Anyone who has ever been to a game at Madison Square Garden knows the melodic whistle that will happen when there's a lull in the action, and how the crowd will chant in unison upon it's completion. It's been a staple for many years at all home games, and even though the player in question is long retired and only played for the New York Islanders, it very much remains a thing. Some may be familiar with this story, newer fans may have no idea. With this week being "lore week" at FanSided NHL, it seemed like an easy first topic to cover.
The chant of "Potvin sucks! stems from an incident that occurred at a New York Rangers and New York Islanders game back on February 25, 1979. The Blueshirts took on their local rival and it was a game just like any other until Ulf Nilsson took a "questionable" hit from Islanders captain and legend Denis Potvin. The hit sent Nilsson into the boards, and he ended up missing the rest of the game due to a broken ankle that was a result of a skate getting stuck in a divot on the ice since it was toward the end of the period and the ice wasn't in the greatest condition.
The word questionable is in parenthesis because fans hold this moment against Potvin, to this day, when Nilsson himself really doesn't think it was anything to get up in arms about.
"He was a great hockey player. He was always fair. But the ice was never great in the Garden because they had basketball and other events. My foot got caught. It was a freak thing. The Ranger fans were so frustrated."Ulf Nilsson to New York Times
It is possible fans are upset over this because Nilsson's career after getting injured went up in smoke as previously highlighted by our friends at Eyes on Isles.
"He had 27 goals and 39 assists through 54 games with the Blueshirts when the hit and injury occurred. He had 30 goals in 111 games and was out of the NHL after the 1982-83 season."Eyes on Isles
The injury that really impacted his career came while Nilsson was playing for Sweden at the 1981 Canada Cup, and that cost him the entirety of the 1981-82 NHL season. His NHL tenure was ultimately limited to 170 games, and in that span he tallied 57 goals and 112 assists for 169 points. Who knows what happens if he never got injured, because he was quite the player in the WHA with 484 points in 300 games.
In any case, there have been much bigger villains to transgress the Blueshirts in recent years, but no such chant has been developed and repeated with the same level of fervor of "Potvin Sucks". We may eventually get to a point where, like other elements of pop culture, the chant simply dies out.