Ultra, you know, Ultra Music Festival. It used to be cool.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Now it's very commercialized. Like everything. Hopefully your show. Hopefully. You don't sell your soul.
Adam Friedland
No, dude. Well, I'm open for the highest bidder, right?
Sean Avery
Me too.
Adam Friedland
Arabia. Anyone that wants to call me.
Sean Avery
What about Benny? Why isn't Benny paying you? Oh, the influencer program. You didn't get it.
Adam Friedland
You didn't get it.
Sean Avery
You didn't get in on that.
Adam Friedland
I said a couple things with that.
Sean Avery
Oh, all right.
Adam Friedland
I think I've said a couple things.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
I think I'll list some.
Sean Avery
Got it. So I do the thing, I score. Here's the interesting part of the whole thing. Okay. To change a rule in the NHL, you have to do it at the board of governors meeting in the summer. Yes. And the union, the players union is. They're representing. It's a whole thing. Funny that they're talking about goalies.
Adam Friedland
I'm sorry.
Sean Avery
No, no. So to change a rule in the NHL, you have to do it in the summer at the board of governors meeting, which is voted on between the players union and the teams, the owners. Okay. We're gonna do a rule change. Everybody's gonna put a ballot in, and I'm sure it's on an iPad now. I did the fucking thing in front of Brodeur. We won the game. I think we won the game. We lost the game. We won the series.
Adam Friedland
You won the series.
Sean Avery
Okay. Nice, nice.
Adam Friedland
You lost it. Overtime.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Okay. So it was a high stakes game. I went to bed, I woke up the next morning, I had a missed call or a text message. Glenn Sather. And they were giving me a heads up, like, yo, they just changed the rule. And you're not allowed to do that tonight or ever again.
Adam Friedland
It's kind of.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Do you think that, like, it's illegal and I want to do a 30 for 30 on it or some sort of like, little mini doc?
Adam Friedland
It'd be amazing.
Sean Avery
But I don't want to expose everyone. I just want to know, like, who made that call. Because that's a funny call. If Gary Bettman's like, okay, we're going to break precedent. We're going to do something illegal, but he can't do that again.
Adam Friedland
Like, all the owners are in their pajamas.
Sean Avery
Right.
Adam Friedland
And have to get them on, like a. Not a zoom.
Sean Avery
Right. Like, did you see? Are we good? Can I. Can we. Can we do this? We're gonna. We're gonna step out of line here and do something that we've never done before.
Adam Friedland
Because. Because the bad kid.
Sean Avery
The bad, bad guy.
Adam Friedland
You were naughty.
Sean Avery
Yeah, I found a loophole.
Adam Friedland
You found.
Sean Avery
I mean, it was just like a fucking gray area.
Adam Friedland
Moment of brilliance. And it's just like. That is to be so cool.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
And I don't even think it should be against the rules.
Sean Avery
I can see where they're coming from, because then it gets a little bit of, like, does everyone. Well, I would draft the biggest guy I could ever find that I could put in skates and just bigger than Chara. Just make sure his arms could work and say, you got to figure out how to skate from here to the front of the net. And all you have to do is just use your, like, shack.
Adam Friedland
I was. I lived in D.C. during the, like, the Caps Pens years, and I got. I got back into hockey. It was really fun.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Actually, my friend was. Was sleeping with this girl, and she was. She was on with ovi.
Sean Avery
Oh, yeah?
Adam Friedland
Yeah. And she would just get a text, like, he was like.
Sean Avery
She would just leave?
Adam Friedland
Yeah, she would just leave. She got a text that said, I want you in ass. He's the coolest guy of all time.
Sean Avery
Ovi, I love you ever.
Adam Friedland
You ever chilled with him?
Sean Avery
No. They never had the luxury.
Adam Friedland
There's something so fucking, like, just lovable about him. Like, show. Hey. Way where they're like. They're kind of. They're kind of like a. Like a big dog or something.
Sean Avery
Because you know what? They love the game, but, like, there
Adam Friedland
was, like, defenseman on the Pens that was like. He was 9ft tall.
Sean Avery
Hal Gill.
Adam Friedland
Do you remember that guy?
Sean Avery
Yeah. Yeah. I lacerated my spleen and almost died in St. Vincent's because I hit him with that guy. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
What did you try to do?
