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Offside: My Life Crossing the Line
Hockey's most polarizing figure takes us inside the game, shedding light not only on what goes on behind closed doors, but also what makes professional athletes tick. Sean Avery is not afraid to break the rules laid down by hockey tradition. And the most respected of these is the code of silence. For the first time, a hockey player is prepared to reveal what really goes on in the NHL, in the spirit of what Ball Four did for baseball. The money, the personalities, the adultery, and the drugs--and also the little things that make up daily life in the league.
Most athletes have little to say, but Sean doesn't have that problem. Yes, he tells us about the guys he's fought and the guys he's partied with, and he tells us where to find the best cougar bars in various NHL cities and what it's like to be hounded by the media when you're dating a celebrity. But Sean's job on the ice was always to get inside the heads of the guys he played against, and that insight on human nature is on full display in Offside. What makes millionaire athletes tick? What are their weaknesses? And in the end, what makes Sean Avery--once called "the most hated player in the NHL"--who he is? What is it like to make people hate you for a living?
Sean Avery's misdeeds on and off the ice are well-documented, and he certainly has his detractors. But on the other hand, he has a lot of supporters, in part for things like being the first North American athlete to come out in favour of marriage equality, and in part just for being an interesting guy. Love him or hate him, he is one of the best-known players of the past few decades, and certainly one of the most colourful and outspoken. In Offside, he meets his accusers head-on, and gives them something to think about.
Most athletes have little to say, but Sean doesn't have that problem. Yes, he tells us about the guys he's fought and the guys he's partied with, and he tells us where to find the best cougar bars in various NHL cities and what it's like to be hounded by the media when you're dating a celebrity. But Sean's job on the ice was always to get inside the heads of the guys he played against, and that insight on human nature is on full display in Offside. What makes millionaire athletes tick? What are their weaknesses? And in the end, what makes Sean Avery--once called "the most hated player in the NHL"--who he is? What is it like to make people hate you for a living?
Sean Avery's misdeeds on and off the ice are well-documented, and he certainly has his detractors. But on the other hand, he has a lot of supporters, in part for things like being the first North American athlete to come out in favour of marriage equality, and in part just for being an interesting guy. Love him or hate him, he is one of the best-known players of the past few decades, and certainly one of the most colourful and outspoken. In Offside, he meets his accusers head-on, and gives them something to think about.
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 11, 2018
7 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Sean Avery
9 books37 followersSean Christopher Avery is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), he played left wing for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers, gaining recognition for his agitating playing style and controversial behaviour both on and off the ice. He is also known for his eclectic interests, having worked in fashion, most notably as an intern at Vogue magazine; as a model; and as a restaurateur. He finished his 12-year career with a total of 90 goals, 247 points and 1,533 penalty minutes in 580 games.
After retiring in 2012, Avery began working at Lipman, an advertising and creative agency in New York City. He was promoted to senior staffer, but the firm closed without notice in September 2013, reportedly due to financial problems, later filing for bankruptcy, and owing Avery $229,167.
Avery's memoir, Ice Capades: A Memoir of Fast Living and Tough Hockey, was published by Blue Rider Press in 2017.
After retiring in 2012, Avery began working at Lipman, an advertising and creative agency in New York City. He was promoted to senior staffer, but the firm closed without notice in September 2013, reportedly due to financial problems, later filing for bankruptcy, and owing Avery $229,167.
Avery's memoir, Ice Capades: A Memoir of Fast Living and Tough Hockey, was published by Blue Rider Press in 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 14, 2018
Not really well written, but fairly entertaining!
January 24, 2020
3.5 stars
I absolutely love reading biographies, especially sports one as they usually demonstrate high level of discipline, dedication and perseverance to make it to elite. But Sean Avery is not your typical hockey player, he is known as an agitator, with no filters. He says what he thinks whatever the consequences. Here are examples: « One of the few improvements I can think of is the Sean Avery Hat Trick: playing a great game, going to a club afterward and getting wasted, then taking a supermodel home for a nightcap that lasts till sunrise » or « And I admired the fact that he was the most-endowed teammate I had ever seen, by a considerable margin ».
Although, he is dedicated to winning the game, it is hard to admire the guy for his sportsmanship attitude. Avery craves fame and celebrity. This biography contains lots of name dropping, hockey players, coaches, actresses and models. I can’t say this read was not entertaining but it was not necessarily what I had envisioned. I finished the book feeling he had no respect for anyone and only believed his opinion was always the best, I would suggest for hockey fans only as this is far from a Ken Dryden book! Juicy and shocking!
