yztheman 29 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 From the TSN website: http://www.tsn.ca/ray-whitney-announces-retirement-after-22-nhl-seasons-1.188432 One time Red Wing Ray Whitney officially retires. " Veteran forward Ray Whitney has announced his retirement after 22 NHL seasons. Whitney, 42, played 1,330 career regular season games since breaking into the league with the San Jose Sharks during the 1991-92 season, tallying 385 goals and 1,064 points." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number9 3,297 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 Such an amazingly underrated player. Why did we part ways with him again? He floated between a ton of teams and I always wondered why Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barabbas16 499 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 Such an amazingly underrated player. Why did we part ways with him again? He floated between a ton of teams and I always wondered why He played for Detroit in 03-04. I'm going with salary cap reasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Dubya 32 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 He played for Detroit in 03-04. I'm going with salary cap reasons. Unlikely considering there was no salary cap. More likely is that despite him being a good player, he was terrible in Detroit. Best all-round when he left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,788 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 Such an amazingly underrated player. Why did we part ways with him again? He floated between a ton of teams and I always wondered why He didn't have a particularly good season or playoffs that year. In other years around that, his was more effective for other teams. I seem to remember him playing with Lang and Yzerman in the playoffs (back when we had right handed forwards) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingsallTheway 383 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 Unlikely considering there was no salary cap. More likely is that despite him being a good player, he was terrible in Detroit. Best all-round when he left. there was a salary cap the next season Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barabbas16 499 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 Unlikely considering there was no salary cap. More likely is that despite him being a good player, he was terrible in Detroit. Best all-round when he left. Right, but there was no 04-05 season due to the lockout and then the salary cap came into effect starting the next season (05-06). As I mentioned, I am only speculating.... based on the fact that the season he played in Detroit was the final season without a cap and he was not back the following season (the first with a cap).... I'm guessing they couldn't afford him. You are right, though, that his season in Detroit was far from the peak of his career, and that may have played a part as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cnot19 191 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) He's destined to be in the hall of very good! So impressive he persevered after his back injury. Edited January 22, 2015 by cnot19 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kliq 3,755 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 Right, but there was no 04-05 season due to the lockout and then the salary cap came into effect starting the next season (05-06). As I mentioned, I am only speculating.... based on the fact that the season he played in Detroit was the final season without a cap and he was not back the following season (the first with a cap).... I'm guessing they couldn't afford him. You are right, though, that his season in Detroit was far from the peak of his career, and that may have played a part as well. Despite some of the posts here, you are correct. Coming out of the lockout, teams were given a $39 million cap going into the 2005/06 season. As a result, the Wings had to buyout some players. They bought out Whitney, Hatcher, and McCarty. Here is an article talking about it http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=20050727&id=ULYLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zFUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4757,2219130 1 P. Marlowe reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toby91_ca 620 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 I think the salary cap coming in has everything to do with him not remaining with the team. Sure, he didn't have a great year, but it wasn't awful. Statistically speaking, him and Zetterberg had very similar numbers that year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KATIEBARTHEDOOR24 426 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 Thought he retired couple years ago Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
number9 3,297 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 Thought he retired couple years ago And yet in the 11-12 and 12-13 seasons he was nearly a point per game player each year. Guy got zero media attention for some reason. 1 chaps80 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaps80 1,591 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 And yet in the 11-12 and 12-13 seasons he was nearly a point per game player each year. Guy got zero media attention for some reason. He was just that type of player. Good numbers, but always flew under the radar and bounced around from team to team. 8 of them in all. Woulda been nice if the Wings could have kept him more than one season, but he was one of the odd men out when the salary cap came in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightfall 871 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 He got zero media attention because he worked his ass off and didn't say much outside of that. The guys that get the huge media attention, like Evander "more money" Kane, usually are doing something outside of hockey that get attention. 2 number9 and chaps80 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaps80 1,591 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 He got zero media attention because he worked his ass off and didn't say much outside of that. The guys that get the huge media attention, like Evander "more money" Kane, usually are doing something outside of hockey that get attention. True that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites