During the 2005 preseason,
Denis Gauthier of the
Phoenix Coyotes bodychecked Kings forward
Jeremy Roenick in a preseason game, giving Roenick a concussion. Avery's response was "I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on, running around and playing tough and not back anything up," giving way to much controversy with the
French-Canadian public. [sup]
[2][/sup] Avery also made news during the regular season when
Georges Laraque of the
Edmonton Oilers, a
Black Canadian, claimed that Avery called him a "monkey" during an
October 11, 2005 contest between the two teams. The incident was never proven and Avery adamantly denies it ever occurred. [sup]
[3][/sup] Avery was fined $1,000 by the NHL on
November 15, 2005 for intentionally
diving during a game, then was fined $1,000 more a day later after publicly ripping into the NHL's director of hockey operations
Colin Campbell. [sup]
[4][/sup]