Whitney Has Surgery, Will Miss 3-5 Months
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Aug 16, 11:41 AM | Hype this story!
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney underwent surgery Friday to correct a misalignment of his left foot.
Apparently the offensive defenseman battled the injury throughout the majority of the 2007-08 season, though he would not use it as an excuse for a lackluster performance.
“I’m not making that an excuse,” Whitney said to the paper. “I need to perform better than I did, and I know that is the expectation. But I’ve always thought skating was the biggest part of my game, and last season, I couldn’t skate like I can.”
Whitney, who will be entering his third full season in the NHL, likely will be sidelined three to five months while his foot heals.
“Obviously, had we known surgery was inevitable, we would have had it in June,” Whitney said to the paper. “Ray was great about trying to treat this without surgery, but nothing we tried worked.”
Tidbits
- Interestingly, Whitney said that, though he knew he had issues with his left foot last season, he refused to tell anyone but fellow defenseman Brooks Orpik and team captain Sidney Crosby.
- Whitney being sidelined opens the door for sophomore defenseman Kris Letang to earn a spot on the top power play unit alongside veteran Sergei Gonchar, though there is a possibility the Penguins could use a group of four forwards and Gonchar as they did at times during the playoffs.
- Throughout the summer, it seemed odd Darryl Sydor’s name remained absent from the trade rumor mills. The decision to retain the veteran apparently was a well-calculated plan in case Whitney’s foot problem resulted in surgery.
- Check out the Depth Chart to see how Whitney’s injury impacts the Penguins’ roster
Comments
Pens1967
Aug 16, 11:57 AM
I think this goes a long way in explaining why Eaton was signed for 2 years at 2M, too.
Pens1967
Aug 16, 11:58 AM
Oh, and this news makes Whitney’s 55 minutes of ice time in game 5 all the more amazing.
Tom
Aug 16, 02:47 PM
Matt, Perhaps the Genius will take the leash of of Letang. One has to figure that he will get some more PP time.
Dabich
Aug 18, 04:57 AM
Tihs floored me. And like you guys said, it explains a helluva lot!
TIM
Aug 18, 10:52 AM
I too was stunned to here this news. I hope Eaton can stay healthy, and maybe Goligoski can step up
Tom
Aug 18, 02:41 PM
Tim, If you want an offensive defenseman to bring up Goligoski is the answer. If you want a hitting defensive defenseman Mormina is the man. Trade Sydor and bring them both up.
Matt Bodenschatz
Aug 18, 03:47 PM
Tim/Tom: Even with Whitney out, there remain seven NHL-caliber defenders. Based on Therrien’s tendencies from last season, it would seem Eaton will replace Whitney and the other five spots will go to Gonchar, Orpik, Letang, Gill, and Scuderi, with Sydor being the healthy scratch — though I suspect he’ll be worked into the lineup more frequently than he was last season. I also highly doubt we’ll see more than seven defensemen on the NHL roster, as Shero likes to carry one extra forward and one extra defender, leaving one available roster spot in case of emergency.
Those who have followed the Baby Penguins closely will attest to the fact that Goligoski very well may be ready for the NHL in terms of offensive ability, but his lack of size and poor defense are overwhelming issues that make him a longshot to make the NHL.
At this point, Tom, the sense behind trading an NHL veteran in Sydor and replacing him with two rookies is not a very solid one. What happens when injuries occur, as they often do? Depth is extremely underrated, and after last season’s injury woes, I would think most would finally realize this. Regardless of your thoughts on Sydor, I’d rather have an NHL veteran to provide options if/when injuries occur than having nothing but rookies as my options.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, the most likely starting six already have NHL experience. I’d be very surprised if they are unseated. So, with that in mind, bringing up two rookies is absolutely pointless. The only way Goligoski and Mormina should be in the NHL is if they are playing regular minutes. There’s no arguing the success of the defense last year, so why mess with a good thing and interrupt it with rookies? In order for either to make it in the NHL out of training camp, several things must happen.
First, an injury or trade must occur. Knowing Shero’s track record, you can rule out a trade. Second, one of those two rookies must significantly outplay the current NHL defensemen and prove themselves worthy of an NHL role. Never say never, but don’t expect it to happen.
Todd
Aug 18, 07:38 PM
I hear “foot problem” and I think of Forsberg…
Matt Bodenschatz
Aug 18, 08:00 PM
Todd, I don’t think you’re the only one.
Tom
Aug 19, 02:18 PM
Matt, I have watched Sydor and Scuderi sufficiently to conclude that neither player has the defensive or offensive ability to benefit the team’s blue line. Both are slow. Neither handles the puck well. Neither will effectively hit an opponent. Neither can make an effective outlet pass. Neither can hold a pass well. Scuderi is purely a position player who will block shots. Sydor’s dwindling talents do not even include shot blocking and he is too slow to recover and get into position. It is my feeling that Goligoski and Mormina have better capacities and abilities in most of those areas. Try to work out the pairings. Gonchar – Orpik, Gill – Letang, Scuderi – Eaton? What about the third pairing bothers you? Neither player is aggressive. Neither player is a hitter. Neither player has offensive abilities. Both players have only positional and shot blocking skills. Eaton is by far the better of the two. At least he is a better skater and can make the outlet pass. Goligoski is a good skater with vision and great passing ability. True, he is light, but so is Kronwall. Mormina is a decent skater and hits like a ton of bricks. He is an Orpik clone. I merely feel that they bring more to the table than Sydor and Scuderi.
