UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Ray Whitney of the Carolina Hurricanes has everything a man could ask for out of a career.
He has a Stanley Cup ring. He has financial security. He has the respect of his teammates and coaches, and those around the National Hockey League.
In a rough-and-tumble sport in which size often matters, Whitney has proven that the measure of a man is determined not by his physical stature but in how well he performs, in his consistency of effort, in his leadership qualities, in his willingness to play in pain.
And, in how long he is able to play.
Tonight, Whitney will take the ice for his 1,000th regular-season game as the Hurricanes face the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. The winger will be intent on winning, which he says is the most meaningful thing about tonight's game, with the Canes off to a disappointing 2-4-1 start in the early season.
But, yes, his 1,000th game is a personal and professional milestone. Only 245 players before him have done it in the NHL, and Whitney will take some not-so-small delight in having proved wrong the naysayers who insisted he was too small to make it.
"I heard that from the time I was bantam age all the way up," he said. "I was always fairly small, so that was never a shock when I heard that. You can probably still hear it in certain corners."
Whitney, sitting in his locker at the RBC Center after a recent practice, paused and laughed.
"Now, I'm too old and too small," he said. "I guess if they predict every year you're going to collapse, eventually they'll get it right."
At 37, Whitney is in his 18th season in the NHL and his fifth with the Hurricanes. Listed at 5 feet 10 and 180 pounds, he was Carolina's leading scorer last season with 77 points, including a career-high 53 assists, and will be playing his 300th game tonight in the No. 13 jersey so familiar to Hurricanes fans.
"I don't think he has to listen to any of that anymore," teammate Scott Walker said of the too-small talk." You have to go through a lot of tough times to play 1,000 games in this league.
"He's a really good hockey player, he's won a Stanley Cup and now he's playing in his 1,000th game. He is who he is. He should be proud."
But there was a time a decade ago when Whitney wasn't sure he would be playing 300 games in the league, much less 1,000. An original member of the San Jose Sharks, he was sent to the minors and then had his contract bought out in 1997.
"They brought in a whole crew of tough guys and ended up finishing last that season," Whitney said.
Whitney found a spot on the Edmonton Oilers roster for the 1997-98 season, only to be placed on waivers after nine games.
"I was 25 years old and just trying to hang on," he said. "I was looking at Europe at that point."
But the Florida Panthers claimed Whitney off waivers. He spent parts of four seasons with the Panthers, proving his worth, playing in his first NHL All-Star Game before being traded to Columbus late in the 2000-01 season and later earning another All-Star selection with the Blue Jackets.
Signed as a free agent by Detroit two years later, Whitney spent one season with the Red Wings before coming to Carolina as a free agent in August 2005. When the 2005-06 season ended, he was holding up the Stanley Cup.
"He's had an interesting turn, with the list of waivers and all the other things he's gone through to be such a good player -- it's amazing," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. "So many times fit has a lot to do with it -- being on the right team at the right time that needs exactly what you have.
"And now you look at him and you say, 'How could any team not want what he has?' "
Last season, Whitney had a pin surgically inserted into the middle finger of his right hand during the All-Star break. He couldn't bend it for eight weeks but never missed a game.
"Of the 1,000, you probably have 200 of them where you don't have something bothering you or you don't have something taped or you're not taking a Tylenol or Advil to take the edge off for a game," Whitney said. "It is not an easy sport to play for 1,000 games. Football is obviously very hard on your body, but hockey I would say is right there in terms of playing hurt or playing two nights later.
"You get injuries and you're out for a length of time, but you usually cut those injuries short by a week or two weeks in terms of your recovery time trying to get back. To get to 1,000 you are going to have to play through a few bumps and bruises."
Whitney is in the final year of a three-year contract that has paid him $3.55 million a season, and will become an unrestricted free agent. And while admitting the "paycheck's not bad," he said it's playing and performing and winning that drives him and pushes him to perform.
"It's a pretty big accomplishment to play 1,000 games," said team captain Rod Brind'Amour, who has played in more than 1,400 regular-season games. "You've got to last a long time, but you've got to be productive or you're not going to last.
"Coming into the league, sometimes little guys are pushed aside, but he battled his way in there and proved himself. He's a little guy but he's got a big heart."
Whitney realizes he's nearing the end of his career and says he would like to spend more time with his wife Brijet and their three young children. But he believes he still has a few more years left in him, a few more games to play.
"Absolutely," he said. "Body-wise, I feel as good as I ever did in terms of conditioning. I've got no reason to think I can't continue at the rate I'm going now.
"It's just a matter of teams feeling they want an elderly statesman. If you produce, I don't think it matters what the birth date on your bio says."
