Ray Whitney (ice hockey)

Raymond D. "Ray" Whitney (born May 8, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL).[1] He was given the nickname "The Wizard" for his passing and playmaking skills.

Ray Whitney
Whitney at the Carolina Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup parade
Born (1972-05-08) May 8, 1972
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Right
Played for San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Carolina Hurricanes
Phoenix Coyotes
Dallas Stars
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 23rd overall, 1991
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 19912014

Whitney is considered to have been one of the most underrated players in the NHL, as his name has rarely been mentioned amongst hockey fans and writers despite his consistently high point-production throughout his entire 22-year career,[2] making him one of the top 65 point producers in the history of the NHL. On January 29, 2016, Whitney became the first Spokane Chiefs player to have their number retired (#14).[3] He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

Playing career

Long before Whitney played in the NHL, he and his brother Dean were stick boys for the NHL's Wayne Gretzky era Edmonton Oilers. The third stick boy with the Whitney brothers was another future NHL player, Ryan Smyth.[4]

During his junior career, Whitney spent three years with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League (WHL), leading the entire league with 185 points during the 1990-91 season. Whitney and the Chiefs won the 1991 Memorial Cup as champions of the Canadian Hockey League.

Whitney was the second player ever drafted by the San Jose Sharks, picked in the second round (23rd overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Pat Falloon, his teammate with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs, was the Sharks' first pick.[5] The Sharks had thought the pair would be a natural scoring combination, but that didn't pan out. Whitney started his professional career in the 1991-92 season, playing with teams in the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga and the International Hockey League, as well as two games with the San Jose Sharks. He developed into a regular with San Jose over the next two seasons.

Whitney has played for several different NHL teams during his 24-year career, including the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 to 1996–97), Edmonton Oilers (1997–98), Florida Panthers (1997–98 to 2000–01), Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01 to 2002–03), Detroit Red Wings (2003–04), Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes, and Dallas Stars (details below).

On August 6, 2005, Whitney signed a two-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes paying him $1.5 million per year. In his first season with the Hurricanes in 2005–06, Whitney helped Carolina win their first Stanley Cup with fellow Fort Saskatchewan native Mike Commodore.[6]

On February 8, 2007, Whitney scored a natural hat trick in just 1 minute and 40 seconds.[7]

On April 13, 2007, Whitney re-signed with the Hurricanes, agreeing to a three-year contract that pays him $3.5 million per year.

On July 1, 2010, Whitney signed a 2-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes for $3 million per year.

Whitney is known for his comedic tendencies for doing such things as making sure he's visible in pre-game on-screen interviews behind the interviewee, leading to the Hurricanes fans' favorite game of "Where's Whitney"? His commonly used nickname is "Wizard," which was originally given to him by former Florida Panthers play-by-play commentator Jeff Rimer.

Whitney was the last remaining member of the San Jose Sharks inaugural team (1991–92) active in the NHL until his retirement on January 21, 2015.[8]

On March 31, 2012, Whitney became only the 79th player in the history of the NHL to score 1,000 regular-season points, when he registered an assist in a game against the Anaheim Ducks. As of the end of the 2013-14 season, he is number 62 all time for regular-season points in the NHL.

On July 1, 2012, Whitney signed a 2-year, $9 million contract with the Dallas Stars.

On January 21, 2015, he announced his retirement as an NHL player, ending a career after producing 1,064 points (385-679) in 1,330 regular-season games.[9] At the time of his retirement, he was the leader in points, assists and games played for the entire 1991 NHL draft class.

Personal life

Ray and wife Brijet married in 2000 and have three children; two daughters and a son.[10][11] He is known by his nickname "The Wizard".

International play

Whitney has been a member of Team Canada at four different Ice Hockey World Championships. He made his debut at the 1998 World Championship, recording six points in seven games while Canada finished out of the medals. Whitney notched seven points in 10 games at the 1999 World Championship, again missing a medal when Canada lost in the semifinals to the Czech Republic. He joined Team Canada at the 2002 World Championship with Canada again failing to medal. At the 2010 World Championship, Whitney replaced Ryan Smyth as Canada's captain, when Smyth broke his foot early in the tournament.[12] Canada did not win a medal in that year's world championship.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Fort Saskatchewan Rangers AAA AMBHL 71 80 155 235 119
1988–89 Spokane Chiefs WHL 71 17 33 50 16
1989–90 Spokane Chiefs WHL 71 57 56 113 50 6 3 4 7 6
1990–91 Spokane Chiefs WHL 72 67 118 185 36 15 13 18 31 12
1991–92 Kölner Haie 1.GBun 10 3 6 9 4
1991–92 San Diego Gulls IHL 63 36 54 90 12 4 0 0 0 0
1991–92 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 0 3 3 0
1992–93 Kansas City Blades IHL 46 20 33 53 14 12 5 7 12 2
1992–93 San Jose Sharks NHL 26 4 6 10 4
1993–94 San Jose Sharks NHL 61 14 26 40 14 14 0 4 4 8
1994–95 San Jose Sharks NHL 39 13 12 25 14 11 4 4 8 2
1995–96 San Jose Sharks NHL 60 17 24 41 16
1996–97 San Jose Sharks NHL 12 0 2 2 4
1996–97 Kentucky Thoroughblades AHL 9 1 7 8 2
1996–97 Utah Grizzlies IHL 43 13 35 48 34 7 3 1 4 6
1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 9 1 3 4 0
1997–98 Florida Panthers NHL 68 32 29 61 28
1998–99 Florida Panthers NHL 81 26 38 64 18
1999–2000 Florida Panthers NHL 81 29 42 71 35 4 1 0 1 4
2000–01 Florida Panthers NHL 43 10 21 31 28
2000–01 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 3 0 3 3 2
2001–02 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 67 21 40 61 12
2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 81 24 52 76 22
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings NHL 67 14 29 43 22 12 1 3 4 4
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 63 17 38 55 42 24 9 6 15 14
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 81 32 51 83 46
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 66 25 36 61 30
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 24 53 77 32 18 3 8 11 4
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 80 21 37 58 26
2010–11 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 75 17 40 57 24 4 1 2 3 2
2011–12 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 24 53 77 28 16 2 5 7 10
2012–13 Dallas Stars NHL 32 11 18 29 4
2013–14 Dallas Stars NHL 69 9 23 32 14 5 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 1330 385 679 1064 465 108 21 32 53 48

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Canada WC 6th 6 4 2 6 4
1999 Canada WC 4th 10 1 6 7 22
2002 Canada WC 6th 7 1 3 4 2
2010 Canada WC 7th 7 2 6 8 0
Senior totals 30 8 17 25 28

Awards and honours

Award Year
WHL
West First All-Star Team 1991
Bob Clarke Trophy 1991
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy 1991
WHL Champion 1991
Memorial Cup All-Star Team 1991
Memorial Cup Most Sportsmanlike Player 1991
Memorial Cup Champions 1991
NHL
All-Star Games 2000, 2003
Stanley Cup champion 2006
Second All-Star Team 2012

See also

  • List of NHL players with 1000 points
  • List of NHL players with 1000 games played

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Lyle Odelein
Columbus Blue Jackets captain
2002–03
Succeeded by
Luke Richardson
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