Martin Brodeur may have been the happiest player in the New York area yesterday.

Nom it’s not because his Devils re-acquired Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens didn’t come out of retirement.

It’s because his nemesis Sean Avery is out of the conference, signing a four years deal with the Dallas Stars worth $15.5 million

In a move rumored for weeks, Avery finally left the Rangers after the club failed to offer a contract to him the ballpark of his asking price. The forward wanted $4 million a season, while general manager Glen Sather was offering just under three.

“Probably two weeks ago I prepared myself for [leaving],” said Avery in a conference call today. “Mentally I told myself it was not going to happen and I wanted to make decision to go somewhere I would be happy and play hard and I think Dallas is the ideal place for that”

From the moment he arrived, Avery became a fan favorite by agitating opponents and knocking goalies right out of the crease, particularly Brodeur. He also proved he could skate as well and scored 23 goals with 30 assists in 86 games since being acquired by the Blueshirts back in Feb. 2007.

His most telling number was the team’s record when he was on the ice. With Avery, the Rangers were 50-23-13, while holding a 24-35-9 mark without the left wing.

Yet, Sather saw fit to let him walk, filling the team’s needs elsewhere.

“It certainly was one of those things I was thinking about prior to today to figure out why it was happening,” said Avery “I woke up this morning and I had a new team and a new commitment and expressed how badly they wanted me on their team. As far as that goes, I have to think about that now and not why they didn’t want me back in New York.”

And it wasn’t that Avery didn’t want to come back. Even though he has a long term relationship with Dallas GM Brett Hull, the agitating forward fell in love with the city and was a staple on gossip pages, linking him to starlets, actresses and even George Bush’s daughter Barbara.

“I spent a year and a half in New York and it’s the place I feel I will come back and live,” said Avery, who also just completed an internship with the magazine Vogue. “It’s become part of me and I call it home now. Playing for the Rangers, I certainly loved the New York fans and playing at Madison Square Garden.

“Unfortunately it was not in my control the decision was there and in front of me and I had to do it. You have to think about your future. I loved staying in New York and playing in New York and it’s a new chapter.”

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