Sean Avery
No, it was. We were in the playoffs. It was the second round. I think it was game three, and a puck got dumped in from the blue line. And I can remember it so vividly. You know, it's weird what sticks with you. And I said, to myself. It was like, I'm gonna kill hell Gill right now.
Adam Friedland
But he's like nine feet tall.
Sean Avery
I know, but I. I'm. I'm going to, like. I'm the guy that's gonna.
Adam Friedland
Prison rules.
Sean Avery
I am going to Hal Gill right now. We're at home. I went 100 miles an hour. I hit him so fucking hard. And I think he just, like. He just kind of, like, leaned into me because he was huge. He was six foot eight. And I remember, like, you know when you get hit or punched and you want to pretend like it didn't hurt? So then I kind of, like, got to the bench, and Cass, our trainer, bounced off him. I bounced off of him, Bounced off of him. I got to the bench, I said to. It was actually Jim Ramsey Rammer. I go, I think I just tore my abdominals. Can we go in and get a Torah at all shot? So drugs. Yeah, yeah. So I. We went in and I got.
Adam Friedland
You guys were like, future. You guys were off of. Off the perks.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Adam Friedland
Well, we were the only way you get through, Right?
Sean Avery
Well, Toradol's only. You can only use it in the playoffs. That's when we're allowed to technically use it.
Adam Friedland
You get better drugs.
Sean Avery
Yeah, you get the good stuff. You get the actual. They put a needle. It's like the perfect. You know the sports scene where you bend over the table and the needle goes in the axe.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Anyways, I thought that I tore my abdominals. I got a. Tore at all shot. It was my second. I finished the game. And after the game, I got into a cold tub, and I got into the cold tub, and all of a sudden I felt like I got stabbed in the shoulder. And shout out, doc Feldman, Andrew Feldman, good Jew. He said, let's go. They put me in a robe. They took me to St. Vincent's I got to St. Vincent's I had hit Hal Gill so hard that I lacerated my spleen. My own spleen. So he didn't hit me. Right. Normally, you get hit by a car. You get a lacerated spleen in a car accident. I did it to myself because I was like, I'm going to kill Hal Gill right now. And he. And I spent six nights in the ICU of St. Vincent, which is not even here anymore. They tore it down in the West Village. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
It's the nice hospital now. Well, the circles. Yeah.
Sean Avery
It wasn't. It's where most of the people died of aids. Yes, yes. And I was in the basement, and I Saw. I said, I'll go. I'm good with this at this point.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You want to sign?
Sean Avery
Yeah. It was a shooting. They had to cauterize it, but they could only. It was the type of bleed that you could only see it when the scope was in. So I had to keep going in. They had to scope me like four times over the course of five days. Crazy dude.
Adam Friedland
I talked to. I'll ask you first, and I'll tell you what I've gotten in my research. But how do you think your profile player would translate to 2025 NHL?
Sean Avery
Oh, my God. Well, the funny thing is, if I had have started taking Jiu Jitsu while I was playing, I would have won multiple Stanley Cups and I'd probably be the President of the United States.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
I mean, you know you were born in Canada, right? That's true.
Adam Friedland
Off.
Sean Avery
That's right.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Okay, wait, so what. But like, but, but how would you just help, though?
Sean Avery
Because it slowed everything down. And what I wanted, what I did, I sped everything too fast. I sped everything up.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Everything went from like zero to a hundred immediately. And guys, you know, on my team, and it was warm ups. It was just always. It was constant.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, that was I. Soccer, like, some of the best players, they look like they're going like. It's so slow. Yeah, because like there's like a term for it, like a Spanish pausa, but where the. The players, like, there's chaos surrounding him and they just look like they're in the eye of the story.
Sean Avery
Right?
Adam Friedland
And they just. Their everything is just so, like, people are just falling over it, like, looks like. But what they're doing is their, their brain is doing math, right? There's like. They're doing.
Sean Avery
They're computing. Yes, yes.
Adam Friedland
And it's like.
Sean Avery
And you know what's so ironic? It's like everything comes around full circle. I'm going to Detroit for the centennial anniversary. Alumni Steve Yzerman was the one guy that sat me down and said, just shut the fuck up. Just shut the fuck up and play. And he doesn't do that with a lot of people. He certainly didn't then as a player.
