Juha Markku "Whitey, Flying Finn" Widing (July 4, 1947 in Oulu, Finland – December 30, 1984 in Kelowna, British Columbia) was a professional ice hockey centre who was the third Finnish-born player to play in the National Hockey League. Widing played in the National Hockey League for eight seasons, mostly with the Los Angeles Kings.
Playing career
Widing, although born in Finland, grew up in Sweden and both his parents were Swedish. In 1964, along with his family, he moved to Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, to play junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He played three seasons there, improving his point total each season from 38 to 114 and then finally to 144 in only a 50-game schedule. Widing joined the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1969–70, however after only forty-four games he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Réal Lemieux for Ted Irvine. It was in LA where he developed into a legitimate scoring threat, garnering at least 55 points in five consecutive seasons. It was also in L.A. that Kings' owner Jack Kent Cooke gave him the nickname "Whitey" and instructed his announcers to pronounce his last name as "why-ding" as opposed to the real pronunciation of "vee-ding." He often played on a line with Bob Berry and Mike Corrigan known as "the hot line."
However by 1976–77 his productivity had dropped considerably, and he was traded to the Cleveland Barons. In 1977–78, Widing played for the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association, scoring 42 points in his final professional season. After the season, he was traded to the Indianapolis Racers for Bill Goldsworthy, but he was already finished playing hockey. After retiring, Widing settled in British Columbia. He died on December 30, 1984 from a heart attack, aged 37.
Career Statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1966-67 | Brandon Wheat Kings | MJHL | 43 | 70 | 74 | 144 | 64 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 1969-70 | NYR/LA | NHL | 48 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 12 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1970–71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 24 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1971-72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 78 | 27 | 28 | 55 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1972-73 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 77 | 16 | 54 | 70 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1973-74 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 71 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1974-75 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 80 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1975-76 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 67 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1976-77 | LA/CLE | NHL | 76 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1977-78 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 71 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| WHA Totals | 71 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| NHL Totals | 575 | 144 | 226 | 370 | 208 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
Career Moves
- Traded to Los Angeles by NY Rangers with Real Lemieux for Ted Irvine, February 28, 1970.
- Traded to Cleveland by Los Angeles with Gary Edwards for Jim Moxey and Gary Simmons, January 22, 1977.
- Signed as a free agent by Edmonton (WHA), June, 1978.
- Traded to Indianapolis (WHA) by Edmonton (WHA) for Bill Goldsworthy, June, 1978.
Awards & Achievements
- MJHL Record Most Goals 70 (1967)
- MJHL Record Most Assists 74 (1967)
- MJHL Record Most Points 144 (1967)
- MJHL Second All-Star Team (1967)
 |
This article is part of the Swedish hockey portal. |
 |
This article is part of the Finnish hockey portal |