Ward's contract: What does it mean?

At an average of $6.3 million per year, Cam Ward's new contract seems like a lot of money. He'll be the second-highest paid player on the team (behind Eric Staal) and the third highest-paid goalie in the NHL next year (among those under contract, based on cap value). So surely there are long-term ramifications for the Hurricanes? Players cut loose, purse strings tightened, etc.? Actually, no. It's a lot of money for a goalie -- more than Martin Brodeur, more than Miikka Kiprusoff, more than Ryan Miller, more than Tim Thomas Ward's deal fits perfectly into the structure the Hurricanes have established for next season, leaving them approximately $3.5 million to spend on a free-agent forward if they so desire, on a reasonable $50 million budget. Back in July, I took an educated guess at what the Hurricanes would look like in 2010-11, figuring on $6 million as a reasonable salary for Ward going forward. There are a lot of "ifs" in play here -- if ...