New York Rangers forward Ryan Callahan is another player who has stepped up to defend his head coach, releasing a statement on Sunday that responded to Sean Avery's assertion that John Tortorella be fired.

"Sean Avery's comments solely represent his own thoughts and opinions," said Callahan in a statement released by the team. "He did not speak for us as a team when he was here and certainly does not now."

Avery tweeted on Saturday, five minutes after the Rangers' 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens that the Rangers should "Fire this CLOWN. His players hate him and wont play for his BS.... @imseanavery is #winning."

The Rangers loss on Saturday is their fourth in five games, dropping New York to 16-15-3 on the season and down to No. 8 in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers were expected to be Stanley Cup contenders after making a series of blockbuster moves in the offseason, including trading for Rick Nash.

Derek Stepan responded to Avery as well, telling the New York Daily News after the loss that the blame shouldn't rest squarely on Tortorella.

"Our problem isn't with our coaching staff, and it hasn't been," said Stepan. "And I think if you asked everyone on our team, they would say the same thing, that that's not the case here ... I don't agree with (Avery's tweet) at all, no. I think it's safe to say that all 23 guys on our roster would say that's not the case."

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