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Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney
Position Left wing
Shoots Right
Height
Weight
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
NHL Team
F. Teams
Dallas Stars
San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Carolina Hurricanes
Phoenix Coyotes
Born (1972-05-08)May 8, 1972,
Fort Saskatchewan, AB, CAN
NHL Draft 23rd overall, 1991
San Jose Sharks
Pro Career 1991 – present


Ray Whitney (born May 8, 1972) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently with the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League.

Playing career[]

Before Whitney played his first game on the ice, he was one of the Oilers stick boys during Wayne Gretzky's late career in Edmonton; the others were Ryan Smyth and Ray's brother Dean. He was drafted in the second round (23rd overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks. He has played for several different NHL teams during his 17 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), and Detroit Red Wings (2003–04). As well as playing in the NHL, Whitney has also played in the Western Hockey League (WHL), International Hockey League (IHL), and American Hockey League (AHL).

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.[1]

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 is considered to be one of the most underrated players currently in the NHL, as his name is not mentioned a lot amongst hockey fans and hockey writers despite his consistently high point-production, especially considering his older age.[2]

Whitney is one of only 31 players in NHL history to record an overtime game-winner in a seventh game in the playoffs, which he accomplished in 1995 against the Calgary Flames while with San Jose.[3] Whitney is the only remaining member of the San Jose Sharks inaugural team (1991–92) still active in the NHL.[4]

Personal life[]

Ray and wife Brijet married in 2000 and have 3 children; daughters Hanna (born April 2002)[5] and Harper (born April 5, 2008)[6] and son Hudson.

International play[]

Whitney debuted with Team Canada at the 1998 World Championships. He recorded six points in seven games as Canada finished in sixth place. The following year, he notched seven points in 10 games at the 1999 World Championships. Canada finished out of the medals once more, losing in the semifinal to the Czech Republic. He made his next appearance at the 2003 World Championships with Canada finishing in first. Seven years later, he was named Canada's captain for the 2010 World Championship, replacing Ryan Smyth who broke his foot early in the tournament.[7]

Awards and achievements[]

Career statistics[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1987–88 Fort Saskatchewan 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 Cologne Sharks DEL 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
1999–00 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
WHL totals 214 141 207 348 102 21 16 22 38 18
NHL totals 1147 341 585 926 419 87 19 27 46 38

References[]

External links[]

Preceded by
Lyle Odelein
Columbus Blue Jackets captains
2002–03
Succeeded by
Luke Richardson



Columbus Blue Jackets Captains
Odelein | Whitney | Richardson | Foote | Nash | Foligno


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Ray Whitney. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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