Adam Friedland
And
Sean Avery
on one hand, I can say I should have listened to him. I would have had a better hockey career.
Adam Friedland
Well, you sustained a career from not shutting the fuck up.
Sean Avery
Right.
Adam Friedland
But that means that one of the goats believed in your skills. Yes, that's. That's kind of dope.
Sean Avery
Of course. And, and, and he would say that I probably left a lot on the table as far as playing wise.
Adam Friedland
Interesting.
Sean Avery
Now the other side of it is that I think I was like more an entertainer than, than a player.
Adam Friedland
And that's, I mean, like, we'll get to it because I want to say this, what I've heard first, but like that's an interesting thought to be like. Well, this is. I mean, you're an actor now. I mean, like.
Sean Avery
No, no, but that, that's the same thing. It's.
Adam Friedland
I'm telling a story exactly like what I've got. But I talked to like an NHL insider. He said your skillset would apply better to a modern NBA or NHL.
Sean Avery
Oh, I'd be a, I'd be, I'd be a gamer right now because like I'd be, I would dominate because I could skate.
Adam Friedland
And also the. It was you being undersized.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You're a great skater. And then also like the psychological elements of the game have actually, it's kind of a coveted, like a GM will seek out like we're going to play out.
Sean Avery
There's not many of these guys left. Yes.
Adam Friedland
And from what I understand, like the Panthers are kind of like Avery type of team.
Sean Avery
Sam Bennett, they have multiple Avery esque players. I mean, better than Avery, but like they have some of my.
Adam Friedland
They wear the like the Evil empire kind of.
Sean Avery
They do. Yes.
Adam Friedland
They're like, sorry, a little dynasty situation.
Sean Avery
Yes. And I love watching them.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And I wish, and I'm very critical of the Rangers and I wish we had players in New York City that played a little bit like some of those fucking guys in Florida.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. In a, in the tree of like of your profile in the NHL as agitator, like, who do you see as your. Your OGs?
Sean Avery
Oh, God. Oh, geez. Yeah, a lot of my peers. This guy Steve Ott, who I played with in Dallas, who's now assistant coach in St. Louis, was a complete animal. He would, he would, he would. He would decimate your entire bloodline if he could if he had enough time. And he was a savage. You know, Tiger Williams was this guy that, that played back in the day. They. And Eddie. Shaq, it was like, clear the track. Here comes Shaq. There's been some. Kenny Lindsman, the rat.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Kenny Lindsman was my dad's favorite player. He played for the Bruins. Yeah, they called him. He was the original rat. Yeah. So I always loved. Yeah. I, you know, Dougie Gilmore to a certain extent, but was a little bit more skilled. He was a Toronto maple leaf.
Adam Friedland
And did you conceive of what you were doing as like, playing at the heel, like, in, like, professional wrestling.
Sean Avery
Absolutely.
Adam Friedland
You're like Eddie Guerrero almost.
Sean Avery
Yeah. And. And Ronda Rousey. I think she's gonna come back as a heel.
Adam Friedland
Is she?
Sean Avery
I think, to the ufc. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Kind of what you were doing by being a fancy boy is like, you were doing a little bit of gold dust, too, right?
Sean Avery
I was inflaming.
Adam Friedland
You're, like, acting like, a little bit. A little bit spicy, right?
Sean Avery
Yeah. But I was also the first person that brought. I mean, I brought Andre Leon Talley to a Ranger game.
Adam Friedland
Who's that?
Sean Avery
He was a giant, gay, black fashion man who worked under Anna Wintour for a long time at Vogue. Legendary.
Adam Friedland
Trying to distract the guys.
Sean Avery
Well, kind of. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Maybe.
Adam Friedland
Am I correct to say that NHL is the only North American sport that has never had an out gay player?
Sean Avery
Well, because we're the only sport.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
That outside of ufc, like, we fight. And I still think there's that.
Adam Friedland
That macho.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And. And I've played with gay players.
Adam Friedland
Totally.
Sean Avery
For sure.
Adam Friedland
I. I bet. Yeah. Yeah.
Sean Avery
That was. I gave you an opportunity to. To. You could have came at me on that one. Well, like, what. How do you know they were gay?
