Alberts does 'business' with Canes

Andrew Alberts was hoping to stay with the Philadelphia Flyers and sign a new contract. The big defenseman was coming off a season in which he set career highs for games (79), points (13) and plus-minus (plus-6). And then the Flyers brought in Chris Pronger in the mega trade with the Anaheim Ducks. That was pretty much that. "We had talks with Philadelphia but once they traded for Pronger we were not able to get a deal done," Alberts said Wednesday. "But that's just part of the business. That's the way you have to take it: it's just business." But Alberts had other free-agent offers to consider. And one of the first, he said, was from the Hurricanes.  "Carolina was one of the first teams to call me July 1 and showed interest right away," he said. Continuing the trend toward obtaining bigger, stronger, tougher players, the Canes added a 6-5, 218-pounder for the blue line. That's plenty big, and Alberts knows his role. &quo...