Ray Whitney Autograph Card

A few months ago, I purchased an autographed insert card of Ray Whitney wearing the Florida Panthers' red (away) uniform on Ebay for $1.99.

In October, I saw one of him wearing the Panthers' white (home) uniform, going for 49 cents, and I jumped on it:

It's a really cool, all-foil (silver) card from In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set (card #56). Whitney signed a two-year deal with the Dallas Stars this summer, before being locked out with the rest of the NHLers. He's likely to play with Jaromir Jagr on the second line there (with some decent powerplay time), which should guarantee him a 30-point season this year (in roughly 40-some games) and 60 the next.

Maybe I'll even try writing him this season and have him sign cards showing him in other teams' uniforms...

Ray Whitney Autograph Card

Just like the Roman Hamrlik card from a few days ago, this Ray Whitney card is from Pinnacle Brands' 1997-98 Be A Player set (card #105, signed on-card in black sharpie), and was purchased off Ebay for $1.99. He is shown wearing the Florida Panthers' red (away) uniform.

I learned a lot about Whitney when he got an assist on March 31st for his 1000th career NHL point, a remarkable feat for a guy who has been waived a lot in the past few seasons. This year again, he amassed 77 points in 82 games - the exact same statistics as three seasons ago.

I remember he captained the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2002-03, following in Lyle Odelein's path. A clear sign that the Jackets don't know which direction to take their team in, they've had just about as many ''offensive star'' captains (Whitney, Rick Nash) as ''defensive team players'' (Odelein, Adam Foote, Luke Richardson)...

Whitney's better off with the Phoenix Coyotes, that's for sure. Although his season seems like it's nearing its end...