I absolutely love reading biographies, especially sports one as they usually demonstrate high level of discipline, dedication and perseverance to make it to elite. But Sean Avery is not your typical hockey player, he is known as an agitator, with no filters. He says what he thinks whatever the consequences. Here are examples: « One of the few improvements I can think of is the Sean Avery Hat Trick: playing a great game, going to a club afterward and getting wasted, then taking a supermodel home for a nightcap that lasts till sunrise » or « And I admired the fact that he was the most-endowed teammate I had ever seen, by a considerable margin ».
Although, he is dedicated to winning the game, it is hard to admire the guy for his sportsmanship attitude. Avery craves fame and celebrity. This biography contains lots of name dropping, hockey players, coaches, actresses and models. I can’t say this read was not entertaining but it was not necessarily what I had envisioned. I finished the book feeling he had no respect for anyone and only believed his opinion was always the best, I would suggest for hockey fans only as this is far from a Ken Dryden book! Juicy and shocking!
January 15, 2022
Wasn’t a huge fan of Sean Avery before I read this book and after finishing, I have mixed feelings. You can tell by the way it’s written that he thinks he’s a god amongst children and he thinks so highly of himself. I respect his grind to get to the NHL but this guy needs to check his ego. That was one of the reasons why the rating was so low, but he had some interesting stories.
December 21, 2021
I can't say this book is well written, but with biographies like these, you really just want the story. And this story was interesting to me. Sean is more interesting than most NHLers I'm sure, he seems to say what he thinks, even when he doesn't think, which got him into trouble at times. However, all of us have done things we regret. I like how he wants to be an individual and not a soulless robot. He wants to be creative, enjoy New York City, fashion, beautiful women, travel, music. Who can blame him.
Importantly, he gets that the NHL is entertainment, and he was playing a character, that of a villain. He's no dummy.
Importantly, he gets that the NHL is entertainment, and he was playing a character, that of a villain. He's no dummy.
January 2, 2024
Amazing! Funny! Exactly what I thought!
March 31, 2022
Gritty, honest, blunt. Sean Avery holds nothing back telling his story about playing for the NHL for over thirteen seasons, first up in Detroit, then the Kings and, finally, the Rangers, his hands-down fave team and city: New York. Labelled an agitator, penalty killer, too outspoken, too impulsive (he admits to that, totally), and clearly, over his playing years, anti-establishment NHL upper echelon.
Hard on himself, nursing buckets of anger built up over being benched, being too individual, too curious, too young--21 and a guy loose off-time in L.A., New York, etc--Avery can't be faulted for being a completely dedicated hard working player, a player whose goal is to win on whatever team he's on. But, and here's the thing, his pent up anger gets him in s---loads of trouble over his career and his mouth runs off far too often into reprimand territory. He was screwed in playing time by a handful of coaches for being too popular--teams lost when he was benched, and won when he played--and his off-ice antics while laugh out loud hilarious at times, grow a bit old. Avery does grasp this, at long last, sensing the end of his years in the NHL is near and he, after his struggles to reach the pinnacle of play, is cool with that, he's been making the transition to life post hockey, opening a bar, and another, maybe acting. And getting married.
Compared to the baseball tell-all, Foul Balls by Jim Boulton, Offside gets down and dirty on bad coaches, owners, teammates, opposing players, and then there's the lifestyles of certain celebrities and cities like L.A. and Texas at large. He spares no one and calls out the unfairness of much that he saw and experienced in his NHL time.
I did say that this should be R-rated, it's not a read for everyone. If you like hockey, like watching it and are up for a conversational style memoir, pick it up and enjoy. I did.
Hard on himself, nursing buckets of anger built up over being benched, being too individual, too curious, too young--21 and a guy loose off-time in L.A., New York, etc--Avery can't be faulted for being a completely dedicated hard working player, a player whose goal is to win on whatever team he's on. But, and here's the thing, his pent up anger gets him in s---loads of trouble over his career and his mouth runs off far too often into reprimand territory. He was screwed in playing time by a handful of coaches for being too popular--teams lost when he was benched, and won when he played--and his off-ice antics while laugh out loud hilarious at times, grow a bit old. Avery does grasp this, at long last, sensing the end of his years in the NHL is near and he, after his struggles to reach the pinnacle of play, is cool with that, he's been making the transition to life post hockey, opening a bar, and another, maybe acting. And getting married.
Compared to the baseball tell-all, Foul Balls by Jim Boulton, Offside gets down and dirty on bad coaches, owners, teammates, opposing players, and then there's the lifestyles of certain celebrities and cities like L.A. and Texas at large. He spares no one and calls out the unfairness of much that he saw and experienced in his NHL time.
I did say that this should be R-rated, it's not a read for everyone. If you like hockey, like watching it and are up for a conversational style memoir, pick it up and enjoy. I did.
