‘Greatest Chief’: Ray Whitney lends support to Spokane Chiefs organization, team ahead of WHL Championship elimination game

Ray Whitney knows big games. As a junior player, he won a Western Hockey League championship and a Memorial Cup, then as a pro he won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

So when the Spokane Chiefs needed a boost before Game 5 of the WHL Championship Series Friday at the Arena, they invited arguably the greatest Chiefs player in franchise history to attend and participate in festivities.

Whitney, who owns a home in Coeur d’Alene and drops into to the Arena for games on occasion, was honored the organization that meant so much to him asked him to take part in such a momentous occasion.

“To be here at this time of the season, when it’s the finals, and our team has such a great year, it’s even more special to be around it right now with the importance of the game,” he said.

“He’s probably the greatest Chief of all-time,” Chiefs owner Bobby Brett said. “Not only was he a great player, but he’s a great ambassador for the game and the Chiefs. ‘Ray Whitney’ is a great brand and he represents himself and the Chiefs so well.”

Whitney received a warm welcome from the 7,607 fans in attendance as the public address announcer read off his many hockey accolades before he dropped the ceremonial first puck between Chiefs captain Berkly Catton and Medicine Hat captain Oasiz Wiesblatt.

Not wanting to be an intrusion, the Chiefs great didn’t address the players ahead of the game.

“No, no, no, no. I stayed out of there,” Whitney said. “Coach has enough on his plate. He doesn’t need me coming in there.”

Whitney said his message to the players ahead of the game would have been simple: “Just make sure you leave it all out there for each other.”

“There should be nothing left in your tank when you come off the ice at the end of the game. … Everybody gets nervous when you’re down 3-1. It’s hard to close things out. Go out there and have some fun. Play (hard) and see where it leads.”

The Chiefs fell behind 3-0 early in the third period, but perhaps channeled some of Whitney’s advice through osmosis, battling back with a pair of goals to draw within one before an empty net goal sealed their fate.

Even though Whitney is employed by NHL in its Department of Player Safety these days, he still follows the Chiefs closely.

“I can show you the app on my phone,” he said.

“Working for the NHL, I’ve got a little bit on my plate with that aspect of my job. But I always follow the Chiefs. I still have my Chiefs hockey bag. I have my Chiefs wine glasses up in Idaho. This is my team. I obviously didn’t go to college, so this is my alma mater. Aside from my pro career, this is my favorite place.”

Whitney played for the Chiefs from 1988-91 and was an integral part of the 1991 Memorial Cup Champion team. The forward from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, played 216 games with the Chiefs and his name is littered across the franchise record book: first in career points (348) and career assists (207), fourth in career goals (141) and fifth in points per game (1.63).

He was nearly unstoppable during the 1990-91 season, posting a franchise-record 185 points with 67 goals (second-highest single-season total in club history) and 118 assists (first). His remarkable season earned him the WHL’s Bob Clarke Trophy as the league’s top scorer and the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as WHL Player of the Year.

He added 16 goals and 22 assists in 21 career playoff games, including 13 goals and 18 assists during the 1991 playoff run, earning a nomination to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team as well as the Memorial Cup Most Sportsmanlike Player Award.

Whitney, who was aptly nicknamed “The Wizard,” shrugged off the idea that he owns the mantle of “Greatest Chief” – though he and Tyler Johnson are the only players it the organization’s history to have their numbers retired as Memorial Cup and Stanley Cup champions.

“I guess, numerically or statistically, they could say that,” he said. “But as a player, you know, the guy I played with here (Pat Falloon) was pretty freaking good, too. … Tyler Johnson was a great player. (Kailer) Yamamoto is a great player. And these kids that are playing here now, I mean, generationally they’re different. Their games are different. They’re probably faster than we were. They’re probably shooting the puck harder than we did.

“But that always happens with the NHL. Who’s the best ever? Well, you could say Connor (McDavid) is, but then that’s pretty disrespectful to Wayne (Gretzky) and Mario (Lemieux) and those guys.

“You know, it’s hard to play in those eras before you.”