Adam Friedland
I don't know.
Sean Avery
No, you would ask me that.
Adam Friedland
How do you know?
Sean Avery
Implying that I had, like, sexual relations with some of my gay teammates.
Adam Friedland
You fucked your guys?
Sean Avery
No, see, that's what I'm saying. I was already way ahead of. I was already playing the bit.
Adam Friedland
I helped them come out of the closet or like, was it. Was it.
Sean Avery
No, I was trying. Oh, you. Are you doing it?
Adam Friedland
That was good in terms of, like, you playing the heel and, like, you. What? Like your. Kind of. And you realizing that your entire 13 years was a type of performance.
Sean Avery
Right? Yeah. Well said.
Adam Friedland
Then, like, most of the times you got in trouble from what I saw.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Was it actually, like, you were doing a dirty hit on the ice? It wasn't like you were trying to, like, you could give a guy a spinal injury. It was a talk of the press. Right.
Sean Avery
I said the sloppy seconds thing, which
Adam Friedland
was why it's not. It's nothing in 2025 is nothing in the NBA. There's like, six girls that they all have sex with.
Sean Avery
No, but. But it was a. It was a crass and. And it was.
Adam Friedland
That, to me, just seemed like Gary Bedman was, like, just sick of you. Right.
Sean Avery
Gary wanted to send a message that
Adam Friedland
was like, you do. This is the last straw.
Sean Avery
Again, well said. Yes, yes.
Adam Friedland
But, like. But the problem. What I saw was, like, Going Back to Connor McDavid. Love him. We love. But, like, you know, I was not. You're gonna give them an interview, Right. The rest of the guys are gonna be like, well, you gotta play. You got three periods. Yeah, we are for the puck with the puck drops.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Hockey players have been conditioned to be some of the worst soundbites of all time.
Adam Friedland
And you're like. You're giving them, like. So the media is like, you're feeding to some extent. You're like.
Sean Avery
You're. One of my great quotes to the media. And this sort of ties into, like, what I was doing. I was on the back page of the Post when Spitzer went in this. I got pulled into the.
Adam Friedland
Oh, you got Client nine.
Sean Avery
I got pulled in.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
And the back cover was the Ranger and the Madam, because somebody said that I was in the book.
Adam Friedland
Oh, were you?
Sean Avery
I walked in. So when I got to the rink that day and. And the horde of reporters, I said, guys, anytime that I've ever been to a whorehouse, I did. I didn't use my real name.
Adam Friedland
And they loved it.
Sean Avery
And that was it.
Adam Friedland
And they loved it.
Sean Avery
And that was. It was done.
Adam Friedland
But, like, they're not gonna get that out of these, like, these, like, guys from.
Sean Avery
I agree.
Adam Friedland
Saskatchewan.
Sean Avery
I agree.
Adam Friedland
They're like, they're. And so to some extent, you were giving the NHL, you're like, like, headlines. You were like. You were actually, like, doing something for
Sean Avery
the league on a national level. Yeah. More than some of, like, the stars in the league. For sure.
Adam Friedland
Nowadays it would be conceived in a different way, I think. Right. Because, like, nowadays we understand that, like, that's. That what you're doing is you're effectively doing PR for the league and you're making it more popular.
Sean Avery
Yeah. I mean, you know, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are a great example.
Adam Friedland
Of what?
Sean Avery
Of. Of, you know, what white nationalism
Adam Friedland
of,
Sean Avery
like, what we want to see from our athletes.
Adam Friedland
Perfect. Aryan school.
Sean Avery
So when I was doing it, it was like, oh, he. Look at this guy. He's dating. He's like. He's dating fancy. He's dating famous girls. It was sort of weird.
Adam Friedland
That's bad.
Sean Avery
And the guy before me.
Adam Friedland
Hot girls is bad.
Sean Avery
Well, it's. It's an old boys club and it's a very traditional, like.
Adam Friedland
Like the shower.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, the shower.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, like the shower. So it's 95% gay. Yeah. You're like one of the only guys that gets pussy. And now you're getting. You got judged for it. You got suspended for getting pussy.
Sean Avery
Yeah, Essentially. Right.
Adam Friedland
You decide. You announced you wanted to be a Shakespearean actor. You retired.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You. And then, like, you. You've pursued creative. Like, you've been doing something from eight. So, like, when did you retire?