March 22, 2024
Having watched some of Sean Avery's antics, what he would call "his game" I will admit that this book was a lot better than I expected. I was going to give it five stars, so this should be considered 4.5 as we can't give half stars.
Sean Avery - if you wrote this without graduating high school, very well done. You articulated yourself clearly, had a great voice and you put together a great book without trash talking too many people. If you had a ghost writer, they more than earned their pay as they captured your voice extremely well. It would be interesting to know which is the case.
The only real flaw I found in the book was going on way too long about your relationship, or lack of, with Tortorella. Going down that path was important to you, but it got old after a while.
I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to others who saw the crazy character on ice. But it was nice to know that was not who you were. Worth the read.
Sean Avery - if you wrote this without graduating high school, very well done. You articulated yourself clearly, had a great voice and you put together a great book without trash talking too many people. If you had a ghost writer, they more than earned their pay as they captured your voice extremely well. It would be interesting to know which is the case.
The only real flaw I found in the book was going on way too long about your relationship, or lack of, with Tortorella. Going down that path was important to you, but it got old after a while.
I did enjoy the book and would recommend it to others who saw the crazy character on ice. But it was nice to know that was not who you were. Worth the read.
November 20, 2019
This book isn't your typical hockey memoir, because Sean Avery isn't your typical hockey player. I was never an Avery fan, but I enjoyed this book.
I like when people aren't one dimensional, or defined by their career choice. Sean used his skills as a hockey player to make the NHL but that didn't define him. Once there, he used the publicity and money from his career to stabilize his future and explore his diverse interests. He didn't wait until his career was over to do it either. While playing in the NHL he was an intern at "Vogue", a restauranteur and a model.
I still think what he said about Elisha Cuthbert was terrible but he appears remorseful when discussing it. Overall a very good read, with poor editing.
I like when people aren't one dimensional, or defined by their career choice. Sean used his skills as a hockey player to make the NHL but that didn't define him. Once there, he used the publicity and money from his career to stabilize his future and explore his diverse interests. He didn't wait until his career was over to do it either. While playing in the NHL he was an intern at "Vogue", a restauranteur and a model.
I still think what he said about Elisha Cuthbert was terrible but he appears remorseful when discussing it. Overall a very good read, with poor editing.
May 10, 2020
If you enjoy sports memoirs this is definitely one that can’t be missed! I’ve always been a fan of Sean Avery’s uncut, raw real personality as he never holds back. This book was filled with exciting stories about his time spent as a professional hockey player and many other avenues he explored throughout his life. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and seeing the NHL through the eyes of Avery, however, there were some editing flaws which is why my rating was lower. I’m definitely looking forward to Avery’s second book where he continues the chaos!
March 1, 2020
Was a great read.. have a new appreciation for Sean. While most hate him for his hockey antics. I have a new found respect for him. Thanks Sean for giving a fucking true perspective. Instead of the " we played hard".. " we struggled tonight".. " go team".
Your gave the hard truth and the grit.
Listened to on Audible and your narration was impeccable. Cheers
Your gave the hard truth and the grit.
Listened to on Audible and your narration was impeccable. Cheers
March 6, 2019
Not as great as I was led to believe. While at points he is amazingly candid about nhl culture and his extra curricular activities made him unique in the sport there was nothing special about this autobiography.
January 16, 2020
Enjoyed it. Easy to read. Doesn’t pull punches but also doesn’t burn players by naming them in certain instances. Honest, blunt and came across as someone with more perspective then likely anyone gave him credit for while he was playing.
February 11, 2020
This guy is a head case. I was hoping that the book would make me like him, not see him as a villain as much. But it didn't do that. I'm not a fan. He did have some interesting takes on NHL discipline and especially John Tortorella, but other than that...meh.
March 22, 2019
Not the man I thought he was! An interesting mind. A great read.
April 30, 2019
Recently finished Sean Avery’s memoir - I still don’t like the guy and I get the idea he glossed over some of his sins, but it’s worth reading about his perspective
November 13, 2020
He is a CHARACTER !!
March 25, 2021
Full of great stories in the NHL and his time coming up. If you don’t like him it’s probably won’t appeal to you.
May 28, 2021
Fascinating life Sean has lived so far! Great read for anyone who's a fan of hockey but also for creative minds.
March 1, 2023
not as good as i thought it would be but decent read
April 11, 2023
Was never a fan of Avery but I enjoyed this book. He says some interesting things about well known people he clearly doesn't like.
June 29, 2025
Listened as an audiobook I liked that Sean narrated. Maybe a bit over the top on his hatred of John Tortorelli.
June 22, 2024
Loved this book, was great to understand a different side of Sean… and also the hockey side from his perspective
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews