Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesName the former Rangers defenseman who later became an Islander and made a foolish statement before an Isles-Rangers game that got him traded? (Don't sneak a look at the answer.)
HIS QUOTE: "The Rangers will probably beat us. But there's no great shame attached to losing to those guys." Then, a pause: "The league is laughing at us, the fans are laughing at us. But they created us and they're laughing at themselves."
ANSWER: The statement was made in early February 1973 by Arnie Brown. Within days he was traded to Atlanta for Ernie Hicke and "future considerations."
P.S. Brown – obtained in the big Toronto deal – lost his effectiveness in his last year with the Rangers.