Whitney out for three months

[Bob McKenzie]

whitney was trying to handle the pain and deal with it but he finally "turned it over" to the doctors.



boooommmmm....zzzzzziiiiinnnnnggggg.

That's pretty much how I handled it. I knew something wasn't right with my leg/knee. The femur was causing an issue with my knee/groin trying to overcompensate for protecting it.

One day I was working out doing sprints and I tore my miniscus in my right knee. After UPMC did the MRI, they found the bone issue and gave me 3 options: 1) Status Quo, 2) Rehab, 3) Surgery. Surgery was the most invasive and would cause me to be in a wheelchair for 4 months, but it was the only thing that would fix the issue.

Whitney probably had some nagging issue with his foot that he knew was there but may have not known the severity or reasoned how bad it was with him since he could probably do everything normally in life (other than consistent high performance athletics without breaking down).

I'm wondering if this is the reason why Whitney looked apprehensive at times/not as aggressive in his offensive play last season.

[Bowser]

I'll ask again since no one has addressed it.

What is Whitney's responsibility to the team knowing he could be hurting himself long term and put the team in a bad spot with the financial investment it had in him?

[Pens4Life]

nothing to serius,he will miss,what around 1 month of action,no biggie...

[Defence21]

I'll ask again since no one has addressed it.

What is Whitney's responsibility to the team knowing he could be hurting himself long term and put the team in a bad spot with the financial investment it had in him?

He was receiving treatment since the 2007 playoffs. My guess is he was told he wouldn't do additional damage. The fact that, once Penguins management found out, they didn't force surgery immediately suggests just this. If he wasn't doing any longterm damage to his foot, why is it such a big deal? Very few said a word about Sid playing through the 2007 playoffs with a broken foot. How is this any different? The man played through pain to help his team and didn't use it as an excuse for his lackluster play. That sounds like a leader to me.

[ExPatriatePen]

I'll ask again since no one has addressed it.

What is Whitney's responsibility to the team knowing he could be hurting himself long term and put the team in a bad spot with the financial investment it had in him?

He was receiving treatment since the 2007 playoffs. My guess is he was told he wouldn't do additional damage. The fact that, once Penguins management found out, they didn't force surgery immediately suggests just this.

You're assuming that the team knew the extent of the injury when Whitney went to them. Not a valid assumption since he kept them in the dark for an entire season.

If he wasn't doing any longterm damage to his foot, why is it such a big deal?

It's a big deal because after an ENTIRE year of keeping the pens in the dark and trying to handle it by himself, he took an additional two-three months to finally schedule the surgery. Because of that, instead of coming back in October he'll be coming back in January. Missing approximately 21 games (fully 1/4 of the season) unneccesarily.

Very few said a word about Sid playing through the 2007 playoffs with a broken foot. How is this any different?

Sids broken foot would heal by the start of the 2007-8 season, Whitney will miss a significant portion of the 2008-9 season...big difference.

Besides, Sid didn't hide the broken foot from team officials.

The man played through pain to help his team and didn't use it as an excuse for his lackluster play. That sounds like a leader to me.

Had he informed the team, it would have been, keeping the team in the dark about the injury was wrong.

[bhaw]

^ We don't know how much it really hampered him. If it was a total shock to management, apparently it wasn't bad enough to cause a limp at any point during the year. My guess is that, even if they didn't know the exact details, they knew something was up. And I'm sure they asked him if he had talked to a doctor. If the doctor said he was ok to play, what more do you want?

You seem to be assuming that this injury was affecting his play AND he was able to hide any signs of it from the coach and management. That is as unjustifiable an assumption as the one you pointed out.

[Senka]

Well this will be a good christmas present. At least i Can wear my Whitney jersey to my birthdya game at the end of 2008.

[Mongoose87]

I'd like to see Letang move up to the PP unit and do the left defense backdoor one-timer with Sid setting him up.

That'd be a great use of his twisted shot.

[Bob McKenzie]

I'll ask again since no one has addressed it.

What is Whitney's responsibility to the team knowing he could be hurting himself long term and put the team in a bad spot with the financial investment it had in him?

He did have 3 different doctors whose opinions were to try something other than surgery first.

I don't think he would be having this surgery unless he really needed it. He's not going to have a fun few months while his bone in his foot regrow.

[penny lane]

I'll ask again since no one has addressed it.

What is Whitney's responsibility to the team knowing he could be hurting himself long term and put the team in a bad spot with the financial investment it had in him?

I’m sure you believe you have the only answer that is correct.

[Draftnik]

I still don't get the criticism for Whit. More blind Whit bashing. This whole thread is an advertisement for remedial reading comprehension education. Did anybody else actually take the time to read the article?:

Whitney said he first noticed his foot pain when the Penguins played the Ottawa Senators in the opening round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. He worked with team trainers to correct the problem prior to and during last season, but none of the suggested methods -- specifically the use of orthotics -- worked.

Whit was working with the trainers during the season. The trainers obviously keep MT and Shero apprised of players injuries. Whit said Sid and Orpik were aware of the situation. It wasn't a secret. That hardly sounds like he was keeping the organIzation in the dark. Shero and MT never said they were stunned. Whit said they were stunned. Whit's assessment of their state of mind doesn't mean they actually felt that way.

If Whit were in some kind of situation where he was making an injury worse the trainers obviously would have advised him to follow a different course of action.

[wallflower]

I knew when I read this Friday night/Saturday morning that I'd log on the next day and there would be people pulling their hair out, crying about why didn't he get the surgery as soon as the season was over instead of waiting until now.

