He played just under 500 regular season games in the NHL with some pretty
impressive seasons to start his career, but now Ryan Whitney relishes behind
the microphone as a member of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast's team of hosts.

But it wasn't all that long ago that Whitney played in the NHL - suiting up for
 four different teams over that span and seeing himself traded twice during his
 nine-year tenure.Ryan Whitney was traded by the Penguins to the Ducks for
Kunitz and Tangradi. (Bruce Fedyck-US PRESSWIRE)

Drafted in the first round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft - fifth overall -
Whitney was a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and made his debut in 2005-06.
It was there he scored 38 points in 68 regular season games in his rookie
season, before tallying a career-high 59 the following year.Related: Cam Talbot
 Trade Revisited

Still, in 2008-09, the Penguins saw an opportunity to move the then-25-year-old
 to the Anaheim Ducks for pieces that would help them land multiple Stanley
Cups.Penguins Keen on Kunitz

In the deal, the Penguins acquired forwards Eric Tangradi and Chris Kunitz in
return for Whitney, but only one of them would end up playing a major role for
the Penguins.

Going to AnaheimGoing to Pittsburgh

D Ryan WhitneyF Eric Tangradi

F Chris Kunitz

Tangradi went on to play 45 games for the Penguins over parts of four seasons
from 2009 to 2013 before he was moved out to Winnipeg. Over that span he
notched just one goal and five points in just under 10 minutes of average
ice-time.

But the piece that the Penguins were looking for came in the form of Kunitz - a
 smaller but feisty forward who would get a chance to play on a line with
Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh.

Kunitz went on to play in parts of nine seasons with the Penguins - collecting
388 points in 569 games during the regular season. He averaged nearly 18
minutes of ice-time while with the Penguins and had an all-star season in
2012-13 when he notched 52 points in 48 games during the shortened season. The
following year, he recorded a career-high 68 points in 78 games at the age of
34.Chris Kunitz ended up winning three Stanley Cups with the Penguins following
 the trade. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

During his Penguins career, he also maintained a 54.9 Corsi-For Percentage
(CF%) while play a major role on the Crosby line for the majority of his time
in Pittsburgh. On top of that he played in 126 postseason games for the
Penguins, recording 23 goals and 76 points on route to three Stanley Cups with
the Pens.Whitney Lands in the Pond

On the other side, Whitney landed in California with the Ducks. He played out
the remainder of the 2008-09 season and started the 2009-10 season before they,
 too, traded him to the Edmonton Oilers late in the year.

He played just 82 games for the Ducks, but did his job in that time. Noted as a
 offensive player with size and grit, he tallied four goals and 38 points in 82
 games during the regular season for the Ducks. On top of that, he added
another six during a 13-game postseason run in 2008-09, but the Ducks still saw
 it fit to move the big blueliner the following year - even after he won a
silver medal as a member of the American Olympic team in 2010.

He played parts of four seasons with the Oilers before a handful of games with
the Panthers in 2013-14. From there he made the jump to the KHL, followed by
the SHL and finally into the podcasting world.

Either way, it's safe to say that even with the dud that was Tangradi, the
Penguins pulled a good piece in Kunitz from the Ducks, while Whitney was cast
out to teams that did have the same supporting role as the Penguins did during
his tenure.

The post Ryan Whitney Trade Revisited appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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