Rhett Warrener Article

[Corp000085]

This is a great article on Warrener's time here in Buffalo. If we hadn't gotten Drury out of the deal, i'd regret that trade forever. Rhett was a great guy and one hell of a defenseman for the team. One thing to remember from those forgettable years between the No Goal and the lockout was the SARS incident with Warrener, Campbell and Soupy's sister in law... Here's a nugget featuring our friend Tim Connolly after their plane was grounded so that Warrener and Campbell could be quarentined...

 

 

 

 

Following a visit from roommate Brian Campbell's sister-in-law -- a Toronto nurse who ended up falling ill after being exposed to a patient with symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome -- panic spread.

 

No one spins the tale better than Warrener.

 

"So we're like, 'How serious is this? Is this like the movie Outbreak?' We're getting ready to fly to Carolina. We're in the plane and we're talking to (coach) Lindy Ruff. We say, 'Soupy's sister-in-law has SARS and she was visiting.' He was eating a sandwich and he almost gagged. Everyone was scared.

 

"It was out of the movies right then. We got the doctors on the phone. They started closing the doors to take off and everyone's yelling, 'Don't take off, don't take off!' Then we've got the World Health Organization on the phone. Brian Campbell was on the phone and he said, 'Oh, they want to talk to you, Lindy,' and tries to hand him the phone. Lindy's going, 'I don't want that phone! Get me a different phone!'

 

"Timmy Connolly, who's had the flu for about 10 days, apparently is freaking out. He grabs his bag, puts his jacket on, starts storming off the plane, 'I'm out of here. I've got SARS!' Lindy has to stand up and literally stop him."

 

 

The end result was a 10-day quarantine for the two friends. Eating meant phoning a restaurant. "They'd leave a brown bag out on the sidewalk. We'd drive by and pick it up."

 

Ah, memories.

 

 

 

Concussion or not, TC is a weirdo!!

 

Back to RW though, he was one of those guys who was the heart and soul of a Charlestown Chiefs type of team... Hell, Biron is quoted as stating that their paychecks rarely came during the last Rigas year and they were told not to cash the ones they had because they'd bounce... Thinking back on those days, its no less than a friggin miracle that the team is around today. Warrener will always be remembered fondly in my mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey...ca-7dc0f5a37a35

[wudden]

I was laughing my ass off reading that article when he started telling the SARS story. That's hysterical.

[frisky]

I liked Rhett alot when he was here. I thought we might be able to trade back for him again when he was in the trade rumor mill a while back.

[cesna]

That's a super funny story! Especially the part about Timmy storming of the plane!