Canes Smart to Get Whitney Deal Done

I will tell you these NHL playoffs are not as much fun without the Carolina Hurricanes. I imagine all hockey fans in this area would think that. I miss the buzz and the excitement and the stories that playoff hockey brought. I miss the RBC festival.

I thought all along this season that the Hurricanes would make the playoffs, right up until they blew that 2-0 lead at Tampa Bay the last week of the season. They had playoff talent but maybe not the playoff heart of last season. And the injuries just decimated them. Say what you want, but there is some truth to the Stanley Cup hangover.

Friday though, the Hurricanes took a big step towards next season with the resigning of free agent Ray Whitney. Whitney turns 35 next month and is coming off a career year. They wrapped him up in a hurry with a brand new three-year contract. Whitney wanted to stay -- he said so many times -- and Canes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford was not going to play games. A deal was reached quickly that will play Whitney $3.55 million per season.

Rutherford believes Whitney is well worth the money.

“Ray’s leadership on and off the ice is important to our success in the future,” Rutherford said. “He has the dedication and desire to win that a team needs, and he makes the players around him better.”

That is so true. Whitney is just one of those players that seems to make good things happen when he’s on the ice. John Forslund, the television voice of the Hurricanes, calls him "The Wizard" for a reason. His stick does have some magic in it.

Whitney is coming off a career year with 83 points. He tied his career high with 32 goals. And on the Canes anemic power play, he was a bright spot, tied for the team lead with 30 power-play points.

He has played 144 regular-season games with Carolina and has 138 points. He’s a player the Canes couldn’t let get away, and they stepped up.

I would think, come next September, a rested Hurricanes team with fresh legs, injuries healed and sick over not being able to defend the cup will be energized and ready to go.

Keeping Ray Whitney is a huge step in the right direction.