Sean Avery
I was 33 maybe.
Adam Friedland
So it's one thing your whole life.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Right.
Adam Friedland
And like, when I was watching that Devil's Rangers series. That's this war. Yeah, you're a fucking war.
Sean Avery
I think. I think what happened was I was burnt out.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Because I was tired of being chased, you know, Gary was up my. The league. There was always something, like, when I think back to Yzerman, saying, just shut the fuck up. It was too late at that point. Yeah. There had been so much heat and, like, it was. It was. You had a career waiting for you,
Adam Friedland
probably as a result of, like.
Sean Avery
Well. Well, I played it. I played long enough that I. That I said, if I don't do it now and I stay, you know, then they pull you back in. Now I'm 40 when I'm done, and I know I want to do something else. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
I got to do it now while I'm young and energized and like. And thank God that. Yeah, thank God that I. I'd have more money now, I guess.
Adam Friedland
You know, you're competing against other dudes your whole life, right? Like. Like, how do they replace that? Right, dude, it's like doing, like, beautiful, gorgeous paintings and, like, you know, reading beautiful books.
Sean Avery
Well, I don't.
Adam Friedland
Well, those guys are like. Are they gambling? Are they, like, you know, it gets dark. Yeah, it gets dark.
Sean Avery
It's dark.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
Get started.
Adam Friedland
Is there a support network, like, for. For the lads?
Sean Avery
I think it's getting better for the boys.
Adam Friedland
Like, the players association has something.
Sean Avery
I think it's getting better. Yeah. You know, we have great medical. So, yes, they're in much better situations than the average person, but they're also dealing with, like, fuck, it's pretty dark. It's dark because you don't know, like. You don't know anything. You've only done one thing.
Adam Friedland
Well, you're trying to kill another guy your whole life, and then you're like. Now you're like, at the.
Sean Avery
What, like you're just saying you're just a regular guy.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, yeah.
Sean Avery
It gets dark and you got to figure out how to fucking. Time is your enemy when you stop playing.
Adam Friedland
You punched a cop, right?
Sean Avery
Oh, in la, yeah.
Adam Friedland
Well, no, they tifa antifa style. They said you defunded the police.
Sean Avery
They said that? No, they tried to come in the House. This was in Laurel Canyon too, by the way. Which is fabulous. You know, very hippity dippity. Right. Earthy. Yeah. They had a LAPD helicopter on top of the house telling me to surrender. And then I think I was on the back page of the post for that. The piggies. Cause I was.
Adam Friedland
Whatever. All I'm saying is this.
Sean Avery
Is that what you.
Adam Friedland
No. You're transitioning into a real life. It must be hard not to punch every cop you see. You're like a Vigo in History of Violence.
Sean Avery
Yes. Yeah, I couldn't. Or Fight Club or, you know, I couldn't go to work. I couldn't work in a regular atmosphere. When you come from an atmosphere where you're allowed to fight your co worker as. As a. As a positive step to then go into the public sector and what. What? I mean, I don't know, work for Fanduel or even at FanDuel. I'm sure there would be issues.
Adam Friedland
I like punch fan.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Right.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. So do you feel like you got out of the shit? You're like, you got out of nom.
Sean Avery
I got it. And you needed. And you needed some time. And I was. I was always.
Adam Friedland
It has to be a transition.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah. Because my job, like I said in the book, I felt like a protector. So taking out my flamethrower, I would say was. I was being. It was a precautionary step. I didn't look at it as like, I was. I was just making sure everything was cool.
Adam Friedland
Right. Because like, the best player on one team, like, Sidney Crosby's gotten in one fight. Right?
Sean Avery
Yeah, right.
Adam Friedland
So. Because there's a. Because there's a knight like you, and he's like, oh, thank you.
Sean Avery
Like, who, like, comes in and handles it. So the transition takes, you know, it takes a while.
Adam Friedland
Chivalrous.
Sean Avery
It's. It takes a while.
Adam Friedland
Was it. Was there another guy where the two of you were like, we love fighting each other on another team. It's kind of romantic.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Me and Darcy Tucker did.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, usually.
Sean Avery
Yeah. And I love them.
Adam Friedland
And you high five afterwards.
