Rutherford's free pass for Maurice baffling

You would think that with how awful the Hurricanes have been to start the season, there would be no shortage of blame to go around -- players, management, coaching staff, everyone. So it’s interesting that in general manager Jim Rutherford’s surprisingly critical self-analysis with the N&O’s Chip Alexander on Monday that he second-guessed himself for nearly everything he did, or didn’t do, in the summer -- everything except bringing back Paul Maurice. Even if keeping Maurice in charge was the right move for the long term, it bears mentioning that it hasn't helped in the short term, yet Rutherford defended the coach while pointing fingers at everyone else, including himself. The fix the Hurricanes are in isn’t Maurice’s fault, not by a long shot, but he isn’t blameless, either. Maurice did a remarkable job fusing the aggression encouraged by former coach Peter Laviolette with structure and a sense of defensive responsibility last season. Coming into the new season, onl...