I'm not going to rag on Whitney. This is a case of injuries ruin a guys career and he's very frustrated. When he was healthy, he was a great defenseman for the Oilers and a great leader.
I don't know why people are saying he has a bad attitude. What type of attitude is he supposed to have right now? He's 29 years old and it looks like his career is wrapping up. It's not like he's Cam Barker and just randomly fell off the face of the Earth. It's due to injuries.
Would be terrible to play on the Oilers. If your name isn't Yakupov, Rhn, Hall, Eberle, or Joey Moss your fair game for unwarranted criticism. Lofty expectations I believe are the reason for this.
I'm not going to rag on Whitney. This is a case of injuries ruin a guys career and he's very frustrated. When he was healthy, he was a great defenseman for the Oilers and a great leader.
I don't know why people are saying he has a bad attitude. What type of attitude is he supposed to have right now? He's 29 years old and it looks like his career is wrapping up. It's not like he's Cam Barker and just randomly fell off the face of the Earth. It's due to injuries.
I'm not so sure I'd say it is all due to injuries. Unless the injuries spread to his head.
He looks like a guy who is making bad decisions which seems more related to the mental side to me although he is not the skater he was before the injuries. Mind you, he's always been a bit of an up and down player. I agree that he did play very well for the Oilers during that stretch though. It's amazing what a thin line it is between being a good defenceman and a bad one. Souray looks a lot better now too and he looked awful before.
We'll give you Foster for him I think they are the same thing but one can shoot and one can pass. Our transition game sucks we will take the one that passes
The saddest part about Whitney is that even though he has lost his mobility you might expect that as a veteran who can still pass the puck well enough that he'd be able to adjust and play a smarter more positionally sound game... but he's utterly failed to do that. Not like the Oilers were relying on him to eat big minutes either, as a 3rd pairing guy he had a great opportunity to adjust his game to his current physical limitations but just totally unable to become a mental player and as a result he's going to be out of a job.
We'll give you Foster for him I think they are the same thing but one can shoot and one can pass. Our transition game sucks we will take the one that passes
Pretty clear message that what he's been bringing just ain't cutting it. These sorts of declines (and eventual healthy scratches) often do wonders for a player's motivation.
Then again, sometimes they're a reflection of the player's suck factor. Has he fallen so far? Crazy to think he was on fire with young Oiler teammates not 2 years ago, starting off the first ~25 games on a point per game pace.
The first pass is still there, but is the mobility?
I feel extremely bad for him because he had the potential to be a fantastic d-man in the NHL, but had it taken away by his injuries. He is a nice guy and you can tell he wants to succeed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SprDaVE
No, he wasn't.
Yes, he was. Most people didn't get to see him because he was in lowly Edmonton, but he was playing Norris-calibre hockey for large stretches of time.
As a fan of both the Oil and the Pens, I have seen a fair amount of him both past and present.
No doubt the injuries have slowed him, but the notion that he was anything more than an occasionally/rarely effective offensive defenseman is purely wishful thinking by some fans and not truth.
He was, at his peak, a fourth defenseman who looked good getting dished by Crosby fifteen times a night. The goals that he scored that people saw in highlights were the very few that actually went off his stick and into the net. For every pass he connected on, there were thirty where he missed the net or whiffed on the shot.
He should stop whining and start working. I don't see a lot of motivation out of him. If he can't do it anymore, retire.
As for Ryan Smyth, I think the Oilers owed him a shot. He's had his shot. He's not an effective player anymore, or anything remotely close. Sorry, Smitty, but it is time to hang 'em up and give your spot to someone who can do it better. Thanks for everything you have done for the organiztion. Now do one more and retire.
Oiler fans were trying to convince everyone 3 weeks ago he was a legit top 2 D
Most Oiler fans I have seen have placed him solidly in the bottom pairing since even prior to the lockout.
Whitney has not been good for 2 years now. It's a shame, because for his first year or so in Edmonton he was a beast.
I don't think it is all injury related. I think he has lost any semblance of confidence he had and just can't get back into the mind set he needs to be in. It's not just that he is slow, its that he is making poor reads defensively and offensively.
I wouldn't be surprised if he goes to another team and manages to regain some of his lost form.
Whitney had an extended layoff and ample reason to fix his game, with the defensive coach from last season (who basically told him he sucked at the end of the year) becoming the head coach.
He either still couldn't cover from injury, or still couldn't fix his game. He isn't regaining anything.
Congratulations on not having seen him play in 2010-11! He was a monster in the most Pierre McGuire sense of the word.
At no point . . . EVER, was Ryan Whitney a top 10 Dman in the league. If there were only 10 D left in the entire league including him, then yes, maybe he would be then.