Sean Avery
You're like, no, no, but. And you know what's interesting? It's so crazy because Darcy Tucker married one of his teammates sisters. That was something that I would approach.
Adam Friedland
Oh, so you chirp that.
Sean Avery
Yes, yes.
Adam Friedland
Well, I would tell the teammate that. That Darcy is dicking her so good.
Sean Avery
That's what I would. I would. I kept it away.
Adam Friedland
And then Darcy would come in and
Sean Avery
say he would defend his brother in law if his brother in Law didn't snap. Darcy was coming over the top to defend his honor. So it was a win. Win.
Adam Friedland
Family stuff worked best. What worked best?
Sean Avery
I mean, sisters, you would get. The wires would get crossed if you. If the sisters.
Adam Friedland
Your sister, I'd be like, she's great. And you're great. I would love it.
Sean Avery
Right?
Adam Friedland
I would love. I give you my blessing.
Sean Avery
Right. But that's the.
Adam Friedland
I'm Joe Sacking.
Sean Avery
That's like Joe's mom.
Adam Friedland
I love that for you.
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that, that was. That was a. Anything. Ex girlfriend.
Adam Friedland
Ex girlfriend.
Sean Avery
Ex girlfriend.
Adam Friedland
Because she's such a. Who cares?
Sean Avery
Well, because she's now dating. That's what My teammate.
Adam Friedland
But that's what a bro goes to, right?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
You had sex before me?
Sean Avery
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The fundamentals.
Adam Friedland
Let's get. So how the fuck. You're about to be your third Christopher Nolan.
Sean Avery
Okay. When I was done playing, I did Dancing with the Stars.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And one of the producers on Dancing with the Stars husband is a guy by the name of John Papsadera, who I think is a hockey name. Well, no, he's a casting director.
Adam Friedland
I know, but it sounds like a hockey name.
Sean Avery
Yeah, it does. Like. Yeah, Papsidera.
Adam Friedland
He used to hit like a.
Sean Avery
Like a truck.
Adam Friedland
Like a truck.
Sean Avery
So. Because I did Dancing with the Stars, a few years later, my buddy Pete Berg put me in a movie called Patriots Day. I'd never been on a movie. Yes.
Adam Friedland
I saw it in a hotel. Was.
Sean Avery
And I took the train up to Boston. And the combination of those two events. Because once I did the thing in Boston with Pete, I go, that's the closest thing I've ever felt to fighting at center ice on. In Madison Square Garden. I'm on set, there's 200 people. All of a sudden they go, action. And it's like, you're acting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So because I did Dancing with the Stars and now did this Berg movie, now I get connected to John Papsadera, who has a history of casting and breaking. Like, he likes interesting dudes. Yeah, yeah. Okay.
Adam Friedland
Yeah.
Sean Avery
And he puts me in. Tenet was the first one. And I did six weeks on Tenet, the last final sequence when all the shits were blowing the shit up. Yes. Inverted. Yeah, Inverted ordinances and all that.
Adam Friedland
I got that movie easy.
Sean Avery
Yeah. Oh, you did, really? It took me like 14 times with the subtitles on and I was in the movie to figure it out.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, but you should have asked while you were there.
Sean Avery
I. I've. I've you should be like, what the fuck is this? Then I did Oppenheimer and I auditioned for these roles. Yeah, I do the thing, the sides, the tape. And I don't know what happened at that point, but like, much like my hockey career, I had a couple of mentors. Like, geez, that guided me that, that like, like what was going on. And I guess I just finished doing the Odyssey and. And so that's my third one. And now I'm a, you know, a working actor. Like, I. I'll go. I'll go anywhere.
Adam Friedland
Is he like a general on set? How's he. How's he running that show? He's like. He's like. He's like Patton or something. That's what I imagine.
Sean Avery
He's so good. He is. He's so good.
Adam Friedland
How's he. He doesn't lose his cool, I imagine.
Sean Avery
No, no. I mean, I don't. He's like. He's like firing on a different wavelength. He's like. He's like Shohei, right? He, he, he. He sees everything happen before it happens. Or also, you know, just trusts the beauty of creativity and hires the best people and lets them paint inside structure, inside fucking like reality. Because that's the other thing. He builds reality. I mean.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. And he also does everything in cameras.
