In a year and a half, nothing can happen in your life. The same old routine, day in and day out, with no significant or eyebrow-raising decisions, planned or unplanned happening. On the other hand, so much can happen in that period of time that it’ll make your head spin.
Just ask D Ian White, who has pinballed between five NHL teams in less than two full seasons: the Leafs, Flames, Hurricanes, Sharks and Red Wings. Essentially, he’s become the infamous journeyman, except it’s stuck in fast forward.
“One trade a year is more than enough, and two is ridiculous.”
Over this time, White has seen the ups and downs of the average NHLer’s career; with Toronto, for example, he was sometimes a healthy scratch on a bad team, destined for an seventh consecutive season that ended without a playoff berth; in San Jose, though, he helped orchestrate a Game 7 win to get his team to the Western Conference Finals after they had blown a 3-0 series lead against Detroit.
So what qualifies him to play on an Original Six franchise–that has made the playoffs for an astounding 20 consecutive seasons (winning four Stanley Cups)–and on the same pairing with future Hall of Fame D Nicklas Lidstrom?
White’s first trade came in 2009-10–four-plus seasons with the Leafs–when he was shipped to Calgary as part of the lopsided Dion Phaneuf/Keith Aulie trade. The following season, he played just 16 games for Calgary and was a minus-10 before being dealt to Carolina–Ian, his pregnant wife Tess and his baby boy Paxton were on the move for the third time in 10 months.
“You figure, ‘Who’s going to get traded twice in a year?’?
You will, Ian. Just 39 games in with Carolina–zero goals, 10 assists, a plus-4 rating and lots of time as a healthy scatch–White was traded again on February 18, this time to San Jose.
“We were kind of hoping to maybe get an opportunity to go somewhere, because it just didn’t seem to be working there. You never really see it coming. But at some point, when you’re not being used …”
In San Jose, however, White finally had a consistent, useful role on the Sharks’ blueline. He had two goals, 10 points and a plus-9 rating in his final 23 regular-season games. He also made his playoff debut and had a goal, nine points and a plus-3 rating in 17 games.
For the first time, he consistently averaging 20 minutes per game, and was actually on a good team. That same year, Ian and his wife welcomed a baby girl, Gracelyn to the world, despite some miscommunication between the two–White left the team following their Game 7 win in San Jose to be with his wife, who was getting a ride to the hospital from Ian’s father instead of him.
Following a second straight loss in the Western Conference Final, the Sharks shored up their defence by acquiring D Brent Burns from the Wild for F Devin Setoguchi. White, now a UFA, was once again expendable, and back to square one.
“It was difficult – very, very difficult. It was tough, obviously, getting adjusted to new cities and new teams. It’s part of the business. It’s probably one of the uglier sides of our business. But if it didn’t happen, I probably wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to be here.”
July 1 passed, and while big-name blueliners like James Wisniewski, Kevin Bieksa and Christian Ehrhoff all cashed in on long-term, big-money deals, White remained unsigned.
Among the offers, however, was one from Detroit. It presented him with his next best chance to succeed in the NHL. He signed a 2-year/$5.75M contract in Hockeytown, a deal that was “definitely a no-brainer.”
“Who would have thought you would get a chance to play with one of the greatest players of all-time?”
Little did White know, though, that today would be his lucky day.
Lidstrom, fresh off his seventh Norris Trophy from the 2010-11 season, is now one shy of legendary Bruins’ D Bobby Orr. Lidstrom, a legend in himself, is one of the best the game has ever produced, has made a career of turning no-name, adequate NHLers into stars–Larry Murphy, Fredrik Olausson, Mathieu Dandenault. The list goes on. Players love playing with Lidstrom because more often than not, it makes them look better than they actually are. Murphy, now a rightful Hall of Famer, was booted out of Toronto in 1997, but went on to win consecutive Cups; Olausson, who had left the NHL for Switzerland, signed with the Wings and won the Cup in 2002. He played one more season in the NHL, then went to Sweden; Dandenault, like White, isn’t a full-time defenceman, and often switches between the blueline and the wing in order to fill any voids.
“It’s a fun pairing to play with. You always know you’ll get the puck on your tape if you’re in the right spot, so it’s been good. It’s what we hoped for, and I think even a little bit more than we hoped for,” said Henrik Zetterberg.
All was well last season. Lidstrom was paired with future Hall of Fame D Brian Rafalski as one of the more lethal tandems in the NHL. Unfortunately, Rafalski’s injuries caught up to him and his body could no longer withstand the rigours of another NHL season. With a Cup ring under his belt and a year remaining on his contract, Rafalski suddenly and unexpectedly retirement. Detroit, now short a top-pair defenceman with an extra $6M to play with from Rafalski’s contract, began searching the free agency pool for their new replacemen–however, all of the big-name players had already signed.
Ian White, however, was available. And upon first glance, he seemed to fit the bill; White is 5’10″ and 200 pounds, while Rafalski was 5’10″ and 194. Both have right-handed shots, which makes passing and one-timing shots easier to hit tape-to-tape with the left-handed Lidstrom. Most importantly, perhaps, was that White was fresh off a successful stint with the Sharks, who are coached by former Red Wings assistant Todd McLellan (2005-2008), who runs a very similar system with similar playcalling as the one in Detroit.
White, 27, was also entering the prime of his career, and in an organization that’s famous for holding players down until they’re at their peak, White may have become the best player available for a team looking to fill a very important hole. While you may not have fit in elsewhere, there may be a use for your in Detroit. There are so many examples–Dan Cleary, Mikael Samuelsson, Drew Miller, Mike Commodore, Brad Stuart.
White was one of those guys–he doesn’t stick out in any discernable categories and doesn’t have any physical or tangible assets that make him better than his peers; he’s not tall, strong, a strong skater and doesn’t have a great shot. He does, however, play the game ‘right.’ He makes smart hockey decisions and has a high hockey IQ, and anyone that doubts that can watch his postseason play with the Sharks last season. While lack of size and a slapshot that leaves something to be desired could be your Achilles heel in one place, it could be your bread and butter elsewhere.
Simply put, he knows how to play hockey. Head coach Mike Babcock said,
“To me, that gives you some battle scars. He understands what it takes. When you talk to him, he’s relaxed about it. He’s got a family. I mean, he’s a man. He’s not a kid.”
As of the start of this season, White remains Rafalski’s replacement on the blueline. The skill and talent difference between the two isn’t even fathomable–it’s David versus Goliath. Quote the shoes to fill. But White has managed successfully so far. Barring injuries or changes, White pairing with Lidstrom means that the Brad Stuart-Niklas Kronwall pairing can stay in tact, as can the Jakub Kindl-Jonathan Ericsson set.
So far this season, has held his own–two goals and three points in seven games with a plus-3 rating while blocking a shot a game, as the Wings are 5-2-0 to start the year.
“Getting familiar with a player takes a little while, but I think it’s been an easy transition for both of us,” said Lidstrom.
“It’s an easy team to fit into. We’ve got so many veterans in this locker room. Guys have been through it before. We just play solid hockey. You can see in the games where we turn it up, we just dominate the games. So I think we know that we have that confidence. Even if you’re down a pair or whatever, we know that at any moment the tide can turn.”