Whatever. I'm sure some will find a way to complain about how he sits the press box while recuperating...

[Draftnik]

I knew when I read this Friday night/Saturday morning that I'd log on the next day and there would be people pulling their hair out, crying about why didn't he get the surgery as soon as the season was over instead of waiting until now.

Whatever. I'm sure some will find a way to complain about how he sits the press box while recuperating...

Whit is responsible for global warming, pollution in Beijing, high petrol prices, the war in Iraq, Al Qaeda...

[canaan]

I knew when I read this Friday night/Saturday morning that I'd log on the next day and there would be people pulling their hair out, crying about why didn't he get the surgery as soon as the season was over instead of waiting until now.

Whatever. I'm sure some will find a way to complain about how he sits the press box while recuperating...

Whit is responsible for global warming, pollution in Beijing, high petrol prices, the war in Iraq, Al Qaeda...

....and hossa.

[Bob McKenzie]

I knew when I read this Friday night/Saturday morning that I'd log on the next day and there would be people pulling their hair out, crying about why didn't he get the surgery as soon as the season was over instead of waiting until now.

Whatever. I'm sure some will find a way to complain about how he sits the press box while recuperating...

Whit is responsible for global warming, pollution in Beijing, high petrol prices, the war in Iraq, Al Qaeda...

....and hossa.

+1

[wallflower]

I knew when I read this Friday night/Saturday morning that I'd log on the next day and there would be people pulling their hair out, crying about why didn't he get the surgery as soon as the season was over instead of waiting until now.

Whatever. I'm sure some will find a way to complain about how he sits the press box while recuperating...

Whit is responsible for global warming, pollution in Beijing, high petrol prices, the war in Iraq, Al Qaeda...

....and hossa.

Finally the truth behind Hossa not wanting to sign with the Pens comes out. It was right in front of all our faces this whole time. Darn that Ryan Whitney. *shakes fist*

[pfim]

The most interesting entry in this thread is "yinzer mcbinzer."

[André]

The Whitney bashing never ends. He had 3 specialists tell him to rehabilitate his injury instead of going directly to surgery. It isn't as if Whitney decided not to have surgery because he was afraid to go under the knife. He didn't just get a 2nd opinion that said try to do it without surgery, he had a 3rd opinion. That is uber due diligence. He also went to Charlotte for the surgery which indicates he probably was advised by some preeminent specialist since his home bases are Boston and Pittsburgh.

Somehow though Whit should have gone under the knife months ago and ignored the advice of 3 specialists because yinzer mcbinzer from LGP.com had the magic MRI oujia board that knew the 3 experts advice to rehab things was destined to fail.

Whit said:

"Obviously, had we known surgery was inevitable, we would have had it in June,"

Maybe his doctors are almost as smart as yinzer mcbinzer

An osteotomy seems like a fairly serious type of surgery. The surgeon will be cutting, removing, and realigning bones. It isn't a simple scope of some cartilage.

http://www.bcfootandankle.com/osteotomy.htm

No wonder 3 specialists recommended trying more conservative options before resorting to surgery.

You tell 'em Drafty. Good post.

[canaan]

The most interesting entry in this thread is "yinzer mcbinzer."

LOL. draftnik ftw!

[Bowser]

Then why the harsh criticism by Therrien?

[bhaw]

Then why the harsh criticism by Therrien?

If you're going to play, you still have to play well. If a guy says he can play through an injury, you can't lower expectations. His mistakes were also very basic many times. With a gimpy leg, you should be MORE focused on positioning, meaning that when he was out of position, it makes it a little worse. An injury is by no means a free pass... especially with a coach like MT.

[PenguinHockeyFanatic]

Letang doesn't have a wicked slapper but give the kid props for his sick, nasty wrister. Fo shizzle.

I think he has a nasty shot, but it's just a shade above sweet and way under wicked.

Is it sick?

It goes:

1. Wicked!
2. Deadly!
3. Sick!
4. Twisted!
5. Nasty!
6. Sweet.
7. Heavy.
8. Quick.
9. Precise.
10. Garbage.

So no, his typical shot prowess is not at a sick! level of execution, but there is promise for a twisted!

I hope to god you don't right on urban dictionary because your definitions suck.

I mean-

7. Heavy.
8. Quick.
9. Precise.

those are real qualities of a shot idiot. Heavy = hard, quick = release speed, precise= accuracy

garbage = you

It's called kidding around, so...ur mom?

[JoseCuervo]

It's called kidding around, so...ur mom?

You leave Mama Cuervo out of this!!!

[Ulffy]

maybe shero should have traded him before this surfaced. hahaha

That would have helped his street cred a lot.

[Eismann]

Torn on this one.

1) Injury could explain a lot about lack of mobility. Advantage: Sorry, Whits.

2) If the injury was this severe, why make it worse? True, docs recommended therapy. But it was evidently not helping. Advantage: tehWhitSux.

3) Generally gave Sid monster cred for playing through a busted foot for weeks, 2 years ago, without tearing him down for maybe making it worse. Advantage: Sorry, Whits.

4) Gutting it out, avoiding the crush of "they gave this guy $24MM and he's hurt????!!! wut??????!!!!" Advantage: Push

5) Timing of the surgery. Advantage: Push

So there you have it. It's so simple when you break things down scientifically.

Sorry, Whits. Heal up, come back strong.

... Until next time, I'm Nick Bakay reminding you the numbers never lie.