After all the hubbub, which we aren’t even past the hub part, the Dallas Stars owner tells us that Sean Avery would have been in hot water had the NHL not suspended him.  From the Dallas Stars Blog at the Dallas Morning News (via Puck Daddy):

Stars owner Tom Hicks supported the decision.

“I completely support the league’s decision to suspend Sean Avery,” said Dallas Stars owner Thomas O. Hicks. “Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so.”

Look, I know that there are people with lazy hiring practices, but didn’t Hicks turn on a television over the last few years?  Didn’t they know what Avery was like when they signed him?  There was more due dilligance done when loans were being drafted through the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

I’m not going to say that the Stars aren’t a classy organization, but they had to know what they were getting in to.  Asking Sean Avery to behave himself is like asking for a return on investment on your 401k.  While it may be the case that the Stars would have done “something,” the fact remains that they haven’t done anything to Avery yet, they knew what they were getting into, and they may not have really had the power to do anything (NHLPA anyone?).