Matt Bodenschatz
Aug 19, 02:45 PM
Tom, I’m not getting into a rehash of everything we’ve discussed four months ago. You may feel that two rookies are better than two veterans — but you’re in the minority.
Tom
Aug 19, 03:09 PM
Matt, Whether I am in the minority or majority matters little. Younger, faster and stronger beats older, slower and weaker. That is all I advocate on defense as well as team wide. I do not believe that we have disputed Goligoski and Mormina four months ago. In fact Mormina was not a Pen four months ago. Did we not find out with Recchi, Roberts and Melichar that older is far worse than younger. Go with kids, that is what got you where you are. By the way, I should also like to see Caputi and Jeffrey up as well, and perhaps Pesonen.
Matt Bodenschatz
Aug 19, 03:47 PM
Wow, let’s also call up Filewich, Stone, Brown, Curry, and all of the other young players. Young players work out well when they are ready for a promotion (See Letang and Kennedy for good examples). Young players don’t work out well when forced (see 75% of those who played on the team from 2002-2005 for good examples). You’d rather rid yourself of two able — though not flashy or spectacular — veterans and replace them with unproven rookies who may succeed, but may also fall flat? What happens if/when they fall flat or if there are further injuries? Where is the depth in your scenario? And what about an NHL learning curve?
Also, assuming the Penguins somehow shed Scuderi and Sydor — which seems like an impossible task, considering your description of them — who will sit? By my count, the Penguins, currently, have seven defenders, drop those two, and that’s five, leaving room for one player in the daily lineup and one to be benched. Who do you bench? One of Mormina or Goligoski? If so, good luck with the development thing. If not, nice job paying a veteran to sit (which, coincidentally was something many complained about last season).
Why is it that everything needs tinkered with? The Penguins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals with the following numbers:
Regular season GAA: 2.58 (10th in the NHL)
Playoff GAA: 2.15 (2nd in the NHL)
Regular season PK: 81.0 (23rd in the NHL)
Playoff PK%: 87.1 (3rd in the NHL)
Aside from the regular season PK, the Penguins’ numbers were quite solid defensively. Why does the continuously-improving defense need changed so bad? It does only if everything is over analyzed.
Oh, and Mormina, he’s 26 and has played in one NHL game while in the horrible Carolina Hurricanes system — you know, the team whose defense is so bad it signed Joe Melichar to improve it. I’m putting zero stake in Mormina having any impact in the NHL this season — if ever.
And, again, how is Goligoski ready? Explain this to me? He had a good run in the AHL, but he’s not even 180 pounds and playing defense. If you think Whitney is soft, look out! I’ve talked to numerous people who watched Goligoski all season in WBS, and not one has indicated to me that he’s ready for NHL action.
Tom
Aug 19, 05:48 PM
Matt, Despite your protests, slow is slow, soft is soft, puck mishandling is puck mishandliing. There is no cure for it. Bring up Mormina and Goligoski and you have the choice of playing a defensive hitter or an offensive standout each night along with the other five. Even keep Scuderi up as an eighth defenseman if needed, but shed Sydor and his $2,500,000 cap hit. He is an aging stiff with little residual skill. Play for the future with the kids. I did not suggest bringing up more than Caputi, Jeffrey, Goligoski and Mormina, although I should seriously consider Curry. I believe these five players will shine in camp far more brightly than some of the old and/or experienced players you favor.
Matt Bodenschatz
Aug 19, 07:51 PM
You’re not approaching this realistically, Tom, which is why this is my last response. To be honest, I’m not sure why I responded in the first place, as I knew where it would go before it started.
How exactly, do you get rid of all of these players to make room for the young ones? Money doesn’t grow on trees. And, if they’re as bad as you claim, why would anyone even consider trading for them? And then there’s the simple concept of depth. Trading veterans — ones that played significant roles in a Stanley Cup Finals season less than 4 months ago — leaves the team in a very vulnerable position. Last year, who were the call-ups that made the biggest difference when injuries became a problem? Letang filled in spectacularly for Eaton, but the rest were primarily veterans. Conklin for Fleury. Taffe, Beech, Brent — they all were brought in for depth purposes. Depth being the key word.
Despite your claims that Jeffrey, Caputi, Goligoski and Mormina would be upgrades over some current players, nothing has been done to speed up their arrivals. Why? Well a significant reason is because there is no need to rush them! Of them, Goligoski is the NHL veteran with 3 games. How, then, can you claim they are ready? Obviously Ray Shero — the man who constructed the Stanley Cup run — doesn’t believe they are. And, since he has stacked depth in front of them, indications are none will be on the team. And I agree with that 100 percent.
I’m done — and I’m done getting into pointless disputes about hypothetical situations that clearly aren’t going to happen.
Dabich
Aug 20, 04:30 PM
Suit me up, I’ll play! ;)
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