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Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney
Born May 8, 1972 (1972-05-08) (age 51)
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Right
Played for San Jose Sharks
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Carolina Hurricanes
Phoenix Coyotes
Dallas Stars
National team Flag of Canada Canada
NHL Draft 23rd overall, 1991
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 1991–2014

Ray Whitney (born Raymond D. Whitney on May 8, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) who played for the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes and the Dallas Stars.

Ray 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, making him one of the top 65 point producers in the history of the NHL.

Playing Career[]

Before Ray played in the NHL, he and his brother Dean were stick boys for the Edmonton Oilers.

During his junior career, he 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.

Ray was the second player ever drafted by the San Jose Sharks, picked in the second round (23rd overall) in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. His teammate from the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL, Pat Falloon was the Sharks' first pick. The Sharks had thought the two of them would be a natural scoring combination, but that didn't pan out.

Ray began 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 the Dallas Stars.

On August 6, 2005, Ray 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, he helped Carolina win their first Stanley Cup with fellow Fort Saskatchewan native Mike Commodore.

On February 8, 2007, Ray scored a natural hat trick in just 1 minute and 40 seconds. On April 13, 2007, he re-signed with the Hurricanes, agreeing to a three-year contract that pays him $3.5 million per year.

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

On March 31, 2012, he 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.

Ray 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.

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 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
1999–00 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
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

International Play[]

Ray 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.

He 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.

Ray joined Team Canada at the 2002 World Championship with Canada again failing to medal.

At the 2010 World Championship, Ray replaced Ryan Smyth as Canada's captain, when Smyth broke his foot early in the tournament. Canada did not win a medal in that year's world championship.

Accolades[]

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 2006
Second All-Star Team 2012

Personal Life[]

Ray and wife Brijet married in 2000 and have three children: daughters Hanna (born April 6, 2002 in Columbus, Ohio) & Harper (born April 5, 2008 in Raleigh, North Carolina) and son Hudson (born April 9, 2004 in Detroit, Michigan).

He was given the nickname "The Wizard" for his great passing and playmaking.

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