Whitney Out 3-5 Months: ANALYSIS

First of all, forgive my absence. It's been a while since I've dropped by. I have one more game to discuss in my list of the Penguins' greatest of all time. I'll post on that soon. In the meantime, the Penguins announced some bad news over the weekend.

Less than one month before training camp, our Boys of Winter announced that Defenseman Ryan Whitney had Osteotomy surgery in Charlotte, NC to correct a misaligned left foot and would be out 3-5 months.

An Osteotomy is not a simple procedure. Often it involves bone cutting and, when dealing with the foot, wires usually need to be inserted to help regain stability. These procedures generally aren't preferred, but if other treatments fail, there are no other choices because a foot misalignment is fairly painful, and can get worse over time.

Apparently, this injury first started causing Whitney a problem in the 2007 playoffs against Ottawa. Over the course of last season, he tried several non-invasive methods to improve the injury. Unfortunately, none proved successful. When he disclosed the nature of the injury to coach Michel Therrein and GM Ray Shero at their end-of-season meetings, they were "shocked". A few more failed attempts at rehab later, he went under the knife.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Penguins beat writer Rob Rossi broke this story. In his piece, he mentions that Whitney kept the injury quiet. He said that teammates Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik knew he had a foot problem, but didn't know the extent of it.

Some Penguin fans may be happy to hear Whitney will be out a while, since he happens to be a popular whipping boy in these parts. I'm not one of those observers. Whitney certainly had an inconsistent season, but perhaps this condition explains some of that. When healthy and on top of his game, Whitney can score in the top 10 among defenseman in the league. At some point, Sergei Gonchar is going to move on. When he does, the Penguins will be glad they have Whitney around.

So how will the Penguins account for his absence for the first part of the season?

Fortunately, the Penguins have a pretty fair stable of NHL-caliber defenseman. Losing Whitney will hurt, but Pittsburgh is better equipped to deal without him for a while than a lot of teams would be. Expect Kris Letang to get more of an offensive role, especially on the power play -- whether he plays with Gonchar on the first unit, or leads the 2nd unit from the point. This will be his year to take on more of an offensive, puck-moving role.

Whitney's absence also slides prospect Alex Goligoski up the depth chart. He could end up with the big club this year, depending on what Shero decides to do with Darryl Sydor. Ever since free agency, Shero has been listening to offers for Sydor, particularly from Penguins South (the Tampa Bay Lightning), but also the Los Angeles Kings. Both teams are looking for depth on defense. For some reason, Shero has held on to Sydor. His move may prove wise. If he is moved, however, Goligoski may have a spot in the top 7, with Gonchar, Orpik, Letang, Eaton, Gill & Scuderi.

Regardless of what happens, let's hope this surgery gets Whitney healthy again because, when he is healthy, he can be a force.