RALEIGH, N.C. (CP) - Ray Whitney is staying put.

The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed their leading scorer to a US$10.65-million, three-year contract on Friday.

Whitney would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

''Ray's leadership on and off the ice is important to our success in the future,'' said Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford. ''He has the dedication and desire to win that a team needs, and he makes the players around him better.''

Whitney led Carolina with a career-high 83 points this season. He tied for 21st in league scoring.




  
The native of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., was part of Carolina's Stanley Cup-winning team last spring.

The 15-year NHL veteran has 254 goals and 673 points in 844 regular-season games with San Jose, Edmonton, Florida, Columbus, Detroit and Carolina.