Rangers coach Tom Renney repeatedly referred to Sean Avery as one of the team's most valuable components during the drive to the conference semifinals, so imagine the 27-year-old winger's surprise and anger upon reading that management called him "a reasonably effective player as well as a detriment to the team," in the team's salary arbitration brief that will be presented during today's hearing at Toronto. "It's hard not to take something like that personally and not to be emotional about it," Avery told The Post yesterday. "I know this is part of the business, I know this is part of the process, but it's extremely disappointing to read something like that coming from Slats [GM Glen Sather] and not to be offended by it. "They talk about me taking, 'unnecessary penalties,' and make a lot of references about me that I don't want to go into but that I don't think are fair. I certainly don't think I was a detriment to the team."