Carolina's leading scorer agrees to three-year contract

WHITNEY

RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team and left wing Ray Whitney have agreed to terms on a new three-year contract. The deal will pay Whitney, the team’s leading scorer in 2006-07, $3,550,000 per season

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

In 2006-07, Whitney led the Hurricanes and ranked tied for 21st in the NHL with a career-high 83 points, and tied his career high with 32 goals. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alb., native played in 81 of Carolina’s 82 games and finished the season ranked tied for the team lead with 30 power-play points and second on the team with 51 assists, one shy of his career high of 52 and tied for 27th in the league.

In his two seasons with the Hurricanes, Whitney has scored 49 goals and earned 89 assists (138 points) in 144 regular-season games, and scored nine goals and earned six assists (15 points) in Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup championship run. The 15-year NHL veteran has scored 254 goals and earned 419 assists (673 points) in 844 regular-season games with San Jose, Edmonton, Florida, Columbus, Detroit and Carolina. The Hurricanes originally signed Whitney as a free agent on Aug. 6, 2005.

Complete stats on Ray Whitney can be found here.