Sean Avery
Everything.
Adam Friedland
Yeah, the whole thing with like a imax, like.
Sean Avery
Yeah, we were in. We were just all over the world.
Adam Friedland
So he's basically like Scotty, right?
Sean Avery
He's like.
Adam Friedland
He's the Scotty of movies.
Sean Avery
He's the Scotty Bowman. Yeah, the Scotty Bowman of movies.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
He is.
Adam Friedland
When you saw.
Sean Avery
Wait, because I once sat in a sauna with Scotty Bowman. Really?
Adam Friedland
What was it was what he looked
Sean Avery
like he had a towel just under his.
Adam Friedland
I would imagine so.
Sean Avery
Right up to this.
Adam Friedland
Right, right up.
Sean Avery
Right up to the top.
Adam Friedland
Okay.
Sean Avery
So he looked like he was in fighting shape.
Adam Friedland
And this weekend.
Sean Avery
I hope to God. I do. I hope to God because, you know, I was a kid and insane when I met him. And he. He sat and he talked to me about he. My dad and my dad being a teacher and what high school. He would always talk about things that had nothing to do with what I think he was trying to get you to understand really in a very beautiful way.
Adam Friedland
He like, guide you and I think
Sean Avery
that that's how I would the comparison. Chris, that was a good pull. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Wow.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Really?
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Like in the ether in terms of like direct. So he was directing you to some Scotty Boba? Yes, that is one of the. Dopest things I've ever heard.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
I love it when sports stuff is expressed that way.
Sean Avery
Yes.
Adam Friedland
Yeah. Like in a different. Wow.
Sean Avery
Yeah.
Adam Friedland
I love sports. Dude, you should. Are we going to go to games together?
Sean Avery
Yes. Can we go? Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Are we boys?
Sean Avery
I think so. Yeah.
Adam Friedland
Can I just close.
Sean Avery
I didn't know how this was going to go, by the way.
Adam Friedland
No, no, no. I'm. I'm a. I'm a great. I'm just great to be around.
Sean Avery
Good. What camp did you go to?
Adam Friedland
Jews.
Sean Avery
No, I know which one.
Adam Friedland
My Donic.
Sean Avery
Where.
Adam Friedland
I think it was in southern Germany or Poland. I forgot. Where was my daughter?
Sean Avery
Wow. Not.
Adam Friedland
I want to ask you one last question. Do you think a girlfriend will ever like. Like, respect you if she doesn't feel like you could have if you could kill her with your bare hands? No.
Sean Avery
Yeah, you're right.
Adam Friedland
So that. Really.
Sean Avery
That's always.
Adam Friedland
Not that you want to do it
Sean Avery
always in the back of her head.
Adam Friedland
Just that you want to. Like, if there's just.
Sean Avery
And you know, when I see that situation and if a guy can't. I have compassion for her because I know she's totally not fulfilled. Because she doesn't feel safe.
Adam Friedland
What do you mean? There's other types of.
Sean Avery
Which is why I come back to it. Yeah. And you know what?
Adam Friedland
You're. Teach me how to kill.
Sean Avery
We're gonna grapple.
Adam Friedland
No. Right now.
Sean Avery
No, don't stand up so everybody can see that.
Adam Friedland
5, 10. 5, 10. And he went league too. Everyone. John Avery,
Sean Avery
Great.
Adam Friedland
Sa.
Sean Avery
Foreign. Thanks for watching.
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This episode features former NHL agitator Sean Avery, known for his on-ice antics, mental warfare against opponents, off-ice provocations, and post-career transitions into writing and acting. Adam and Avery dig into hockey culture, the psychology of "the agitator," locker room legends, sportsmanship, controversy, and Avery’s unlikely journey into Hollywood—including working with Christopher Nolan. The conversation is fast-paced, irreverent, and captures the unique worlds where competitive violence, personal reinvention, and humor collide.
(Note: Ads, intros, and outros omitted)
The conversation is energetic and raw, with both host and guest displaying rare candor about sports violence, personal demons, the need to feel "alive," and the challenge of life after pro sports. For listeners—or anyone interested in the intersection of competition, psychology, and entertainment—it’s an intimate, funny, and revealing look inside the world of a classic NHL heel who’s always skating one step ahead.