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Ray Whitney News & Rumors

At age 40, ex-Red Wings Ray Whitney still playing with passion for Coyotes
May 13
Detroit News
 
"When Ray Whitney played with the Red Wings, way back during the 2003-04 season, he looked like a player on the start of a slide out of the league. Whitney was a signed to a three-year contract worth $7.5 million, an unrestricted free agent expected to fill the void left by Sergei Fedorov at the time. Simply put, Whitney didn't make Wings fans forget Fedorov. Whitney played 67 games that season, the season before the lockout, with 14 goals and 29 assists. He had one goal and three assists in 12 playoff games. Whitney never looked entirely comfortable. After the lockout, the Wings waived Whitney and bought out the final season of his contract."
Ray Whitney, Radim Vrbata key to Coyotes' five-game winning streak
February 13
Arizona Republic
 
"The one-two punch of Ray Whitney and Radim Vrbata -- who have scored points in eight and seven consecutive games, respectively -- has helped key the Coyotes' five-game win streak and propel them into the eighth spot in the Western Conference. Their contributions have come to be expected this season, but it has been the secondary scoring of late that has energized a team bidding for its third consecutive playoff berth. That was brought sharply into focus in Saturday's 3-0 over the Chicago Blackhawks. Vrbata scored his 26th goal, and the Coyotes got big boosts after goals by Boyd Gordon (7) and Kyle Chipchura (2). Coach Dave Tippett said the Coyotes' 10-point leap in a week was "huge." The"
Ray Whitney reaches milestone in leading Phoenix Coyotes to a 6-2 win over Anaheim Ducks
January 16
Arizona Republic
 
"Left wing Ray Whitney, also on the fast track to different milestone - 40 years old - collected two goals and an assist, bringing his career total to 902 points - and the key for him is that the enjoyment level remains high. The off-season free agent acquisition had a lot of help Saturday night as the Coyotes defeated Anaheim 6-2 in front of 10,951 at Jobing.com Arena. "Whenever you can do something like we're doing here and get paid to do it . . . my father had to work for 30 years as a policeman, so I'm very thankful for what I'm doing," Whitney said. "So I try to enjoy it as much as possible. At my age, there's some days I wake up, and I'm not quite as happy as I should b e with the way"
Whitney still going strong at 38
January 5
Columbus Dispatch
 
"Former Blue Jackets coach Dave King, now an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes, was heaping plaudits on another former Jacket - ageless left winger Ray Whitney - when he threw the brakes on his thought for a classic one-liner: "If he played this well in Columbus," King said with a grin, "I might still be there." King, the Blue Jackets' inaugural coach, and Whitney, who played 151 games for the Blue Jackets between 2000 and '03, were reunited this past summer when Whitney signed a two-year, $6 million free-agent contract with the Coyotes. King joined Phoenix as an assistant a year earlier. "I've never seen Ray play this well, on both sides of the puck," King said. "He's playing great"
Whitney finding his way in Arizona's desert
October 23
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"or a professional athlete, it's never easy leaving one team and joining another, even if it has happened several times before, in several locales. Ray Whitney was tired of moving. At 38, he wanted to end his hockey career with the Carolina Hurricanes. He won a Stanley Cup with the Canes in 2006, had become something of a Carolina icon and was a favorite of Canes fans. But Whitney has a new team, the Phoenix Coyotes. More so, his family has a new home, and the transition to life in the Arizona desert has not been an entirely easy one. "For two weeks straight, my oldest daughter was crying every day going to school," Whitney said Friday. "She was having troubles with it. She'll look at some"
Report: Whitney to Coyotes
July 1
NHL.com
 
"Phoenix proved it, too, is a player in this free agent feeding period as Coyotes GM Don Maloney has reportedly signed veteran winger Ray Whitney to a two-year contract worth $6 million. Whitney was in Carolina for the past five seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. Whitney, 38, had 21 goals and 37 assists in 80 games this past season for the Hurricanes. In five seasons with Carolina he wracked up 119 goals and 215 assists for 334 points in 372 games. He topped out with a career-high 83 points in 2006-07 and 53 assists in 2008-09. Phoenix is Whitney's seventh stop on his NHL tour. He debuted with San Jose in 1991-92. He also played with Edmonton, Florida, Columbus and Detroit, though"
Canes could lose Whitney
June 29
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford met with the agent of forward Ray Whitney at the NHL draft on Saturday, but Whitney is expected to test the free-agency market, Rutherford said Monday. The team hopes Whitney, 38, who has played 18 NHL seasons and was third on the team in points (58) last season, still ends up with the Canes. The NHL's free-agency period begins Thursday, and Whitney is an unrestricted free agent. "We're keeping the door open and hoping that he'll come back to us," Rutherford said. While the sides were far apart financially, Rutherford said he met with Whitney's agent, J.P. Barry, at the NHL draft in Los Angeles on Saturday. "I do think it sounds like he'll"
Whitney mulling future
June 12
Raleigh News & Observer
 
"Ray Whitney isn't ready to switch hockey sweaters yet. The Carolina Hurricanes winger said Friday that while he hasn't signed a new contract with the team, as free agency looms on July 1, it doesn't mean he will be playing for another NHL team next season. Whitney and Canes general manager Jim Rutherford have not been able to agree on a financial figure. Rutherford said again Friday he doesn't expect anything to change before July 1 and that Whitney, 38, would become an unrestricted free agent. Asked Friday if the door has been closed on a return to the Hurricanes, Whitney replied, "Never. Not at all. Who knows what will happen? A lot can happen.""
Big deal ended up no deal
March 4
Raleigh News & Observer
 columnist Luke Decock
"Ray Whitney was the one member of the Carolina Hurricanes certain to get moved by Wednesday afternoon's trade deadline. Ask anyone. By the time the deadline passed, however, just about everyone else was shipped off and Whitney was still around. Five separate trades gutted the roster while bringing in a wealth of draft picks and prospects. The Hurricanes cashed in on all but two of their impending free agents. It just so happened that one still on the roster might have fetched the biggest haul of all. It's a shame, because the Hurricanes cleaned up when they cleaned house. Getting something for Whitney would have put them over the top. General manager Jim Rutherford said a handful of teams"