New York Islanders Antonio Brown Comparison is Kirk Muller

With the surprising release of wide receiver Antonio Brown by the Oakland Raiders, the question for every other fan base, such as the New York Islanders is: Who’s our Anthony Brown? It’s Kirk Muller.

You might be tempted to say that the New York Islanders version of Anthony Brown is Tim Thomas. And that’s a fair shout. But you’d be wrong.

In case you’re new to this situation, what did Antonio Brown do exactly?

The four-time all-pro wide receiver was traded by the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders in the offseason. And almost immediately he made his stay with the Raiders intolerable. From helmet complaints, to having frost-bite on his feet, to threatening to never play for them, to chewing out the team’s GM.

It’s clear that Antonio Brown just didn’t want to be with the Raiders and just wanted to go somewhere else. Bringing it back to the New York Islanders, that’s not a Tim Thomas situation exactly. It’s a

Kirk Muller

situation.

Not Tim Thomas

Sure. Tim Thomas was picked up by the Islanders after already bring suspended by the Boston Bruins for not suiting up. In that regard, it’s the same situation.

But the former two-time winning Vezina trophy winner wasn’t added to the Islanders roster to try and win a third. He was added to help them make the cap floor.

Thomas might have carried a $5 million cap hit, but he was actually only owed $3 million in salary. And that $3 million didn’t need to be paid on account of Thomas’s suspension.

This was the Islanders playing around with the salary cap before the Ottawa Senators made it cool.

It’s Kirk Muller

Kirk Muller, on the other hand, did not want to play for the New York Islanders. He didn’t want to be traded from the Montreal Canadiens. He even had an assurance from then Habs GM Serge Savard that he wouldn’t be traded.

That was until the Islanders were willing to trade 58 goal scorer Pierre Turgeon. That changed everything for Savard.

Instead of accepting his fate, and trying to make the best of it like a professional – which was one of the reasons Isles GM Don Maloney traded for him – Muller made it difficult for the Islanders.

At first, he didn’t show up. The Islanders had to place him on personal leave shortly after the trade. Kirk Muller. He’d finally suit up for the Islanders on April 11th, six days after the trade was made.

He’d pick up eight points in those 12 games. He’d play another 15 games in the following season before the Islanders actually just told him to go home.

He was such a poor character about his situation that the New York Islanders wanted nothing to do with him. So they traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 23rd, 1996. The Islanders got Damien Rhodes and Ken Belanger back in the deal.

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That was the end of the Muller saga.

Kirk Muller is the right comparison for Antonio Brown when it comes to the New York Islanders. Muller just didn’t want to be here until he was eventually unceremoniously shipped out of town.